I am investigating allegations relating to David Leighton Davis who taught art at Glyn Derw in the 1970’s. I understand that he went to prison in late 1977 and died in 1980. If you remember Mr Davis I would be pleased to hear from you in confidence.
Alan Collins
02392492472
David Leighton Davis also known as “Piggy” was the art master at Cyntwell High School for Boys in the 1960’s, and in the 1970’s at Glyn Dewr School in Cardiff.
If you had any experience of Mr Davis I would like to hear from you in confidence.
My telephone number is 02392492472
My e-mail address is: alc@verisona.com
Alan Collins
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Raggett demonstrates for me the need to ensure that you have good and sound evidence if you are to successfully pursue a sexual abuse claim.
Preperation and research are vital. I have found that you often need to dig hard for the evidence, but it is often there. Plain good sense and justice in the face of solid evidence enables you to have a decent chance of defeating any so-called limitation defence.
Limitation defences are very unattractive in my opinion at the best of times in sexual abuse cases, and even more so when there is good evidence supporting the victim’s claim.
Alan Collins
02392 492472
I am investigating allegations relating to Roger Anderson who taught at the “Song” School, York, in the 1970’s.
If you have information about Mr Anderson, or wish to speak to me in confidence, then please contact me on: 02392492472. Alternatively e-mail on: alc@verisona.com
Alan Collins
This is an article that appeared in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner on 14th May 2010
May 14 2010 by Sam Casey
A SEX abuse victim has spoken for the first time of his ordeal at the hands of a sordid school master.
The 54-year-old recalled how depraved Peter Beall would summon him into his office, make him put on silk shorts, subject him to beatings and then fondle him.
Beall – who was headmaster at William Henry Smith School in Rastrick in the 1960s, 70s and 80s – is thought to have died several years ago.
But, as reported last month, a bid has been launched by former pupils to sue the school governors and the trustees of the Smith Foundation – the charity behind it.
The man, from Golcar, decided to speak out after reading about the case in the Examiner.
He said: “I have never mentioned it to anyone before, but when I saw that and I thought it was about time somebody was speaking out.
“Something needs to be done.”
William Henry Smith School, on Boothroyd Lane, is a boarding school for boys with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was a pupil there from the age of 12 to 16, between 1968 and 1972.
He said he would have left at 15, but was put under pressure by Beall to stay on for another year.
He remembers being sent to the headmaster’s office for trivial misdemeanours throughout his time there.
“You would get sent to see him for anything, it didn’t even have to be that bad,” he said.
“I used to dread going to his office – I would be physically sick.
“He would put these silky shorts on you, give you the cane and then put you on his lap.
“Then he would molest you. He took great delight in it.
“I knew it was wrong, but what can you say? It’s the headmaster’s word against yours.”
The man said the abuse was widespread, but the boys did not talk about it.
And he recalled trying to avoid Beall in the corridors of the school.
“If he walked past me he would pinch my bum,” he said.
“I suppose I was one of his favourite pupils because I never said anything back to him.”
The man later worked in textiles but is now unemployed. He has been unable to hold down a job for several years and claimed the abuse had a devastating effect on him.
He was married for two years and had two children, but his relationship with his wife fell apart.
He said: “It took me a long time to get used to girls. I didn’t start courting until I was in my 20s because I used to shy away.
“We went to that school for a reason – to become better members of society – not to be abused.
“But he made it worse for us.”
As reported in April, lawyers for a 47-year-old man have filed a writ in the High Court alleging Beall “emotionally, sexually and physically abused and assaulted him between October, 1976, and July, 1979”.
But Alan Collins, a solicitor for Hampshire-based firm Verisona, said there were many more cases.
Mr Collins said he was representing about 20 people who were seeking claims against the school.
He said: “It’s quite a wide-ranging case, over a long period of time. But there are lots of similarities among the experiences.”
In an unrelated criminal investigation, West Yorkshire Police have confirmed that five people have been arrested over allegations of sexual and physical abuse stretching back many years.
Four men, aged 64, 64, 66 and 43, and a 43-year-old woman are on bail.
Mr Collins said the compensation case would await the outcome of the investigation.
For more on this article I suggest that you go the newspaper’s website which is at: www.examiner.co.uk
Were you a pupil at Cyntwell Secondary Modern School in Cardiff in the 196o’s/early 70’s? If so, please contact me.
