"Mr Cooper was my Headmaster when I was at the Somerset Upper School" writes Webmaster Paul Wood.

I have found many, many references and acknowledgements to him, and to place everything here would take up too much space. Therefore I have sifted through the items, and found various nicks and nacks about the man, which may be of interest.

One pupil wrote about Laurie "Had a penchant for progressive music, which you would never guess by looking at him. One day I was playing the opening bars from Tubular Bells on the piano in the music room in the annexe, and Laurie was just outside. He heard the tune and recognized it and came in, and spoke to me about it enthusiastically (much to my surprise). I heard later that he confessed to another group of students that he had listened to Grand Funk Railroad, and liked it."

Mr Cooper is the man who in an article in the 1951 edition of `The Somerset` School magazine, listed his favourite food as welsh Rarebit and Poached Egg. His favourite drink? - Milk! His most least favourite items were "slosh", masquerading as Irish Stew, and Whisky.

If he had unlimited time to do anything he wanted, he would have read the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

He felt at his best when he "Had taken the first wicket of the season!", and was at his worst when "In the throes of a common cold!".

Tony Newman, ex-pupil remembers Mr Cooper as "A brilliant cricketer, almost up to County standard."

His favourite charity was "Where it begins - My Home!".

His favourite book was Hugh de Selincourt`s "The Game of the Season."

As pupil, master and Governor of TGS, Master and Assistant Head of Somerset School, Chairman of the TGS Foundation, Lawrie spent his life in service to thousands of young people in Haringey.

There are three spellings used throughout the School history for Mr Cooper. Lawrence, Lawrie and Laurie have all been used on this site.

Clive Thurston, an ex-pupil remembers Mr Cooper. "I am saddened to learn of the death of Mr Cooper, who once came into the hall to find myself and a couple of other sheltering from the rain one lunchtime. We shouldn't have been there, but he proceeded to give us a history lesson telling us all about the paintings and how each carpenter involved in the making of the roof had left their individual mark by carving a different shape at the end of each beam."

Lawrence Cooper died suddenly at home on Friday November 12th 1999. His funeral was held at West Herts Creamtorium on 18th November 1999.