Burnley Grammar School

Remember him well. Called him Iron Man Morton. Great teacher when I was there in 1971

He threw me out of metalworking class for not dismantling a scrap motorcycle engine properly. It was going in the melting pot for moulding. He said I would never make an engineer.!!!
I went on to work on seven World Speed Record vehicles and boats and was a technical consultant for NASA for 4 years at Johnson Space Centre Houston as well as being CEO of an Aerospace Engineering Company and a High Tech CNC Machine tool company.
Oh!, and I built Formula One Motorcycles and raced at International Level on self built motorcycles as well as machining and spannering for several International works teams and Champions.

Don’t leave the key in the Chuck!!!

I have an incomplete set of Burnley Grammar school journals (1942-1947) if anyone is interested or knows of an archive that would be interested.

My father-in-law was a pupil until he enlisted late in the war.

Joe Morton was The teacher who set me on a life as an Engineer. Also a mention must be made to the legendary woodwork teacher Sam Hannah

Mr Morton was brill. Taught me tons of stuff about the use of metal that is relevant in today’s tech society.

As a BGS pupil from 1959 to 1965 I remember Mr Morton well, an excellent teacher and a very pleasant man, I crafted a bracket to hang a hammer on and there was also a forge in the workshop

Good to see the Grammar School is still remembered - what a shame it was disbanded. I'd already left by 1959 when the photo was taken but I do wonder why an academic school was teaching practical subjects like metal work. Wasn't the job of the technical schools?

the site of the photograph is the new school building post 1958. I was there at the old school and moved over there when the old building was reassigned to another school.

Joe Morton was a great teacher, not in an academic sense, but just a superb communicator. Always quick to encourage and praise and, another thing he kept quiet was that he was a young Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain.

That's probably the lathe I started up with the chuck key still in the chuck, the key flew across the heads of old Morton and the rest of the class and landed on something soft at the other side of the room. No-one noticed so I sauntered over and picked it up before anyone did notice!

Joey kept that quiet, he taught Colin Chapman engineering! Founder of Lotus cars- mentor to Graham Hill and Jim Clark- Wow!

Good heavens - I vaguely remember Mr Morton - he was still the Metal work /woodwork teacher when I was at the school from 1976 to 1980! I'm not sure, but I suspect the photo (and the next one) were taken when the school opened at the site at Byron Street Burnley.