The Early Teaching Career of Mr. W. Bigham
by Dave Buckley
According to Cadet 1968 :
"…..Bigham was a native of Galloway, Scotland, being educated at Dumfries Academy and Whitehill Grammar School. He gained an Honours degree in Physics and Chemistry at Glasgow University, and in 1933 returned to teach at his old school in Glasgow. After seven years there, he became a lecturer in Glasgow for the Ministry of Home Security……"
However, in a posting on the HCS web site Guest Book in March 2008, Alex Bateman wrote:
"…..he attended Whitehill Senior Secondary School in Glasgow, between 1925 and 1928, where he obtained his Higher School Leaving Certificate. Moving on to the University of Glasgow (1928 to 1933) he obtained a BSc with Honours in Chemistry and Physics, before starting his teacher training at Jordanhill Training College in Glasgow. During this time he obtained his Teachers General Certificate and also his Teachers Special Certificate (both in 1934). His first job as a teacher was at the High School in Dumfries between September 1934 and June 1935. He then moved on to the Moffat Academy (September 1935 to June 1937), before starting work at his former alma mata, the Whitehill Senior Secondary School where he officially worked between September 1939 and August 1946….. "I now live in Dumfries and spent an hour or so at the local Reference Library doing some research into Bigham’s early schools and his early teaching career.
Dumfries Academy is still in existence (under the same name and immediately opposite the Library), but the statement in the Cadet article that Whitehill was a Grammar School, is incorrect - Alex though, got it right. (Actually, there only ever has been one Grammar school in Glasgow, namely Hutchesons' Grammar School!)
Bigham must have lived in Dumfries or the surroundings to attend the Academy, and a look through the local telephone directory shows ten people with this surname living in the area, one of whom being a bit further along my lane! Whether any are related to him, I cannot say, as I have not been able to find any pupil lists in the Library.
In respect of his teaching career, the Cadet article gets it wrong again! He didn’t return to teach at his old school in Glasgow in 1933, and spend 7 years there. Alex’s information is much nearer the mark, but even that isn’t completely accurate. A look through the Minutes of the Meetings of the Education Sub-Committee for the 1930’s - a book about 2 inches thick, and the school logbook for Hottsbridge School, near Lockerbie, produced the following information:
Details of Wm. M. Bigham’s teaching record taken from the minutes of the Dumfries Education Committee during the 1930’s
Dumfries Library Archive reference - D3 10/1 and Hottsbridge School Logbook for 1920-30’s, both held at Ewart Library, Dumfries.
Page C482 - Sub-Committee Meeting of Tuesday 3rd July 1934 @ 11.15am:Bigham appointed to temporary staff at Dumfries High School.
Page C538 - Sub-Committee Meeting of Tuesday 19th February 1935 @ 11.15am:Bigham transferred to permanent staff at High School.
Page C598 - Sub-Committee Meeting of Tuesday 16th July 1935 @ 10.30am:Bigham moved to Hottsbridge (Primary) school at Lockerbie, by the looks of it, as Headmaster.
From reading the schools’ logbook, it would seem that there were only two teachers at the school and that the Headmaster at the time wasn’t very well. In fact he died on 4th October 1935.
Page C631 - Sub-Committee Meeting of Tuesday 14th January 1936 @ 11am:
Page from Hottsbridge School logbook
Bigham moved from Hottsbridge to Moffat Academy, actual date of move being 14th February 1936 for starting at Moffat Academy on 17th February.
Page C708 - Sub-Committee Meeting of Tuesday 15th December 1936 @ 11am:Note of Bigham resigning from Moffat Academy as from 13th January 1937.
