Raymond Garlick was immediately recognised as a committed, interesting teacher and, for some of us at least, he became a positive inspiration for our entire time at secondary school. His written remarks, for example, at the end of a corrected essay were full of direction and personal analysis — sometimes amounting to a small essay in themselves. In an extraordinary and compelling way, Raymond Garlick managed to make both English Language and English Literature ‘come to life’. Remember that, in those days, the teaching of English Language was firmly centred on grammar – parsing, clause analysis, précis writing etc, - yet, alongside all that, Raymond Garlick encouraged creativity and freedom of expression. His teaching was exceptional and well ahead of his time.

Concerning Literature, we were, of course, aware that both Raymond Garlick and Roland Mathias were poets - even if we did not always fully appreciate the quality of their work. In the teaching context, Literature, in all its forms, became something relevant to life in general and to our own lives in particular. We were taken to Stratford to see a modern production of Romeo and Juliet and to Bristol to see King Lear — but the most memorable visit was to Tenby.

In 1953, Raymond took a small group of sixth-formers, by train, to Tenby Arts Club to see and hear Dylan Thomas read parts of Under Milk Wood. I have a clear image of the end of the performance when Raymond was speaking to Dylan, who, apparently, promptly asked him to go for a drink. Unfortunately (or otherwise) Raymond had us to look after. What is not widely acknowledged is that our sixth form students were already well acquainted with some of Dylan Thomas’s work. Despite the exigencies of a heavy syllabus, we had studied Fern Hill in detail. We were also introduced to the poems of R S Thomas and many others.

When I left PDGS, Raymond and I corresponded regularly. He was a person for whom I had massive respect. It was because of his influence and encouragement that I began to write poems, some of which were published before I left school. There is a particular visit to North Wales that I remember; Raymond was then living in Blaenau Festiniog. One thing Raymond did on this visit was take me to meet John Cowper Powys. Not surprisingly, I was overwhelmed by the very presence of this great old man who had known Thomas Hardy, Vachel Lindsay and so many others. Raymond explained to me the amazing extent of this man’s compassion. He said he was capable of feeling compassion for a piece of discarded newspaper lying in the gutter of a street on a wet Saturday night. That is not something easily forgotten.

Contact with Raymond was maintained, even when I went to teach at KASTEEL EERDE, a co-educational, international boarding school in The Netherlands. Raymond came to visit me, one holiday, and was very taken by the school and its setting. The Head, Cees Oudshoorn, was so impressed by Raymond that he promptly offered him a job. For me, it then became an enormous pleasure to have my “idol’ as a colleague. Everyone respected him, not just as a gifted intellectual but as a kind, extremely sensitive person. The strong link with our past was maintained when Roland Mathias’s daughter, Mary, came to us for a time as a senior pupil. It was at this time that I came to know Elin, Raymond’s wife, and lestyn and Angharad, his children. We all lived at the edge of a vast pine forest, and I can still see Raymond setting off for a long, daily walk with his pipe and his walking cane. Contact became more sporadic, when I left to teach in Somerset, and then Raymond became a lecturer at Trinity College, Carmarthen. Nevertheless, we have remained in touch ever since those early days at PDGS. We last spoke, by telephone, in January of this year. If ever there is one person who helps to shape someone else’s life, then that person for me is Raymond Garlick.

Peter Preece was born in 1936 at Square Island, Pembroke, grew up in Stackpole and was educated at Pembroke Grammar School. He studied English and French at UC Cardiff. Peter’s poems, stories and articles have been published and/or broadcast since the age of 18. He secured a Welsh Arts Council Bursary to write a novel Fredwyn (Accent, 2004). Peter has taught at International School EERDE, The Netherlands, and was then Deputy Head of Chilton Cantelo House in Somerset, which is a progressive co–ed international boarding school. His last teaching appointment was at Gowerton Comprehensive School in West Glamorgan. Peter took early retirement forced by serious eye problems in 1974. He returned to live in Pembrokeshire in 1985 and is currently active in voluntary work with various organisations, including St John’s Church, Templeton and Narberth Food Festival.