No Way But Gentlenesse: A Memoir of How Kes, My Kestrel, Changed My Life

by Richard Hines

“There is no way but gentlenesse to redeeme a Hawke” Edmund Bert, 1619Born and raised in the South Yorkshire mining village of Hoyland Common, Richard Hines remembers sliding down heaps of coal dust, listening out for the colliery siren at the end of shifts, and praying for his father's safe return. It seemed all too likely that he would follow in his father's footsteps and end up working in the pits, especially when to his mother's horror and his own he failed the 11+, so that unlike his older brother Barry, who had passed the exam to grammar school and who seemed to be heading for great things, Richard was left without hope of academic achievement.Crushed by this, and persecuted by the cruelty of his teachers, Richard spent his time in the fields and meadows just beyond the colliery slag heap. One morning, walking in the grounds of a ruined medieval manor, he came across a nest of kestrels. Instantly captivated, he sought out ancient falconry texts from the local library, and pored over the strange and beautiful language there. With just these books, some ingenuity, and his profound respect for the hawk's indomitable wildness, Richard learned to “man”, or train, his kestrel, Kes, and in the process grow into the man he would become. Richard and his experiences with kestrels inspired Barry's classic novel A Kestrel for a Knave. When production began on what would become Ken Loach's iconic film Kes, Richard found himself training the kestrels that would soar on screen and into cinematic history.No Way But Gentlenesse is a superb, moving memoir of one remarkable boy's love for a forgotten culture, and his attempt to find salvation in the natural world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Animals, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Natural History

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2016

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Hines is a Yorkshire man through and through. Raised in, Hoyland Common, mining was the chosen career of his father and grandfather and many of the men in the village. He remember sliding down heaps of waste, hearing of accidents in the pit; knowing that his father would open the door the same time after a shift; there was that dread in the stomach that came when he was late. Sitting the eleven plus exam, it was hoped that he would pass and follow his brother Barry to grammar school. He failed and entered the local secondary modern school; a place that sought to crush the spirit and hopes of all children it was supposed to be teaching.

Despondent because of the cruel antics of the teachers and the system, Richard spent time walking the fields beyond the slag heaps. It was whilst walking the grounds of a ruin he saw a kestrel fly into its nest. Spellbound by the sight, it motivated him to head to the library to discover more on the ancient sport of falconry. They wouldn’t lend him the book, so he ended up buying that and many others as he devoured every piece of information he could about raptors. Having read everything it was time to find a hawk, and a friend of his came up trumps bringing him his first kestrel; Kes. Just from the information in these books he trained his bird, from the very first stages to flying it with lures.

If the name Kes is familiar, there was a film of the same name about a boy learning to love nature and training his kestrel. The film was based on the book, A Kestrel for a Knave written by one Barry Hines, Richards brother. Richard was employed on the film to train the actor and the three kestrels required for all the filming.

This is a fine quality memoir, full of gentle, lyrical prose. It is a sad book to read too; he didn’t have that educational opportunity that his brother did, ending up at the secondary modern, future potentially dashed. Life as the son of a miner was tough too, you never knew if you would see your father again when he left for work in the morning. The descriptions of the natural world that surrounded the man made waste from the mine make for good reading too. Mostly this is about the birds; that you can take a creature that is so very wild, and with persuasion and gentle coercion make it respond to your commands.

[Kariss Ainsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably enjoyed this more then most people would as I grew up and went to school in the same place that most of this book takes place but even without that its a really interesting memoir

[Kitty Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful authentic account of a working class life and connection to nature.

[Deborah]

Until alerted by a fellow book club member, I wasn't even aware of the existence of Richard Hines' story of raising a Kestrel, nor that his more well-known brother Barry had borrowed the story to write one of my favourites, 'A Kestrel for a Knave', better known through the Ken Loach film adaptation, 'Kes'. What an absolute discovery this book has been!

There is quite a lot of detail on the technicalities of training a hawk (rather like the equally absorbing 'H is for Hawk' by Helen MacDonald), but this never tires, or it didn't for me. Hines has a fascination for the English language, particularly of the Middle Ages and the 1600s, as a result of his drawing on historical sources to learn how to train Kes. The story of Hines' early life, especially his experiences at a secondary modern school in the 1960s, is recognisable from his brother Barry's book, but later, unexpected adventures working for VSO in Nigeria, where Richard becomes more politically astute after observing the legacy of colonial privilege, and his careers as teacher and later film maker, bring new perspectives and we start to get to know Richard. His film work during the miners' strike of 1984–85 brings him further political understanding, even alienating him from falconry as he now sees hawking as the aristocratic privilege it has historically been. Richard comes over as honest and thoughtful, attributing his varied and interesting life to his 'obsession' with falcons, which has taken him to places never expected to go.

