BARNSLEY College – now a shining jewel in the civic crown – was once controlled by a bunch of crooks for their own aggrandisement.
The main offender, principal David Eade, gathered around him, a gang of underlings, only too willing to share in his crimes and rich pickings.
But first Eade had to destroy the lecturers’ union that by the mid 1990s had become a thorn in his side. So he found an excuse to sack their charismatic leader, Dave Gibson.
Soon, it was announced that Mr Gibson was suspended from his post because he had “dispatched a personal letter through the college postal system” at a cost of 5p. Victimisation was obvious.
The day after Dave Gibson’s suspension, I and three other trade unionists were petitioning in the Precinct in support of him (one protestor was an NHS manager, one a council manager and two were senior school teachers).
Suddenly, all four of us were confronted by two plain-clothed detectives and told that if we didn’t stop we’d be arrested. The most aggressive officer didn’t make it clear whether he objected to the petition or the actual place where we were operating.
My fellow protestor, George Arthur, immediately smelled a rat and asked, “Why is it that campaigners have never before been moved on from here by the police?”
The detective grabbed hold of George’s sleeve, arrested him and called for back-up on his radio – which literally arrived in 30 seconds flat (the police car must have been hiding away up the side of, what was then, BHS). George, a Barnsley teacher, was handcuffed, roughly forced into the rear of the police car – like a hardened criminal – and driven off.
On the following Monday I was intercepted by colleagues at the entrance to the school where I taught. They wanted to be part of a demonstration that lunchtime, in support of Dave Gibson, but hadn’t heard of Mr Arthur’s arrest.
When we arrived outside Barnsley College that Monday, just after 12 noon, the huge crowd was noisy and angry. Dave Gibson’s oratory was inspirational and contained the odd hint at humour:
“Seeing as I’m to be sacked for alleged petty theft, I might as well admit to one more offence (everyone went silent). In my jacket pocket I have this paper clip.”
Then he paused as he slowly and ostentatiously displayed the item. “This is also the property of Barnsley College and is worth at least a tenth of a penny. So, go ahead and throw the book at me.”
The crowd laughed and cheered. Immediately afterwards, the South Yorkshire trade union movement, led by Mike Stokes, began gearing up for the biggest fight in many years. The lecturers’ union convened an emergency meeting and declared their determination to hold a strike ballot. The students’ union publicly announced similar plans. Then the college management, realising they had badly misjudged the public mood, suddenly backed down. Mr Gibson’s suspension was lifted and things quickly returned to normal.
A few years later, many of these same college managers, including Eade, were arrested for serious fraud, tried at Crown Court and found guilty. “Up to £960,000 [conservative estimate] of college money had been creamed off and Eade was the brains and prime mover of the fraud.” Some offenders received heavy fines, one was sent to prison, but David Eade’s barrister presented medical evidence proving he was suffering terminal cancer. The judge took pity on Eade and let him off scot-free.
George Arthur’s case went to Magistrate’s Court and he was supported by four professional, articulate eye-witnesses. The detective’s only witness didn’t turn up. Despite this and the fact that the detective’s evidence was unsupported and flawed, George was found guilty. The cost of appeal was massive but George Arthur wanted to clear his name. However, at Sheffield Crown Court, it was discovered that the arresting detective had now left the force (sacked, it was rumoured) and the case was dropped before any evidence was heard. George Arthur was, therefore, completely exonerated and awarded costs.
It transpired that David Eade’s imminent demise was hugely exaggerated. The £960,000 – which should have been used to improve education – was never recovered and we heard that Eade went to live abroad, in luxury, with his partner, for almost 30 more years. His died in 2024 at the age of 80 Dave Gibson was 67 when he died in 2017.
