#Trinity60‍

Jack Griffin, Head of the Junior School, has retired after thirty-two years at Trinity, and there are few people reading this article who will not be aware of the great influence for good that he has exerted. Quite simply, everyone knows Jack and will want to share in a celebration of him.

To those in his English classes, Jack has been the teacher who made things clear and interesting for them — some remember his lessons on grammar in which, in some peculiar way, finite verbs became the pillars in the construction of a building, and others remember his ‘electric ruler’, which had the property of persuading reluctant boys to memorise what they were told. Some even remember him as the only master who could fling rubbish into his waste bin while still sitting at his desk: could that have helped them to punctuate more accurately? 

To those in his pastoral care — Jack has had special responsibility for the Junior to Third Formers — he has been the master they have learned to respect. He has encouraged the hesitant, rebuked the lazy, inspired the unwilling and shamed the disruptive. He has been the master who was firm but fair, authoritative but caring; he has been the man who could tell you off when you were in the wrong and yet forgive you and have a joke with you on another occasion. In fact, in his dealings with boys, Jack has managed to maintain a superb balance between discipline and high standards on one side, and humanity and good humour on the other.

To parents, Jack has obviously been a source of great comfort and no small relief. He has been the man they could trust to look after their sons: one who seemed to know what makes boys ‘tick’, who knew the boys as individuals and could remember his dealings with them, and who would always give sound advice on the boys’ progress. Fellow teachers have often despaired of Jack’s authority here: many of us have been subdued at parents’ evenings by the words across the interview table: ‘But Mr Griffin says...’ 

To his colleagues, Jack has been a constant source of inspiration. His encyclopaedic knowledge of the boys, their backgrounds and their records has made it possible for us to be more informed and sensitive in our dealings with them. His contribution to the life of the Common Room has been enormous — with his robust laugh, his wit and sense of humour, his sociability and his interest in his colleagues’ welfare, he has won the affection of us all. He has also played an important part in the life of the Common Room: as Common Room Chairman ; as salaries negotiator; as founder of the Staff cricket team, the Pedants; as expert on ‘The Times’ crossword ; and as writer and one of the stars of the staff revues: can you visualise him in drag, playing a coy ballerina? 

To Old Boys, Jack will also be remembered for his involvement in the school activities of the 1950s — particularly, his special responsibility for the cricket teams of that time, and his direction of the School Plays with Alan Clark. Putting on a play in the old School Hall was a triumph of art and energy over physical inadequacy, and yet the plays of that era are still recalled with pleasure by those who saw them: ‘The Devil’s Disciple’, ‘Julius Caesar’, ‘The Admirable Crichton’, ‘The Critic’, and ‘Libel’. Jack’s enthusiasm and skill in drama have been shown in more recent times by his work with the Whyteleafe Players, which he founded, and by his invaluable help with make-up, both for School Plays and for the Mitre Players.

To a group of people not likely to be reading this magazine, Jack has been a source of great help and consolation — those who have benefited from his founding of the Community Service Unit. Of course, there have always been rumours that old ladies would pay ‘protection money’ to keep the Trinity boys away, but no-one would want to make jokes about the great help given to the community by the C.S.U. Founded as an alternative to the Cadets and originally called the Task Force, the Unit was a product of Jack’s own concern for the deprived and incapacitated, and his desire to share this concern with the boys in a very practical way. As a result of Jack’s initiative and with the help of other members of staff, the Unit now stands as a reminder of the generous and caring spirit of its founder.

We are all going to miss Jack after his retirement, and so this is a time in which regret and celebration are mixed in a poignant way. One thing is certain, however, and that is that Jack Griffin has been one of the outstanding teachers of Trinity School. His career has been inspired by a unique combination of qualities: a total commitment to the importance and success of this School, an abundance of industry and enthusiasm, an unfailing concern for boys and adults alike, an endowment of remarkable gifts as a teacher, and particularly, that most precious of gifts, wisdom. We wish Jack and his wife Shelagh a long, healthy and happy retirement, and assure them of both our high esteem and our lasting affection.