1969 WHAT A YEAR! 1969 will obviously be forever known for the first manned landing on another celestial body, but what else was going on in the world? Another technological marvel was birthing in the paranoid puzzle-palace of the US military, nervously eyeing the Soviet threat. ARPANET, the forerunner to the World Wide Web, was created, connecting the scattered redoubts of American military power electronically for the first time. In the skies, Anglo-French Concorde flew for the first time in France, and the Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo’ was introduced to the world, revolutionising long-haul flights. Some music enthusiasts would say it was the end of the world, as in 1969 the Beatles not only performed live together for the last time, but also released their last ever album together. On telly, if you were after something ‘completely different’, ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ appeared on the BBC. Lumberjacks and dead parrots would be suddenly very popular. A night out at the flicks might include a staple of Bank holiday Monday’s for decades to come, as ‘Where Eagles Dare’ and ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ are released. But what was happening at Handsworth Grammar School? The Bridge tracked down ex-pupil and former Assistant Head Roy Fackerell to get his thoughts on what the school was like at that time. “The moon landing took place just after we broke up for the summer holidays and even though it was a momentous event my overriding memory of the end of term was the House Cricket! The games seemed to last forever, in a good way, as we dreamt of the long days stretching ahead. HGS was populated by many terrifying teachers back in 1969 but the most terrifying one was probably my French teacher. Even though I was in the Sixth Form at the time this teacher was formidable. In all the classrooms at that time there was a raised dais, a kind of platform that teachers conducted their lessons from. When this teacher stepped down from the dais he somehow got his foot stuck in the waste paper basket and we were desperately trying not to laugh as the consequences would have been dire. Capital punishment may finally have been abolished in 1969 but corporal punishment was to last another twenty years. Another example of the way teaching has changed over the last 50 years!” MOON LANDING 1969 3