I was curious to know how Barry's greater success as a novelist had affected his younger brother - Richard didn't publish 'No Way But Gentlenesse' until after Barry had died - and sure enough, there is a story there too, told with equanimity and generosity.

Hines' unsentimental passion for the natural world is present on almost every page, particularly moving for me as he was born in Barnsley and now lives on the edge of Sheffield. I know those moors and peaks, and take great pleasure thinking of Richard, striding across the moors with the Merlin he trained later in life perched eagerly on his glove.

[Mark Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

You may remember the film Kes (director, Ken Loach) if you are a certain age, and you may well have had to study the book A Kestrel for a Knave at school if you are of another certainly younger age. In either case you will associate the name Barry Hines with that story of a boy who trained a Kestrel but that boy was actually Richard, Barry’s younger brother. This is his tale told in his own words.

I’m really not that interested in tales of people training birds of prey – I’m a bit interested, but not very interested. There were two main areas of this book that really interested me. The first included the accounts of Richard’s school life – which sounded pretty rough. I never had the cane at school but it seems that hardly a day went by without Richard getting a few thwacks on his hands or his classmates being, basically, assaulted, by angry schoolmasters. There are other aspects of his life in the 1960s which brought those times back to me too. They reminded me that we have made quite a lot of social progress in terms of education and employment law in my lifetime even if nature has had a much harder time.

But the passages of the book that are really rivetting are those which touch on the relationship between Richard and his more famous brother Barry, and Richard’s involvement with the making of the film Kes. It’s a very interesting younger brother’s account of the work that made his older brother famous.

Not primarily a nature book, but an interesting one and a pretty good read.

This review first appeared on my blog on 5 June 2016 http://markavery.info/2016/06/05/sund...

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“My own experiences, along with working as a teacher and lecturer, and making television programmes with working-class people, have convinced me that all of us have something of worth; a hidden potential, a talent or aptitude, which, if through our home circumstances, our education, or by chance, we are fortunate enough to unearth it, this talent can inspire us to do things in life we might have thought impossible.” Richard Hines – No Way But Gentlenesse

This is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. Richard Hines writes a heart felt story about a difficult childhood growing up in a Yorkshire mining village. His father was a coalminer and when Richard was 11 years old, he failed the trials for English Grammar school. His older brother Barry, their mother’s favorite, had passed. Richard was crushed by how quickly any chance for college and a brighter future was torn from him. One morning he comes across a nest of kestrels. (Kestrels are similar to small hawks.) He is fascinated by them and goes to the library to find more information about them. He studies ancient falconry texts and gets his own young kestrel to train.
Richard’s brother Barry writes a book, A Kestrel for a Knave, which becomes a popular book in Britain. A film is also made, Kes, and both Richard and Barry help with the production of the film. In finding his kestrel, and becoming fascinated by birds and nature, many doors open to Richard and he has a fascinating life with many opportunities and adventures.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant, heartfelt and bittersweet memoir of a South Yorkshire lad from a mining community, branded a failure at an early age by a two-tiered education system, but whose love for, and self-taught knowledge of, caring for and flying hawks became the inspiration for his elder brother Barry's classic novel 'A Kestrel for a Knave' (which I loved) and led to his important role as the trainer of the hawks used in the resultant iconic Ken Loach film 'Kes'. With the confidence he gleaned from his work with hawks, Richard also went from working in an office and labouring for the local council to doing work with the VSO in Nigeria, then taking a teaching qualification, ending up as a deputy headmaster, before following his dream and producing and directing several documentary films about injustices in the community where he was raised, forming his own production company, before becoming a university lecturer. Throughout it all, his love of hawks and his admiration for his family and the community where he was raised shine through. An inspiring read which I thoroughly enjoyed, especially as I love to learn about birds of prey and have attended many demonstrations and a couple of 'hands-on' experiences in the recent past - 10/10.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was more than a instruction manual for training kestrels,Richards book also covers the filming of Kes.it is his earlier life that resonates more with me,the fact that we are a similar age group thrown onto a scrap heap by the education system because we failed our eleven plus.termed by so called career teachers as factory fodder and to be pigeonholed for the rest of our lives.richard managed albeit the long way round to eke out a life for himself and successfully moved up through the educational system making sure that others don't fall through a similar net.the teachers at the time only ruled by fear and took perverse delight in handing out corporal punishment.would they survive nowadays,I don't think so.the book also manages to convey a person who had found a niche with training wild birds and his love of the surrounding countryside.the job he has done in schools hopefully have made a difference to some of his pupils.in a nutshell made a difference.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir felt so peaceful in many ways...I feel as though I would like to sit with this man and his wife and have some tea. He seems a humble yet wise person. His words at the end so heartening.
My own experiences...have convinced me that all of us have something of worth;a hidden potential a talent or aptitude, which, if, through our home circumstances, our education, or by chance we are fortunate enough to unearth it, this talent can inspire us to do things in life we might have thought impossible.

