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AYTON SCHOOL |
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Staff |
CLIFFORD MORGAN |
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He was born in 1918 in the small Welsh mining village of Troedyrhiw, 20 miles from Cardiff, where his father worked his way up to Under-Manager in the local colliery. His parents lost two daughters in childhood and Cliff himself was a sickly child, once seriously ill with diphtheria. He attended Quakers Yard Grammar School at Treharris, where he played rugby in the first XV with four other Morgans. In the same year he represented the Welsh Public Schools against the Yorkshire Public Schools, scoring two tries in a Welsh victory. He also made his mark in schools cricket and had trials for Glamorgan. Clifford went on to the University College of Wales at Swansea with a history scholarship. He represented the University at both rugby and cricket, and graduated in History and Economics in 1939. He volunteered for the army on the outbreak of war, serving in the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry, in which he reached the rank of Major. He was a PT Instructor for Commandos and also served as Intelligence Officer. However he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in 1941, and after spending a lengthy period in hospital joined the Army Education Service. His final posting offered the opportunity of playing rugby for Cardiff in the 1945-6 season in a three-quarter line full of internationals. He was chosen twice as reserve for Wales in matches against England and Scotland. On leaving the army he decided to follow a teaching career, and came to the Friends’ School in Great Ayton in 1946, appointed to teach history and to take charge of boys’ games. In 1948 he married Joyce Dickinson, the Domestic Science teacher, and settled down in school and village. He became Senior Master in 1959 and in 1967 this post became in practice Senior Member of Staff. But his forte was in front of pupils, rather than in administration. According to long-time headmaster John Reader, he was “a teacher with a flair for captivating the interest of a class, a demanding taskmaster in academic work as his pupils’ examination results bore witness, a strong disciplinarian giving support to the weak, counsel to the bewildered and rebuke to the unruly”. It has to be recognised that his history teaching put the emphasis on the “story” part – he never let dry facts get in the way of giving his pupils the true picture! One former pupil said, “I could never understand how he seemed to get from the Battle of Waterloo to his gardening problems!” The verbal strength was necessary as his handwriting was rarely an effective form of communication. He retired in 1982 to spend time caring for Joyce, who died after a long illness the following year. He characteristically set about creating a new life and set of interests for himself. He travelled to various Eastern bloc countries as they opened up to tourism, leaving a trail of counter-revolutions in his wake, and notably was recognised outside a Moscow sports shop by a fellow rugby player of 40 years previously. He was involved in WEA activities and became a founder of the Great Ayton Wednesday Morning Forum, of which he was a key member until his final illness. He was an active member of the Teesside Welsh Society and served as its President for one year, requiring him to resurrect his rusty childhood Welsh. He also chaired the Ingleby Greenhow Lecture Society and was active in the Methodist Church, without forgetting his Baptist heritage and Quaker influence. He was involved in the Captain Cook Museum and was a member of the Dr Waldie Trust. Above all, he was a well-known character in the village, who always had a friendly word for those he met. He leaves three children, two grandchildren, many friends, and over 2000 pupils whose lives he touched. He will be greatly missed.
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AYTON
SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES |
Great
Ayton lost a character Saturday 5th May on the death of Clifford Morgan.
Although a Welshman through and through, he became an adopted Yorkshireman,
living for over 50 years in Great Ayton, where he spent 36 years on the
staff of the Friends School.