Dunstable Yesteryear: The 13-year-old schoolboy destined for great things

The confident schoolboy on the right of the picture is Herbert Hambling who went on to become Deputy Chairman of Barclays Bank and served as a Financial Member of the Ministry of Munitions throughout the First World War. He was knighted in 1917 and was created a baronet in 1924 for his services to civil aviation. That was the same year in which he was made a Freeman of his home town of Dunstable.

Herbert was the son of Lt Col William James Hambling, a distinguished Dunstable citizen who served as Mayor of the town in 1880-82 and 1887-90.

This photo was taken in 1870 when Herbert, aged 13, was attending Dunstable Collegiate and Commercial School where mortar boards were clearly part of the uniform. The school, founded three years previously by the Rev Charles Butler Harris (seen on the left) was originally situated in High Street North, near what was once the railway station, and moved to High Street South in 1874. Dunstable Local History Society has made considerable efforts to discover the exact addresses without success.

The original oval photo, labelled “Dunstable Grammar School boys 1870”, had been stored for many years in a cupboard at the old Dunstable Borough Gazette offices where it had puzzled reporters. The label was clearly incorrect because the Grammar School did not open until 1888. Research by Rita Swift for her book, Dunstable Timeline (recently updated and republished) finally identified the correct school.

Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.