AT last, the truth is out! Fifty years after the event, I can reveal the identity of the prankster responsible for the hoisting of a pirate flag on the flagpole at Bolton School in June, 1954.

It was Julian Vear, a spirited 18-year-old at the time who later qualified as a chartered accountant and spent more than 30 years working all over the world with BP.

He has lived in Australia for nearly 20 years and is now retired.

You may remember that I came across an account of this act of piracy when I was going through the files and included the item in the 50 Years Ago section on this page.

I asked readers if they could help trace the perpetrator and I had a telephone call from Bob Maxwell of Lostock, who attended Bolton School between 1941 and 1949.

Although he had left school by the time the Jolly Roger was flown, Bob remembered the incident and did some impressive detective work.

Eventually, he provided me with Julian's address in Victoria and I wrote to him with an invitation to confess.

He telephoned me to do so, and wrote later: "I was somewhat amused that a part of my past had caught up with me after more than 50 years."

This is his signed confession: "June 6, 1954, was the 10th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy and some people were taking the day off as a holiday.

"Many of us at school were put out that we did not get a holiday, and thought a protest was warranted.

"I have to admit to being the chief perpetrator and I was assisted by Paul Richardson and Chris Goudge, who ran in the Rome Olympics, getting into the final of the Men's 400-metre hurdles. I am not in touch with either of them any longer, but we were good friends.

"I do not think the school ever did discover the perpetrators of the mutiny!

"The flag was a double bed sheet dyed black with a skull and crossbones in white sewn on to it. In order to get to the flagpole we used the fire escape (at 11pm) at the Dobson Road end and walked on top of the science wing, over the parapets, the Great Hall and library and up on to the tower.

"There was a trap door into the Tower Room and we had to secure this (with screwed down angle irons) to prevent the skull and crossbones flag from being removed quickly and easily.

"We wanted fellow pupils to be able to see the flag when they arrived at school the following morning.

"In fact, it stayed up almost until lunchtime.

"A few days later I tried to recover the flag by breaking into the school, again at night. I knew it was in the Headmaster's secretary's room, but unfortunately it was locked, so I gave up. End of mutiny."

After he left school, Julian read chemistry for four years at Worcester College, Oxford, and joined BP after qualifying as a chartered accountant with Arthur Andersen in London.

His last eight years with BP were as executive director, finance, in Australasia.

After that he spent four years as executive director, finance, with North Limited, an Australian mining and resources company based in Melbourne.

He is now 69, "very settled" in Australia, and in good health - but he can hardly believe that more than 50 years have passed so quickly.

Well, that is one mystery solved.

I am still waiting for somebody to identify the boys who dressed a gnome in a school cap and tie before placing it on a ledge high above the archway entrance to the Boys' Division in July, 1968.

Somebody out there knows something.