Alex Bass

[grockle]

My days in the 50s when I started supporting Torquay their goalkeeper was Phil Joslin

The only Joslin I remember was Hitler, our Latin Master @ TBGS in the '70's'!!

[wivelgull]

I thought Hitler taught French.

[grockle]

I had him for Latin in the 5th form, I think he also taught(?) French. I wasn't particularly interested in the subject and failed the "O" level miserably.

[Horse]

I had Joslin ( Hitler ) for French in my second year at TBG school. A situation that if you got under 8 out of 10 for his homework tasks your reward would be a slap across the face. The only year I worked hard at learning French because in later years I had soft teachers for this subject such as Moon and Chick enough said!

[wivelgull]

Hitler is one of the most well-known figures in what might be called 'underground' Torquay cultural history.

[gateman49]

I thought Hitler taught French.

Yes, he taught me French in the '60s. He was also known as 'George' and I later found out that he was the Times crossword expert in the staff room during breaks.

I can remember some anecdotes on him:

Unlike Tolloh who was easy to steer into story telling mode, he would only occasionally regale us with a tale from his past. One such was about his time in an army camp beside a railway line during WW2. He claimed that there were stop signals just by the camp so trains had to wait there. He and his mates would then shout obscenities at the crews and be rewarded with lumps of coal flung at them. These were then used to back up their meagre fuel rations for their barrack room heater. Whether it was true or not we lapped it up if only to avoid the real purpose of the class.

Another time he nearly got in to trouble as he was so riled by one pupil that he flung the board duster (one of those wooden backed rectangular things) at him only to miss and catch an innocent party further back in the class. I recall that he was quite human for a good period after that.

Then there was the pupil who he asked "Quel temps fait il". The confused recipient of the question started to blurt out the hour of the day in French rather than say that the sun was shining and got a whack for his troubles.

[desperado]

Good memories garde-barriere , not sure how we got from Alex Bass to Hitler but while we're at it
his son at school was the spitting image of him, but without the moustache. Tulloh was mad as a hatter, remember him lying on the desk at the front of the class eating Lincoln biscuits