A RETIRED primary school teacher who made up stories for his pupils has seen the first of those stories published almost 45 years later.

Keith Godwin is well-known among Cwmcarn Primary School pupils for telling tales of Ted and Paul, two Welsh schoolboys out on their adventures.

Mr Godwin, who retired in 2008, has now teamed up with two of his former pupils to publish the first of his seven Ted and Paul books.

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“It started out as stories I just told my class,” he said. “That was back in 1976. I never thought it would get to this stage. It’s surreal.

“I used to make them up as I went along, but the problem with that was I would forget what I said the previous day. The children were always quick enough to point that out, so I started writing them down.

“It was always a very good carrot – if you don’t behave there was no story. I used to threaten that, but the trouble was I got just as much enjoyment out of reading them as they did listening to them.”

Mr Godwin’s former pupil Kelly East was the driving force behind getting the book published.

“Mr Godwin had these books in blue ring-binders in school. They were hand-written at first, and then typed out” she said.

“I wanted to break into school and take the books to Cardiff and publish them there myself when I was eight.”

After Ms East contacted Mr Godwin, he handed over the books on May 6. Now, less than two months later, they have been self-published and are available on Amazon.

The artwork for the book’s front cover was by another of Mr Godwin’s former pupils, Pat Killian.

Mr Killian is well-known for his sporting work – painting the likes of Frank Bruno, Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali – but Mr Godwin said the chance to illustrate the front cover for Ted and Paul came up purely by chance.

South Wales Argus: Keith Godwin, a former teacher at Cwmcarn Primary School, with his book and former pupils Kerry East and Pat Killian.

Keith Godwin, a former teacher at Cwmcarn Primary School, with his book and former pupils Kelly East and Pat Killian

“Patrick met one of my colleagues in Newbridge and asked if it had been published yet. He said that if it ever was, he would like to do the artwork for the front,” he said.

“Being taught by Keith and being in his class, it was nice that he asked if I could do that,” said Mr Killian.

“It’s an honour and a privilege.

“I was not an academic person in school. I can’t remember anything Keith taught me in particular. But everyone remembers Keith reading these Ted and Paul stories. When the bell rang and he started reading the stories, we wouldn’t want to go home.”

When asked what people can expect from the book, Mr Godwin said: “I think my sense of humour comes though in them. And they do things that you know and remember doing yourself. And they are heart-warming stories.”

You can view the book on Amazon here.