Description:This photograph was taken inside the former King Edward VI Grammar School Great Hall; it shows one of the large windows in the hall containing a stained glass Memorial to commemorate Mr Ernest Ormsby Powell, who was a Headmaster at the school from 1901 to 1924.
Ernest Powell was an English first-class cricketer and a right-handed batsman. He was educated at Charterhouse School and Kings College, Cambridge. Born in Liverpool 19 January 1861, he died in Stafford on 29 March 1928.
The school had stood empty for several years and at the time this picture was taken in March 2022 the buildings were being redeveloped into private apartments.
The following is an extract from an article on the unveiling and dedication of the Memorial published in the Stafford Newsletter on 30 March 1929.
The unveiling and dedication of the Memorial window placed in the new Assembly Hall of King Edward VI Grammar School by the Old Boys and Masters to the memory of Mr Ernest Ormsby Powell, Headmaster from 1904 to 1924, took place on the afternoon of Sunday 24 February 1929.
Occupying the centre light of the entrance, the window is a striking and beautiful addition to the new hall. It was designed by Messrs. J H Walker, Ltd., of West Bromwich. The window contains in the upper section King Edward VI’s shield, and the coat of arms of Charterhouse; in the lower section the coat of arms of Kings College, Cambridge, the School crest, and the following inscription: “To the memory of Ernest Ormsby Powell, Headmaster of this School from 1901 to 1924. This window is dedicated by the Old Boys and Masters as a tribute of deep affection and abiding gratitude, 1929”.
There was a large gathering of Old Boys and Masters at the ceremony. The unveiling was performed by Mr R C Lambert, senior assistant master, who was a great friend of Mr Powell’s and was associated with him at the school for many years. It was the original intention of the committee that the service should be conducted Dr Melville Scott who had known Mr Powell but due to illness this was impossible. The Rev. W H Shawcross (Vicar of Christ Church), who was for a time an assistant master at the school, therefore took the service and dedicated the window. Mr F Amies, J.P. (President of the Old Edwardians Association), on behalf of the subscribers, handed over the window to the care and guardianship of the governors of the school, on whose behalf it was accepted by Mr R W Morgan (Chairman of the governors). A wreath was placed below the window by Mr Lambert, on behalf of the Old Edwardian’s Association. The lesson was read by Mr H H Critchley.
The service was arranged along the lines of the School Chapel Service of Mr Powell’s time, and the lesson chosen was that which he always read at the end of term: 1st epistle General of St. John, Chapter IV. The hymns were: “When I survey the wondrous cross” and “Blessed are the pure in heart”. There was a short address by the Rev. W H Shawcross who said that Ernest Ormsby Powell was a wonderful example of what a really well educated person could be. God’s greatest gift, he declared, was displayed by the different personalities there were in the world. He was a scholar and a great cricketer and he took an interest in all movements of life. When he laid down the reins he passed into the civic and public life of the town. He was indeed an example of the development of the personality with a view to service. In conclusion, Mr Shawcross said that there were many great causes in the town which needed the help of men, and he suggested they helped in these causes as a definite act of memory to one who did it for the greater part of his life.