Scarborough People - Fred Petch
TO hundreds, possibly thousands of former Graham School pupils, the face is unmistakable.
The twinkling eyes and warm smile could only belong to one person – caretaker Fred Petch.
This straight talking, no-nonsense Yorkshire man, has worked at the school for 34 years – claiming only to have had one day sick in
all that time.
During his long and loyal service, Mr Petch has witnessed an education evolution – from the phasing out of corporal punishment, blackboards and O level exams to the introduction of computers, the internet and
interactive whiteboards.
And he is about to see another huge milestone in the school's history –
its federation with "rival" school Raincliffe.
But, as reporter Kirsty Beever found out – there's more to Fred Petch than meets the eye.
Fred, 81, grew up in the picturesque surroundings of Castle Howard, near Malton.
He said: "My mother was a cook there. And I had a nanny, not many people can say they had one of those, not at Castle Howard anyway. We had a farm as well, so I was brought up in the farmer's fields. We were up at 6am milking the cows."
He said while on the farm, and through his mother's cooking, he had learnt to eat well.
"I don't eat any modern food. Boiled bacon is as good as any. It's kept me going. And I've seen two or three recessions. I've carried more jam sandwiches than enough."
Mr Petch went to Welbourn Primary School and left at the commonly accepted age of 14.
He said: "After school I started at Castle Howard as a page boy with Mr Henderson the butler. Those were the days where you never left, you never had a holiday. You got up at 5am and cleaned the household's shoes. You didn't ask for time off.
"Then at 18, during the war, I decided to join the RAF. They sent me across to India, to fight the Japanese."
Mr Petch joined the maintenance unit.
"We had a good time in India. I got on well with the people, they were never nasty, they were all very friendly."
While in the RAF he met his wife-to-be, Dolly. They were married in 1948, and this year celebrate 60 years together.
After the war, Mr Petch returned to farming and after many years of hard work and raising a family, the two decided to move to Scarboro-ugh.
And that's when Mr Petch decided to apply for the job at Graham School.
He said: "I came to Graham in 1974 as associate caretaker. Two years later I was head caretaker."
Mr Petch, now semi-retired, says another full-time caretaker looks after the day-to-day duties.
But Mr Petch was keen to stay loyal to the school and continues to look after the building and its grounds.
He said: "I'm still around should there be any phone-calls or break-ins, and if anyone wants to come back during the weekend.
A few teachers ring me and ask if they can come in for a couple of hours."
Fred has many memories of the school of years gone by – most of them good. He said: "We have never had a bit of trouble here. We've never had a broken window or anything. It's a good school. Of course things have changed – we never ever have any fighting anymore."
He laughed: "Once Rocky Rowe, had left, the fighting stopped!"
Mr Petch also remembers, Scarborough's champion boxer, Paul Ingle, as a pupil. He added: "He never had many fights at school though.
"Some pupils come back, and they are grandparents. And they all remember me."
He added: "We have a wonderful kitchen here too. The ladies put on some wonderful food, there's a huge selection. And now all the school is carpeted, it's a very good building."
He had also seen the development of a new dining hall, a new drama studio and maths block.
Of course many pupils will remember Mr Petch's faithful companion, Whisky.
The border collie would bound behind Mr Petch's heels, following his master were ever he went. Unfortunately, Whisky has now passed on. Mr Petch said he didn't get another dog, because there was no way he could replace him.
Mr Petch's amazing employment track record led him to meet the Queen.
He said: "I have only had one day sick in 34 years, but at 25 years I hadn't had one sick day. And they sent me to see the Queen. But they couldn't have told her who I was, because she didn''t shout, 'Hello Fred' or anything. She just passed me within a yard or two."
Mr Petch has always been central to school events – even taking part in some of the drama productions.
He said: "We were the last school to perform in the old Theatre-in-the-Round at Westwood. And it was with a play called, The Retirement of Mr Warnock. I played Mr Warnock, the main character.
"We also did another play at the school called, Our Day Out and I played a lollipop man in that. That was very good."
Mr Petch has known many teachers and headteachers while working at the school. Headteachers include, Hilda Briggs, Dennis Wilcock, Milton Bowers and present head, Garry Hancock.
He said: "All the headteachers were very different. Mr Hancock, our present head, is excellent – the best in fact.
And of course I've seen the changes in the way children were disciplined.
Back when I first started, you knew that when Mr Robinson took his ring off, they were going to get a good hiding. But only if they deserved it – and then he would write to their mothers, he always knew their mothers."
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Weather for Scarborough
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to -1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South west
