Pat Gould 2003

PAT GOULD      BGGS 1948 – 1955

A woman President of the O.B.A!  I wonder what the founders of this august body would think?  I hope that they would have been as liberal in their thinking as they were forward-looking in their thinking, which was what they were, when they set up the O.B.A.
I feel very privileged to be only the second woman to take on the role of President in the ninety-six years of the Association’s life.  I hope I won’t be the last, as I am sure there are many other females ‘out there’ who would fill the position admirably – gentlemen – if in the future you feel that you couldn’t become President but could encourage your wife/partner/daughter, please do so.

After my election I was asked by a young family member, “what exactly does the President do?”  I thought a little and then could not improve on the following.  “I think you could sum up the President’s job as eating, meeting and greeting.”  Certainly since attending the various functions that the O.B.A. holds I find that I have been doing all of these three things and enjoying them greatly.  Meeting and greeting old friends is a hallmark of the Association and the net is gathering in more and more Old Barrovians from all around the world, as evidenced by the size of this latest Newsletter.  There are also good reports from people using the Web Site. 
The quarterly luncheons at the Lisdoonie Hotel are always well attended; by 60/70 members each time. At practically every luncheon there will be someone who has made a visit to Barrow from some far-flung shore coincide with a luncheon so that he/she can meet up with old school friends.   We need to keep people meeting and some of the people we need to ‘catch’ are those who are just retiring, have the time during the day to attend the luncheons and are looking for something to fill their time.  We have about 25 year’s worth of people we could ‘tap’, approximately 4,700 in number, as the last Grammar School leavers (both boys and girls) would be about 1979.  Where are they all now?  Between us we must know the whereabouts of some of these people and we need to encourage them to join us.  This would be my aim for the coming years and I look forward to ‘Meeting and greeting more new members this year’.

On a more personal note (as is usual) here is my ‘potted history.’  I attended BGGS. from 1948 –1955 - went to C.F.Mott Teacher Training College, Liverpool, – came back to Barrow and taught for four years at Victoria Girls’ school (now Thorncliffe Comp.)  After four years, itchy feet took me to Oldbury in the West Midlands (formerly Worcestershire.)  I intended to stay for one year only but ended up staying for thirty years.  My final job in 1974 when all county boundaries were changed, was as Deputy Head of a large mixed sex 11 –16 Comprehensive School in Sandwell (West Midlands.)  At the end of 1990 I took early retirement and came back to Barrow to look after my mother.  In 1997 I married Derrick Gould (joint Editor of the O.B.A. Newsletter.)  By marrying Derrick I gained a readymade family of two daughters and four grandchildren.  This was all ‘foreseen’ by an old Chinese fortune-teller who read my hand when I was in Hong Kong in 1992 - these old fortune tellers may know more than we think!!!!

Please put on your ‘thinking caps and help us to swell the numbers of Old Barrovians who enjoy the camaraderie of our Association - distance is no problem as e. mails and the Web Site can put people in touch with one another in a matter of minutes. 

Pat died on 12th July 2014.