‘George the Beefeater’ came to speak to Farlington pupils in two special assemblies. One of our Year 10 parents had kindly offered to arrange for him to give a careers talk in the Senior School, but it was decided this was such a unique opportunity, we should ask him to speak to all of the girls.
Mr Brodie took us back to 1078 when William, Duke of Normandy (William the Conqueror), decided he needed a Royal Palace and the Tower of London was built. We were given a potted history of the Tower of London, including the Royals who lived there, the development of the site with photographs to illustrate the points, and the events which happened within the walls. The girls were fascinated by the number of executions which took place and the stories of the prisoners kept captive in the Tower – particularly the story of the Young Princes held in the Bloody Tower, and the discovery of their possible remains nearly 200 years later.
Mr Brodie also talked about the legend associated with the famous Ravens, and the zoo which housed animals from all over the world, given to the Royals as gifts from visiting dignitaries; the zoo then moved to Regent’s Park to form the foundation of London Zoo.
George Brodie has a real skill of bringing History to life and the girls asked many questions at the end of both talks. Our thanks to George, and to our Year 10 parent for organising such an interesting and enriching talk for the whole school. We look forward to welcoming George back in the future.