An interesting sidelight concerns Headmaster Harry Askew himself.
Askew had previously been a notable athlete and represented Great Britain in the long jump at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.
That background has little direct bearing upon the disciplinary controversy, but it illustrates how easily apparently ordinary local-history investigations can lead into much broader areas of social history.
Unfortunately, Askew is no longer available to give his own account of what happened in January 1976.
That leaves historians with newspapers, official material where available, and the sometimes conflicting memories of former pupils.
