Charney Hall School, Grange-over-Sands

When Tilak Paul first suggested a post for John McCullagh I attempted to conduct some further research about him but I have to admit that initially I failed miserably. Masters divulged very little about their personal lives and at the time it was neither considered necessary for our education nor even polite to ask. Now there is a chance to complete at least part of an unfinished picture. John’s forenames gave no clues as to who his parents were on the Ancestry site. There appeared to be no reference whatsoever about his familial connections. I was stuck straight away with no leads to follow! Then one evening, probably with that far-away, dazed look on my face that Maxwell Duncan once referred to in one of the annual reports to my parents (but which now I know probably relate to an undiagnosed touch of ADHD!), I was struck by an idea which to most people would seem all too obvious!  - Why not simply search by ‘place of birth’ and ‘surname’? Be vague rather than striving to be too p...

We are indebted to W. Nigel Pemberton for providing copies of his photographs of life at Charney Hall in the late 1960s and early 1970s, just a few short years before its closure in 1973.  In these pictures we see some images of the former pupils who have in more recent years contributed so much to this blog. Attending a boarding school can isolate children from the ‘real’ world. Friends at home who attended the state school system were there in the holidays but couldn’t understand why the private boarding schools gave us a generous excess of holidays.To a child it has a readily identifiable bonus - more time off school! To the school staff this measure provides similar benefits - more time for personal interests, holidays and preparation for the coming school term. However for the child stuck at home, with no state school friends to socialise with, it can only serve to accentuate the difference between the two systems thus further isolating the child. Life in the boarding school t...

An Appreciation of Arthur Beresford Kane McCullagh by Tilak Paul This is an appreciation of A.B.K. McCullagh also known as “John McCullagh”,   “Mr McCullagh”, “Uncle John” and to Generations of Old Boys of Charney Hall (CH) “Sir” or “Mr Mac”. In preparing this post I have mercilessly copied and plagiarised the facts and information contained in previous postings on the Blog for which I am indebted and most grateful for and for all the research conducted by Keith Smith, the administrator of this Blog. I would like be the first to acknowledge that this appreciation would not have been accomplished without all the hard work of others and credit should be given to all those and there are many who are not named here.    Once again all mistakes and errors and factual anomalies are mine alone for which I apologise in advance.   The majority of CH Old Boys, even prior to meeting or having a Latin Lesson with John McCullagh would have seen or had pointed out to them the small...