'He saw the good in every kid' - ex-pupils reunite
A 90-year-old man has enjoyed a special reunion with some of his former pupils from 40 years ago, after they spotted a video of him playing the piano on Facebook.
John Morgan, who lives at Orchid Care Home in Swindon, was a deputy head teacher at Kingsdown School and Ruskin Junior School.
Earlier, 15 of his former pupils from primary school visited him at his care home and shared tea and cakes to thank him for the impact he had had on their lives.
Mr Morgan's daughter, Sian Piper, said: "To walk in and see a room full of people, grown adults, who just want to see my dad, it was so emotional."
The idea for a reunion came from one of his former pupils, 47-year-old Helen Young, who saw the video posted by the care home.
In the comments, other former pupils shared stories of the impact Mr Morgan had had on them, and still does to this day.
"I was welling up on the drive over today, just thinking I was going to see him again," Ms Young said.
"He was the best teacher. He just had time for everyone and genuinely cared for all the pupils there."
The ages of the former students range between 45 and 55, and would have been taught by Mr Morgan almost 40 years ago.
"Everybody remembers him, people have actually been looking for him," Ms Young continued.
'Chance to shine'
The group reminisced about the musicals he wrote for them as young children. They sat together in a circle as he played them softly on the piano from memory.
One of the women asked specifically for Midnight from Cat, a song she recalled him performing during her gymnastics routine more than four decades ago.
"He always saw the good in every kid, and he picked people for the parts where they could have a chance to shine. He always included everyone.
"I don't think he knew what an impact he had on everybody until today," added Ms Young.
Also there to soak up the nostalgia was Mr Morgan's wife Jean and their daughter, Sian Piper, who said she had underestimated, until now, the impact her father had on people.
"I didn't expect to see so many people, I thought there would be the odd couple, but I was blown away," she said.
"He's always been such a caring person, as a teacher and my dad. He's never shouted or anything like that, he was a teacher that had full respect from his students without ever needing to raise his voice.
"We never used to read a book at bedtime, he always used to make up a story, he's just that sort of person."
'Hello, Sir'
Ms Piper watched as the students pulled out old photo albums and VHS tapes, pointing themselves out in the grainy footage beside Mr Morgan.
"I'm not surprised. As I said to my mum, 'nice people are remembered for nice things', and dad was always a good person," Ms Piper said.
"It's been quite funny because they've all come in and shaken hands with him and said 'hello, Sir'. Someone said to me they didn't even know what his first name is, because he's always been Mr Morgan."
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