Alan Collins
02392 492472
I am investigating allegations of abuse in relation to James Braid who was recently convicted at Portsmouth Crown Court. I would be please to talk to anyone, in confidence, about the case.
Alan Collins
Tel.: 02392492472
Here is an article that recently appeared in
THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH · 23-29 NOVEMBER 2009
ABUSE CLAIMS AT WEST YORKSHIRE SCHOOL
More former pupils have contacted solicitors representing alleged victims of abuse at a West Yorkshire school after police questioned three men in their sixties on claims of sexual and physical assaults going back to the 1970s. And an ex-employee has claimed William Henry Smith School (WHSS) in Rastrick, Brighouse failed to investigate an assault on a pupil he claims he witnessed just two years ago.
WHSS is a non-maintained residential special school set up in 1920. According to its website it provides high quality education and care for boys with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.
In the summer West Yorkshire Police quizzed three men in connection with alleged sexual and physical assaults dating back 30 years before releasing them on bail pending further investigations.
One former pupil, Mark Edson of Selby, believes some former pupils have received compensation, although he was not one of them.
The law firm representing the former pupils, Verisona of Hampshire, would confirm this. But Alan Collins, the solicitor working on the claims, said: coverage has led to more ex-pupils contacting us. Usually in cases like this one most people do not come forward so I am still looking for witnesses prepared to talk to me about the allegations as I wonder if we are still not getting the entire picture of the full extent of the abuse.
Lee Varey from Halifax was a maintenance worker at the school from 2004 until he quit in 2007. He was impressed by the dedication of the staff and therefore left bitterly disappointed when senior staff members failed to properly investigate an attack I reported on a young man aged 16 in which he was punched four or five times by a staff member.
Varey, who claims this contributed to him leaving his post, said: No one took a statement from him even though there were many staff that knew I was unhappy about what happened.
WHSS was unwilling to respond to questions about Varey claims and whether it had carried out an investigation into them, issuing a statement saying: Any such matters would be protected by Data Protection and as such we are unable to make any comment.
HAUT DE LA GARENNE
I am of the opinion that Gordon Wateridge’s conviction and sentence is a significant step forward for those Haut de la Garenne victims seeking compensation for the abuse they suffered.
There has been plenty of coverage of Wateridge’s trial and the best place to go for this is the BBC’s website at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8266897.stm
or just go to www.bbc.co.uk and the Jersey news section under England. There is plenty of coverage on the major media websites. A good one to look at is the Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au
Many victims have had to struggle with the fact that the allegations of abuse were not believed in some quarters, and so the Wateridge conviction following on from that Aubin must in my opinion put pay to any such doubts.
The allegations of abuse cover many decades from the 1940’s down to the 1980’s. It is my suspicion that many former residents have not felt able to come forward and report their stories to the police out of fear, and embarrassment which whilst misplaced is entirely understandable. Of course it is only by coming forward that the abusers can be exposed and prosecuted, and the truth heard.
Alan Collins
23.9.09
I can be contacted on 02392492472
PRESS RELEASE - Haut de la Garenne
Jersey abuse case solicitor says sentence is vindication for victims.
Haut de la Garenne victims’ solicitor speaks out on the Gordon Wateridge conviction.
Alan Collins, Solicitor-Advocate of Portsmouth-based law firm, Verisona, who is acting on behalf of some of the victims in the Haut de la Garenne children’s care home case in Jersey, says that the sentence passed on Gordon Wateridge, is a vindication for them.
He explained:
“For those victims who allege they were abused, Wateridge’s conviction today is an important milestone that has been reached and passed in their fight for justice”.
Verisona Solicitors & Advocates have been instructed to pursue civil claims against the States of Jersey. The Royal Court in St. Helier heard evidence that Wateridge, a houseparent at the home from 1970-1974, had assaulted and indecently assaulted children who were in care at Haut de la Garenne.
Alan, who is acting on behalf of victims not just in the UK but also in Australia who are seeking justice for the abuse they say they suffered, added:
The trial has brought into sharp focus the allegations. The resulting conviction is vindication of our clients’ claims of abuse and leaves little, if any, doubt that the regime that was supposed to care for them, failed in the worst possible way. It is hoped that the States of Jersey will now accept it has to do right by these people and give them the redress they seek.
Alan Collins is a Solicitor-Advocate, and Director of Verisona Solicitors and Advocates. He can be contacted on 023 92492472 or 07899916899 for further comment.
