Litherland Town Hall, Beatles breakthrough concert
Click to enlarge
All background images on this page are from our Nottingham garden
Early years
I was born (covertly) in a nursing home in Crosby, near Liverpool, because my mother was unmarried. She left me with my father after 3 days and, after around two years, my father and I moved in with his then partner Mary Fisher and her family at Coltart Road, Toxteth. Although the popup photo (left) was taken around 1900, the houses had not changed and ours was approximately 14 houses down on the right side, at number 81.
The primary schools I attended were:
I passed the 11-plus and went for interview to Westminster School, which I spectacularly failed (It was a disaster - I was lacking in self-confidence, had a stutter, a heavy ’scouse’ accent and accompanied by my cafe-owning Greek-Cypriot uncle).
The secondary schools I attended were:
Sloane Grammar in Chelsea, My form and geography teacher was H A Balkham (see school roll), who I met later as the Principal of Orpington College at the successful interview for my first teaching role. I have recently joined the Old Cheyneans and Friends, the Sloane ‘old boys’ website.
Quarry Bank Grammar (2 years). John Lennon was there too but he was two years older and I never met him, but I briefly saw the Beatles performing at Litherland Town Hall (LTH) in 1960 … they were very loud and I left early. On the way out, I looked up at the stage and saw (I think) five (but it may have been four) black leather-jacketed individuals. The ‘Beatles Bible’ (Not quite as popular as Jesus) website has an excellent and enlightening article on this landmark LTH performance and I have reproduced the poster for it on the right.
Hillfoot Hey High School (2 years), School Lane, Woolton, Liverpool. The school was demolished after only 25 years to make way for a self-build housing project area.
My first job, about nine months, was a Shipping Clerk (runner mainly) at Benjamin Ackerley, based at Pier Head, Liverpool in 1961.
Litherland Town Hall, Beatles breakthrough concert
Click to enlarge
Royal Air Force
I joined the RAF as a Direct Entry at 17 (not National Service) and served from 1962-68.
I was stationed at the following units:
After my discharge from the RAF, Pat and I went to live in Leeds with her mother. I worked as a Costing Clerk for Taylor Atkinson Ltd in a stainless steel works for about 9 months, 1968-69. Although I enjoyed the job and they tried to persuade me to stay, I had my mind set on academia. Pat and I were divorced in 1970, a year after I moved to London.
Academic and professional
From 1969 in London, I followed various studies for 5 years full-time and 3 years part-time at (now) South Bank, City, London and Brunel universities where I obtained my BSc (Hons) in Maths, an FE Teaching certificate and an MSc in Statistics. From 1973 I taught Mathematics, Statistics and Computing (at various times) at Orpington College, Bromley CAT, CBS College and (the now) Nottingham College. While at Orpington College, I completed my first academic text: “Advanced Level Statistics” (pub. Stanley Thornes) as a result of finding no suitable student-centred statistics texts. This is now out of print but is available on the internet. While at Nottingham (then Clarendon) College, I completed another text “Business Mathematics and Statistics”. The latest edition of this has a co-author, to maintain its appeal to an international student audience.
I left teaching in 1995 to work as a data analyst and medical statistician in Health Services, first at Nottingham University Perinatal Audit and then at the newly formed Perinatal Institute (based in Birmingham) in 1998. The post was split between a) operational data/statistical work on pregnancy care and fetal growth documentation and charts and b) research, which over 20 years resulted in my authorship of more than 60 academic papers with institutional, national and international colleagues. These papers, referenced in my CV, formed the background for registration with Warwick University Medical School and I went on to graduate with a PhD in Medical Sciences (Fetal growth customisation: statistical modelling and clinical applications). I have retired from full-time work but keep the association with the Institute as a consulting statistician and non-executive director.
Family, Home, Garden and some Holidays
The family and home
I met Lorna when I was on vacation in Germany in 1972 while playing with a friend’s band (Page One, as a guest singer) at a Sergeant’s Mess Dance. She was Warrant Officer Keith Greatorex’s eldest daughter and I fell for her instantly and we married within two years in 1973. For the early part of our marriage we lived with my uncle in Turnham Green, Chiswick for over a year before buying our own house in New Ash Green, Kent. At this time I was teaching at Orpington College and Lorna was working in retail at John Barker, Kensington. After moving from Kent in 1977, we lived in Nottingham for over 40 years, before settling in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
We have a daughter, Imogen, who attended Nottingham High School and studied English at Birmingham University and post-graduate Law at Nottingham Trent University. She is now a Senior Intellectual Property and Technology Solicitor at Harper James and is married to Ben Harrold, a financial advisor. We have a grandson Jacob.
The Nottingham garden
We have been fairly keen gardeners and had a few Open Garden events for charity, normally held in July.
In 2010, our first, we raised £60 for Cancer Research UK. In 2011 we raised about £200 for The British Heart Foundation.
In 2012 we supported the Parkinson's Disease Society with a large Open Garden event, raising £180. We have created a movie of this and also of our Night Garden. See slideshow movies below.
Our last Open Garden was in 2016, but we had a closed event for some family and friends on Sunday, August 12th, 2018
Open Garden, July 2012
Click a movie to play
Night Garden, July 2012
Holidays
Most of our holidays have been taken in the UK, but we had a period of 7-8 years skiing in resorts in the USA and France.
One of our favourite repeat holiday destinations (before we gave up flying) was Lanzarote and we have also visited Italy, Germany and North Africa a number of times. Our favourite UK destination is Portmeirion which we last visited in 2018 (see photos displayed in movie below) and 2021. Will be booking again for 2024.
I was presenting to a Barcelona Fetal Growth conference in Sep 2015, and extended it to a 3-day holiday with Imogen.
Lanzarote, 2002
Barcelona, Sep 2015
Portmeirion, 2018
Click a movie to play
Interests … and Contact
For around 20 years I sang with the choir The Saturday Singers (SATB, around 40 members, mixed repertoire) but left when Covid struck in 2020. Previously a member of the Nottingham Harmonic Chorus (c200, classical repertoire) for 5 years (2003-2008).
Some friends and I set up a quartet called ‘Quorus’ in 2013 as an offshoot from The Saturday Singers www.quorusquartet.org.uk
A particular ambition I have is to increase my relatively small presence on the Web, with respect to music, academic and literary activities.
My general interests are: current affairs, music, singing, walking, cycling, animals and their habitat conservation, science fiction, writing and gardening.
If you wish to contact me, my email address is andre.francis1@gmail.com.
All background images on this page are from our Nottingham garden