The 14 year campaign I have waged to get Warwick School to address historic sexual and physical abuse all started with an encounter with Geoffrey Eve, the man who twice threw my head against a wall, at the one and only OW reunion I have ever attended. As Warwick finally, partially ‘fesses up, numerous OW’s have today been in touch regarding both sexual and physical abuse. Here is one chap talking about Eve.
“Thankfully, I was never directly targeted by them, but Geoff Eve was my Form Teacher when I was in Junior School and he was a bastard. Several times we all witnessed him hit classmates, publicly humiliated boys. He often threw the chalk board rubber at us. The worst I witnessed was when one boy, surname xxxxxx, whose dad was a teacher in the Senior School said ‘Hello’ to him as Eve entered the classroom.
Eve grabbed the boy by the ear/hair and threw him out of our classroom 3X into the corridor. He then came back into the classroom, grabbed the boys wooden desk and threw it out of the class into the corridor. He emptied the desk and made xxxxx take every item, step by step to the carpark and bring it back. It took all day and it was directly in front of JS staff room so the staff would have seen it.
Winterbottom was the JS Headmaster and everyone knew about it. Nothing was done.”
Ends.
I have redacted the boy’s name but you can see how even being the son of a fellow school teacher or, as in my case, the son of a Governor, offered no protection. Junior school HM Keith Winterbottom was a kind man who lived in my home village of Harbury. But he must have known about Eve as must have all the other junior school teachers. Remember we were just 10 when Eve attacked us.
Some, like Alan Wilkins, had their own secrets to hide but most were straight up good men and women. Why the hell did nobody say anything? Or do anything? Why?
Ten years ago I was urging the then head master to chat to teachers at Warwick Junior who were then still alive. No such conversations were had as Denial Smith did his bit to continue the long running cover up.
Eve grabbed the boy by the ear/hair and threw him out of our classroom 3X into the corridor. He then came back into the classroom, grabbed the boys wooden desk and threw it out of the class into the corridor. He emptied the desk and made xxxxx take every item, step by step to the carpark and bring it back. It took all day and it was directly in front of JS staff room so the staff would have seen it.
Winterbottom was the JS Headmaster and everyone knew about it. Nothing was done.”
Ends.
I have redacted the boy’s name but you can see how even being the son of a fellow school teacher or, as in my case, the son of a Governor, offered no protection. Junior school HM Keith Winterbottom was a kind man who lived in my home village of Harbury. But he must have known about Eve as must have all the other junior school teachers. Remember we were just 10 when Eve attacked us.
Some, like Alan Wilkins, had their own secrets to hide but most were straight up good men and women. Why the hell did nobody say anything? Or do anything? Why?
Ten years ago I was urging the then head master to chat to teachers at Warwick Junior who were then still alive. No such conversations were had as Denial Smith did his bit to continue the long running cover up.