Sir Alex Ferguson keeps the belt he was beaten with by his favourite schoolteacher, it has been revealed.
The former Manchester United manager said he was inspired by the ‘fierce’ Elizabeth Thomson who taught – and harshly disciplined – him as a boy.
Despite corporal punishment being banned from British state schools in 1987, Sir Alex admitted he had fond memories from his schooldays in the 1950s when teachers did not ‘spare the rod’.
In an interview for the Times Educational Supplement’s My Best Teacher (please credit) feature, the 72-year-old described how he would stand, hands out, waiting for his punishment from Mrs Thomson.
Sir Alex, who built a fearsome reputation for disciplining his players, was a pupil at Broomloan Road Primary School in Glasgow, where Mrs Thomson personally visited the parents of truanting children.
He admitted that his teacher’s ‘gritty determination’ had rubbed off him and the belt was now a prized possession at his home.
He said: ‘It’s in my study. My grandchildren are terrified of it. Six from that belt and you were in absolute agony. I used to try to draw my hand away.
‘But that was the sort of punishment you had if you stepped out of line. In my case, it was usually for fighting in the playground.
‘She took an interest in kids, though. If she was worried that they weren’t eating much at home, she’d sure as hell make sure that they ate well at school.’
Sir Alex kept in touch with his former teacher throughout his trophy-laden career in football with Rangers, Aberdeen and Manchester United.
He said: ‘When she died, I couldn’t go to the funeral because Manchester United were playing abroad, but months later I received a parcel.
‘She had bequeathed her belt to me. Her nephew sent it to me along with a letter that said: “You’ll know more about this belt than anyone”.’
Sir Alex described Mrs Thomson as having an ‘incredible drive’ which ‘commanded the utmost respect from students’.
He said: ‘Elizabeth Thomson was an inspiration to me.
‘That’s the perfect word to describe her. The area of Glasgow I grew up in, Govan, had one of the highest truancy rates in the city.
‘She came from a different world, really. She was from a middle-class, wealthy family, but she had a raw determination about her.
‘When she first got to Broomloan Road Primary, she went round to the house of every student who wasn’t in her class that day and said, “If your kid isn’t in school tomorrow, I’ll be back at your door”.
‘Maybe 2,000 teachers turned the job down, turned down that sort of challenge, but she thrived on it. She improved everyone she touched. She actively sought out challenge.
‘The three ingredients to Elizabeth, when I think about it, were personality, determination and energy. Anyone who’s in charge of someone else needs those three ingredients. It just won’t work without them.’
He added: ‘When I think about her now, I realise that it wasn’t all about education. Mrs Thomson endeavoured to make you want to be the best you could be.
‘Did she help to form my character? Well, she had a gritty determination about her; a competitive nature.
‘On a Friday afternoon, she’d always give an hour of playing rounders. Once, I was batting and I tapped the ball, then did the bare minimum to get to first base.
‘“Ferguson!” she roared. “You tap that ball again and I will have you.” So I battered the next ball out of sight and ran like hell.
‘She was good like that. She got you performing, you know?
‘Yes, I think there’s part of me that comes from her. That determination and that sense of drive. That ‘never give in’ attitude she had about all her students.’
Sir Alex is a patron of education charity Shine, which runs Let Teachers Shine, a competition to fund innovative teacher-led ideas to raise attainment in the classroom.
