Walking with the Ancestors - John Bayley

Ice Cold In Wellington!

When Wellington College opened for business in March 1880 it did so with just five pupils, all of whom were educated in Bayley's own home and a rented property next door. Yet through sheer conviction and force of character Bayley achieved great success, creating a college that bore the stamp of his own personal values and experiences as a teacher and which, by the time of its sale in 1921 (when it became known as Wrekin College) educated over 200 pupils.

Since its foundation, many well known figures have walked the hallowed halls of Bayley's college. Pop impresario Brian Epstein, who discovered and managed The Beatles, was a student between 1949 and 1950 and included a picture of the Bayley House team he represented in his autobiography . The character actor Harry Andrews studied at Wrekin from 1925 to 1927 and, in a highly accomplished career encompassing over 100 film roles, his credits included 55 Days At Peking, Moby Dick and Superman. However, he is probably best remembered for his portrayal of Sgt. Major Tom Pugh in the wartime classic Ice Cold in Alex (1958).