The first year of the high school, my sophomore year, was 1966-1967. Lakenheath and London were too crowded so they made Upper Heyford High School. All the incoming families from France prompted the new school. We had the junior high and elementary there, so it was a smooth transition for most of us on Croughton and Heyford.
The first month was pretty routine and the school was finding its identity. Word went out that we needed a name for the team. Rick Hunter '68 and I '69 lived on Croughton. He and I were into military strategy, particularly Greek and Roman warfare with a little mythology thrown in for good measure. The movie 300 Spartans had played on Croughton sometime prior to the school opening. Spartans became the topic of mine and Rick's conversation one day at his house.
This led to the topic of Hades, the Greek underworld, and then the idea of Hadites, hell warriors with Spartan fighting skills. Didn't even know if such characters existed but we figured, what the hell! (No pun intended) Heyford Hadites had a nice ring as Rick fantasized about carrying a sword and shield onto the football field. If Rick had his way there would have been horns on the football helmets. We bandied the name around Croughton and the name stuck by the time we got to school.
Our original concept of a Hadite was a Spartan-like warrior with a spear and shield. Given the fact that Spartan warriors went almost naked into battle apart from their armor and weapons, we were talkin' Badass at that point. The idea of a devil came soon after. Anyway, we thought this was the only way to get away with an association with Hell, without a direct reference to it. The rest, they say, is history. We submitted the name and everyone went with it. The interpretations of a Hadite varied, but the association with the underworld was secure. We were gonna get away with Hell!
I made a hot rod model, The Hadite Chariot, with Hadite colors for the trophy case. Rick and I collaborated on a cornerstone for the sidewalk. This was when we first referenced a pact with the devil. It was a devil's head mosaic made of tile pieces. This may have been an assignment in art class for Rick. He really got into it. Rick did the design and we laid the tiles into the cement. Always wondered if it was still there.
It was unfortunate that the publishing company who did the first yearbook only had little indians in its files. We did request a devil character but to no avail. During the 60s it was not PC to be associated with Ol' Scratch, especially a high school. Considering all the hell we raised it would have been more than appropriate. Go Hadites! They got the colors right, and the Hadite spirit was not dampened as a result. That's about it as far as the name is concerned. Left in 1967, tough as it was, and ended up in Texas. Still, ...some of the best years of my life.
Mike Brown
Hadites Forever
Class of '69
Note: the tiles have been found. Go here to read all about it.
Welcome. Ever wonder where the school nickname, Hadites, came from? The name was made up by Rick Hunter '68 and Mike Brown '69, shortly after Upper Heyford High School first opened its doors in 1966. Here's the scoop, straight from Mike Brown '69, one of the originators of the name.
Got inspired and updated this page on March 2, 2019
It's interesting to note that there's no reference to the Hadite mascot or logo in any of the first four yearbooks. There was a devil's head on the sleeve of the letterman jackets, and also on some of the warm-up suits, but no photos or drawings of it by itself. There was a sweatshirt available back then that had a Hadite character on it, but that mascot wasn't used anywhere else for some reason.
This is the original Hadite mascot that was on the school sweatshirts back then. As far as I know, he wasn't used anywhere else. I don't know who created this character, hopefully someone will remember and let me know. Much thanks to Jenny Hitchcock Kucera '68 for scanning this off her old sweatshirt, and for the memorabilia below.
Here's some Hadite memorabilia, courtesy of Jenny Hitchcock Kucera '68. Thanks Jenny!!
Hadite candy bar 1966. These were sold to help raise money to buy uniforms for the football team.
Back to the Hadite History page
Class ring 1968
Courtesy of Richard Stiles '68