[Jack Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. Funny, sad and heartfelt.

[Clarry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as falconry based as I was expecting, but incredibly interesting. His insight into social class and his personal family and town's history are fascinating, as well as the revelation that falconry was always for the noble and that people in his (or my) social status would not have been welcome. I had never thought of that in such a personal way before.
Worth a read whether you're a falconer or not

[Helen Norwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and did find the insights into the author's love of kestrels and his childhood interesting. However, there were times I found the detail almost too much and the style rambled a bit so that I had to resist the urge to skim over parts. All in all however I would recommend this book and if you've read 'A Kestrel for a Knave' by Barry Hines then this is a great companion to that

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book from which the movie "Kes" was made. In this case, both the book and the movie are excellent! The author's older brother wrote the book, "A Falcon for a Knave," which was also a good book! This tells the story of the author, with few vocational prospects in a coal-miming town in England. He adopted a kestrel (or two) and raised them. This led him to literacy, and a professional job!

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book that shows what can be achieved if the right spark is ignited at an early age.

Well written and full of the highs and lows that come with falconry.

I have to admit that Kes is one of my favourite books and films and I have a strong interest in falconry so this was always going to a winner for me!

[Gaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting memoir sharing insight into a British film classic ('Kes') and the class and segregated education systems that inspired it. Richard Hines might not get the same writing accolades as his brother, who wrote the novel that became 'Kes', but he is a skilled storyteller with obvious deep empathy for the natural world and the former mining communities of northern England.

[Basia Korzeniowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of surprising coincidences with my own life. Sheffield, the moors, Barry Hines, Kes, .H. White, the Peregrine Very enjoyable memoir, with lots of technical information about falconry which should have been off-putting but was surprisingly interestingly written.

[Jo Fountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime!!! What a beautiful book.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly enjoyable but dry in parts.

[Michelle Gasson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and also a fan of Ken Loach films so now I have to hunt for the movie Kes.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book feels like an essential companion to Richard Hines' brother Barry's novel A Kestrel for a Knave and Ken Loach's film Kes. It's a lot more than 'the real story behind Kes' although it is certainly that, nor is a book solely about falconry. It's a lot about the twists and turns of one individual's life...

Richard did not follow his brother Barry to Grammar School, a circumstance which has marked him for life, and many of his experiences at Secondary Modern found their way into Kes, book and film. Unlike Billy Caspar, he did not get involved with kestrels until after he had left school, and unlike Billy Caspar his home life was more nurturing.

The circumstances of him leaving falconry behind, which also changed his life, were interesting... and I was startled to find the same individual named in the next book I read, behaving in much the same way although with perhaps a different though no more positive perspective put on it. I'd like to have read more about his relationship with his brother, especially in later years, especially given the matter of fact details we do get. He could have done that. I would hope that a probably merely ignorant and careless but wicked comment by someone else after their mother's funeral was not allowed to drive them apart.

His descriptions of training kestrels for the film and working with David Bradley to fly them as Billy were exhilarating and allowed me to re-run the film in my head less jerkily than reality.

[Sheila Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy it but it was a bit rambling. In my view it didn't really show how a kestrel taught him gentleness.

[Gail Kennon · Rating 3 out of 5]

very unadorned prose. a moving story but with too much repetition of facts about his life.