Memories of Keith Moodie, John Green, Derek Wright and Doug Turnbull

I had a great time at school. When I think of Dame Allan’s I think of some of the great teachers I had, in particular Keith Moodie in French and German, John Green in Music, Derek Wright in Latin and Doug Turnbull, who never taught me in class, but did teach me bookbinding while I was a library monitor.  He was also heavily involved in producing the school plays every year in which I enthusiastically participated. I also remember him standing in his academic gown as an examination invigilator in the Newsom Hall, explaining where to place the apostrophes correctly when we wrote “Dame Allan’s Boys’ School” on our papers.

Doug Turnbull died tragically young and I was very upset at the time. I remember Keith Moodie very kindly took me to his funeral one afternoon, which was a huge affair. 

Keith Moodie, John Green and Derek Wright were all musicians. I remember being roped in by Derek to play in a local orchestra he conducted, I think in Walbottle, and he was always hugely enthusiastic about Latin.

Some of my strongest memories of school are of singing in the choir, conducted by John Green, at services in St J’s and B’s, the Christmas carol service in the cathedral, and at a Cheshire Home somewhere close to Newcastle. John Green was an excellent organist and choir master and I can still see myself standing near the back with the basses in the (then) new raked music room being drilled in one or another piece we were preparing. The autumn terms, when we were relearning old carols and discovering new ones, were always a special time for me.  We also performed other great works like Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Come, come ye Sons of Art. John taught me to recognise a ground bass. He struggled manfully with the school orchestra. If I have any regrets in life, I am sorry that I did not study A level music with him and go on to study music at university. Had I done so, my life would probably have been very different. In fact, I did the sensible thing, studied law and became a solicitor, a career that I have enjoyed very much; but the law is not as fun as music. 

Keith Moodie probably influenced me more than anyone because languages were my forte and he taught me German which was my favourite subject. During the A level years, we ploughed through the textbook which was methodical and tedious, but he was also able to convey a great appreciation of the literature. It has served me well all my life as I was able to work in Germany and develop business there during my career as a lawyer. 

Thinking back, Keith must also have had a great influence on Drama at Dame Allan’s because, during my time, we staged a number of German plays. Doug Turnbull must have been involved in the selection but I never asked him. Our productions included two plays by Bertold Brecht:  Mother Courage and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and The Fire Raisers by Swiss playwright Max Frisch. These were not obvious choices for the early 70’s in northern England. I was heavily into Brecht and the music of Kurt Weill which inspired me to compose music for The Caucasian Chalk Circle and train a group of long-suffering fellow students. 

I made good friends at school, with some of whom I am still in contact. Colin Edge and I were great friends but he lives in the North and I live in the South, so I see him all too rarely.  Stuart Heatherington, Dixie Crawford, Martin Hume and I have been meeting about twice a year for dinner in central London. I am sorry to have lost touch with others. I have also enjoyed the alumni evenings organised by the school.  

Stephen Morrall (1972)

We'd love to hear about your school days. Please email Katherine Leonard development@dameallans.co.uk to share your memories.