LAST week we began our feature on recollections from Andrew Billington winging their way to us all the way from the USA.

Andrew is the son of the late Derek Billington, local historian and teacher who was much loved and admired by everyone who met him.

While Andrew can remember much of his childhood in Bolton his most vivid memories are of his time at Brownlow Fold School where his father taught.

Teachers, of course including Derek Billington, Brian Smith, his wife Eunice Smith, Tony Wilson and Mrs Sally Kennedy.

The woodwork teacher was Alan Rigby who is no stranger to Looking Back — we have featured him in the paper in the past as he has a keen interest in local history which has found itself into print.

“The skills you taught me Alan have always served me well and are with me today as if I learned them yesterday,” says Andrew of his ability to create a mortice and tenon joint, a dovetail joint, to carry out planing and cutting wood across the joint among many other things.

Metalwork classes were taken by Mr Ron Bleakley, explains Andrew, who had the nickname “Plank”.

Memories came flooding back of making a small dust pan “the type of thing you would find on a coal fire hearth for scooping out the ashes from below the grate the next morning,” he says.

School dinners were enjoyed in the dining hall and included mashed potatoes, gravy, meat balls, custard and rice pudding.

Andrew also recalls watching the live transmission of the first Apollo lunar landing on July 10, 1969 on the school’s television.

Bill Ashworth was the technical drawing teacher and his stern warning of “And I don’t mean maybe” was dreaded by all the pupils.

For more of Andrew’s memories see next week’s Looking Back.