Asked if he had used physical force himself on occasions Mr. Byrd said: “I am afraid so, very often. There were no other methods.”
He said it was necessary to use his physical ability to control a situation and protect himself, property and boys in his charge, when set upon by rival gangs from neighbouring boroughs such as Stepney.
After advertising for a place in the country to which to take his boys, Mr. Byrd said he moved to Cholderton in September, 1967, and opened the school in 1958. He married his wife about two years later.