Dennis Beacham - Headmaster
"As you can tell by the picture, Im now very retired and live with my Wife Near Winchester.
I retired in the December of 1984 incase you didnt know!"
Dennis Beacham uses his computer regularly to send emails and check the web and will keep an eye on the site and add anything if need be! He sends his regards to all who know him.
When I met Dennis Beacham on Tuesday the 29th, he seemed very cheerful and we had a good chat about days long gone. Its was amazing to see him again and Im looking forward to our next meeting! Hes lent me many things to post on the site, so watch this space!!
Dennis, like Roy Starkie, served in World War II also and at one point was not even sure he was going to take the Headmasters position at 'Romsey road' boys school as (see below) he was not impressed by what he saw!. He and his wife still holiday abroad in Normandy every year and although he has not been in good health these last years, his wife takes great care of him. Now 84, Dennis's mind is still very sharp and is still a very cheerful and witty man!
H.B
Original Interview November 2005
I retired in the December of 1984 incase you didnt know!"
Dennis Beacham uses his computer regularly to send emails and check the web and will keep an eye on the site and add anything if need be! He sends his regards to all who know him.
When I met Dennis Beacham on Tuesday the 29th, he seemed very cheerful and we had a good chat about days long gone. Its was amazing to see him again and Im looking forward to our next meeting! Hes lent me many things to post on the site, so watch this space!!
Dennis, like Roy Starkie, served in World War II also and at one point was not even sure he was going to take the Headmasters position at 'Romsey road' boys school as (see below) he was not impressed by what he saw!. He and his wife still holiday abroad in Normandy every year and although he has not been in good health these last years, his wife takes great care of him. Now 84, Dennis's mind is still very sharp and is still a very cheerful and witty man!
H.B
Original Interview November 2005
Montgomery of Alameins Head teacher, Dennis Beacham sadly passed away on Wednesday the 4th of July 2007. Many of you may not know, that Dennis had been ill for quite sometime.
It was great to have caught up with him when I did in 2005. As soon as he heard about the website he called my number and was extremely interested and supportive of it.
He will be sadly missed by all of us.
Goodbye Dennis..
It was great to have caught up with him when I did in 2005. As soon as he heard about the website he called my number and was extremely interested and supportive of it.
He will be sadly missed by all of us.
Goodbye Dennis..
Legendary Figure recalls the good old days. - Lisbeth Rake (hampshire Chronicle Written in 2000)
Dennis Beacham head of Montgomery of Alamein School, Winchester, from early 1967 until 1984, nearly did not come to Hampshire.
He had applied to become head of the Winchester secondary school for boys, formed after an almagamation between St. Thomas’s and the boys from Danemark.
Two single sex schools had been built on the windy hill to the west of the city. The girls school retained the name, Danemark.
Residents ignored the official name for the boys’ school and simply called it ‘Romsey Road’.
Mr Beacham explained: “My reconnaissance indicated that the school was not held in high regard. I was already running a well respected establishment in London and this school was not what I was looking for as the next stage in my career. I offered to withdraw my application – should my expenses be paid”.
Luckily, Mr Littlecote, the deputy education officer, encouraged Mr Beacham to attend his interview. Had he not Hampshire would have lost one of its most charismatic and memorable heads.
Even today 15 years after his retirement, old ‘Montgomerians’ stand a little straighter and when his name is mentioned.
Anyone who has met him will know that he does not pull his punches.
“ I told the committee just what a sad mess the school seemed to have reached. They asked me what I would do about putting it back on the map”. It was a long list.
After the interview, Mr Beacham wandered around the city went back to the site and reflected: “Cathedral city – quite unlike SE19, Hampshire soon going comprehensive, a boarding house being built and clean fresh air.”
When he was offered the job and was promised maximum support, he accepted. Any doubts he had were dispelled at his first encouraging meeting with parents, who were ready to support him in the quest for higher standards.
“throughout my time as head, I was blessed with splendid deputies. Two went on to headships.
The man I first appointed, Roy Starkie, an outstanding pillar of strength - a man of ability and of absolute integrity which shone through him so clearly that colleagues and boys respected and warmed towards him.”
Stories soon spread of Mr Beachams actions. They gained the status of the urban myth but were true.
Dennis Beacham head of Montgomery of Alamein School, Winchester, from early 1967 until 1984, nearly did not come to Hampshire.
He had applied to become head of the Winchester secondary school for boys, formed after an almagamation between St. Thomas’s and the boys from Danemark.
Two single sex schools had been built on the windy hill to the west of the city. The girls school retained the name, Danemark.
Residents ignored the official name for the boys’ school and simply called it ‘Romsey Road’.
Mr Beacham explained: “My reconnaissance indicated that the school was not held in high regard. I was already running a well respected establishment in London and this school was not what I was looking for as the next stage in my career. I offered to withdraw my application – should my expenses be paid”.
Luckily, Mr Littlecote, the deputy education officer, encouraged Mr Beacham to attend his interview. Had he not Hampshire would have lost one of its most charismatic and memorable heads.
Even today 15 years after his retirement, old ‘Montgomerians’ stand a little straighter and when his name is mentioned.
Anyone who has met him will know that he does not pull his punches.
“ I told the committee just what a sad mess the school seemed to have reached. They asked me what I would do about putting it back on the map”. It was a long list.
After the interview, Mr Beacham wandered around the city went back to the site and reflected: “Cathedral city – quite unlike SE19, Hampshire soon going comprehensive, a boarding house being built and clean fresh air.”
When he was offered the job and was promised maximum support, he accepted. Any doubts he had were dispelled at his first encouraging meeting with parents, who were ready to support him in the quest for higher standards.
“throughout my time as head, I was blessed with splendid deputies. Two went on to headships.
The man I first appointed, Roy Starkie, an outstanding pillar of strength - a man of ability and of absolute integrity which shone through him so clearly that colleagues and boys respected and warmed towards him.”
Stories soon spread of Mr Beachams actions. They gained the status of the urban myth but were true.
