| Administrative History | Wilfred Dawes was born 26 April 1909 in Somercotes, the son of a William Henry and Mabel Dawes. He was educated at Somercotes Boys School 1913-1922, Heanor Secondary School, Nottinghamshire 1922-1927, and St. Luke’s College, Exeter, Devon 1927-1929. On completing his education at St. Luke’s, in 1929 Wilfred became a teacher at Ripley Council Senior Boys School, Derbyshire.
On 12 August 1933 Wilfred married Hilda Eileen Walker, who was also a schoolteacher, and the couple later had two daughters and a son.
In 1939 Wilfred was appointed headmaster of the newly built Alfreton Secondary Boys' School; at the age of 29, he became the youngest headmaster in the country, successfully keeping the school open during the Second World War. Between 1939-1967 Wilfred would have a second job, as a Leader and teacher at the Alfreton Evening Institute, frequently working double shifts. Also, between 1940-1954 he was the President of the Alfreton Old Boys Club, who he would be a member of until his death. In 1959, he was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to education.
Throughout his teaching career, Wilfred was an active opponent of the 11 plus selection scheme and he set about proving its weakness by building up a modern curriculum for the pupils at the secondary modern school he was Head at. In the 1960s, the school received national acclaim for being the first secondary modern school in the country to send batches of young people to university. Wilfred Dawes spent the rest of his career at what became Mortimer Wilson Comprehensive School, retiring as headmaster in 1974 after 35 years.
Wilfred died on 17 July 1986. There have been several memorial projects to commemorate Wilfred Dawes. The first, in 1986 after Wilfred's death, was a memorial fund with the aim of providing bursaries to local pupils to pay for books, courses or other educational material, facilities and activities. The second was in 2008, with the collection of selected papers regarding Alfreton Mortimer Wilson School which were presented to the school when it was renamed Alfreton Grange Art College. In 2016 the school renamed again, becoming the David Nieper Academy. The latter project was ongoing since 2017 and it comprised three phases: the annual Wilfred Dawes Award (2018), a new sports hall named after Alderman Mortimer Wilson (2019) and the Wilfred Dawes Memorial Garden (2024). |
| Custodial History | These records were donated to Derbyshire Record Office by a descendent in October, 2024. |