A former day boy at Ermysted’s Grammar School is set to visit his alma mater 40 years later.
Michael Luick-Thrams, who spent time at the Skipton school from 1981 to 1982 as part of a Rotary exchange, was described, in an edition of the Craven Herald of autumn 1981, as a “Yank” (he grew up in Iowa).
The visit to the school, which will take place on Friday, September 20, has been arranged with deputy head George Barrett and will stir memories of a year which Mr Luick-Thrams says “changed [his] life.”
His arrival at Ermysted’s in 1981 took place shortly after the royal wedding of then-Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer; and Mr Luick-Thrams remembers that Skipton High Street “still fluttered with bunting and streamers.”
During his time at the school, he befriended the late Wilfred Fattorini, of Skipton Castle, with whom he would enjoy lunch and conversation.
When his mother, and his New York-based aunt, came to visit him in May 1982, it was Mr Fattorini who hosted Mr Luick-Thrams’ relatives and took them on a tour of the town, and to a nice lunch on the High Street.
Contacts in and around Skipton enabled Mr Luick-Thrams to travel, at various times, to the Soviet Union; to Northern Ireland; to London; and, in the Easter of 1982, to Germany and Italy, where “acid rain” and “forest death” were reportedly current terms.
Mr Luick-Thrams said: “The culmination of all those Cold-War-era rites-of-passage was headmaster John Woolmore's invitation to me to address the boys (and staff, of course) in the weekly assembly.
“I've never forgotten what he solemnly whispered to me - looking straight ahead - as I stiffly accompanied him back to his office, afterwards: ‘Master Luick, to whom much is given, much is expected.’
“And so it is!”
Mr Luick-Thrams’ visit to Ermysted’s is planned for Friday, September 20.
More information about his projects, including his book Out of Hitler’s Reach, which documents an abandoned Quaker boarding school in Iowa that became the home of World War Two refugees from 1939 to 1943, is available on Mr Luick-Thrams’ website at https://usgerrelations.traces.org/Personnel/Luick-Thrams_Michael_bio.html
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here