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The story of Ian Bailey’s night guarding Deputy Nazi Fuhrer Rudolf Hess in a cell at Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow is well known. Hess was probably certifiably insane and was no loss to the Nazi cause. …

Guest post by Jeremy Ward (History 1974 - 1997) One of the more bizarre incidents of the Second World War involved OM and former teaching staff member Ian Bailey (1913- 2007). The Nazi Deputy Fuhrer …

Above the front door of the diminutive Seventh Day Adventist church in Blackpool hangs a modest plaque (pictured above) which memorialises the tragically short lives of three young brothers, all of …

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Ulula and this is the first in a running series showcasing some of the best bits of the School's magazine across the years. The majority of the Ulula archive …

Harley Miller was the middle son of HM Douglas Miller. To read more about him, read the latest edition of The Old Mancunian magazine. Files relating to Miller and his wartime activities can be found …

The Great War had not been over long, but planning for a permanent memorial to the fallen was a priority for the school governors from as early as 1919, when a committee was set up. At this stage, th…

The perennial topic of refugees is of particular relevance presently, with the topic often in the news and the government running formal schemes to accept refugees from the Ukraine and Hong Kong. Man…

In 2012 we were given a bundle of papers for the archive by John Hewitt (OM 1939 - 47). Included was a typed document entitled "Wartime Reminiscences of a Teenager". They make for fascinating reading…

Over the last 150 years, Old Mancunians have fought in the Boer War, WWI, WWII and other conflicts. Many OMs have been mentioned in despatches, and a number have been decorated for their service. The…

During his time at MGS in the 1930s, my father, Sydney Dobson, was a keen student of French and German, which were then the only modern languages on offer. In those days it was not unusual for young …

Jeremy Ward (History 1974 – 97, Archivist 1997 – present) recently published a book, “On A Wing and A Prayer” focusing on the many Old Mancunians who served in the RAF. He writes: I apologize for an …

During World War II, the BBC and CBS launched a joint radio series called “Transatlantic Call: People to People” as a way of strengthening bonds between the UK and the US in wartime. The episodes wer…

Manchester Grammar School has had a number of High Masters who were not only influential in the life of the School, but also made their mark on wider society. The triumvirate of “greats” are normally…

The evacuation to Blackpool was a short-lived, if vivid interlude in MGS history. However, at the time, boys did not know that they would only be away for just over a month. Frank Thewlis attended M…

This month marks eighty years since the School evacuated to Blackpool, the day before the United Kingdom entered the Second World War. The School had been aware of the possibility of evacuation since…

This September is the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II, and in MGS history, 80 years since the School evacuated to Blackpool. Working with MGS archive material relating to the Great War …

As this year sees the centenary of the armistice, MGS has created a unique tribute to the role the School and members of its community played during World War One. A performance in the Memorial Hall …

This week is “Activities Week” at school, and a number of our boys are away at camp. It seemed appropriate to share a poem by Louis Golding, an ode to the camp at Grasmere which was published in Ulul…

Running a school in wartime required careful planning. Manchester Grammar School had originally been evacuated to Blackpool in September 1939 and shared facilities with Palatine Road Central School. …

Air raids on Manchester and the surrounding areas had begun in September 1940 but the heaviest raids were unleashed in the run up to Christmas of the same year. During this period, 363 people were k…

The Great War had not been over long, but planning for a permanent memorial to the fallen was a priority for the school governors from as early as 1919, when a committee was set up. At this stage, th…

We have no photograph of Norman Birnage in the school archives and he certainly doesn’t appear on the MGS ‘Wall of Fame’ along the main corridor, yet his contribution to the our history and heritage …

In April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, the ancient Basque city of Guernica was destroyed by German aircraft combining high explosives and incendiary bombs. Guernica became the symbol of the ter…