Michael Breslin outlines some of the changes at the City of Coventry Boarding School after 1972 -
A Summary of Changes in the 70's
From the 40's to the 80's - we've tracked that the school had employed at least five female teachers - but none in the 60's. This will be a surprise to those who were there in the 60's.
Towards the latter years of the school there was a 'Girl's dorm' - read on to find out more.
The teaching staff changed again in the 70's with some from the 60's remaining until the school closed - eg Alan Thorn, DA Williams, George Parker, Graham Place, Mick Chopping.
The curriculum developed - the old Gym became the Metalwork shop and PE was held either in the Main Hall or outside. Chemistry was now being taught.
With the demise of 'Slasher Jack' - and with the changing mores of the 70's - hairstyles were much longer.
With the development of the new block in the 60's leaving more space in the old buildings, staff accommodation and other facilities moved around a bit. Michael refers to some of these changes.
Michael Breslin
"Things were different by 1972 -
All 1st years were assigned to The Annexe under a Mr Faulkner's guidance. He wore a size 12 gym shoe and kept a spare on top of the clothes lockers. From the swimming pool, the first Building was the "sallon" where we had a TV and tuck shop area with the woodwork room was. Then it was Mortimer house , the Annexe, Dudley, Blount and then Art room (Maths Room on the other end).
We got off the bus and carried our cases to the Annexe dormitory (Led by Bruce Naylor - the only 6th Former) which was theoretically divided into the three houses. Mortimer was down at Faulkner's end, then Dudley split either side of the doorway and then Blount. DA Williams was at the other end. We were asked to choose our bed in those three areas as appropriate.
We were allocated a 3'x2' wooden shelf by the central doorway and that was our clothes locker. We were shown how to fold our clothes with the round fold outside and stack them neatly by a house Matron whose name I cannot recall (it wasn't Polly) but she also showed us hospital bed making after we had emptied our suitcases and stored them in the locker room by the doorway.
Some kid stood on his bed and claimed to be the hardest kid in the dorm and no-one challenged him....so regrettably, I did! I was battered fair and square and true enough he was a very tough Nut! He was down the other end of the dorm from me because I was in Mortimer and he was in Blount. he later discover much tougher kids in his own house.....A pecking order was very soon established within the first few days.
Supper was rubbish, I thought, Currant biscuits with cold milk....Communal Showers was a first for me and I wasn't comfortable (I never brought any soap for my new soap dish....so was ridiculed by a few) but soon was forced to get used to it. Lights out at 8 was far too soon but we had a compulsory 15 minutes silence before for reading time. After Lights out, Bruce Naylor kept us in check as his bed was behind the partition At Rev Williams end. "Bruce, Bruce, Sayers is out of bed" because there were some antics on the first few nights. "Sixers" was rife where an older kid would grab and twist your arm at any time and bash you with the fist as hard as possible on your bicep. My arms seemed to be permanently bruised.
I was JM 38 so at some stage the prefix must have switched. 1 X and 1Y were the two classes in the first year and I think I must have done well academically because I moved into 2X which was considered the brighter class in the 2nd year. I also moved Dorms to Mortimer. Another Mr Williams (P.E.) was at one end and a Mr Burridge (Physics) at the other. We remained in Mortimer for 2nd and 3rd year. 3X Class was a riot. I have never had so much fun. We were a team by then. The 4th year we moved to Senior House and it was a luxury! No more creaking pipes (when the heating was on - a single 4" metal pipe that passed behind your headboard) during the night, no more walking to the Ablution Block in the dark cold wind rain sleet snow with just your dressing gown and slippers. (I hated having soggy slippers) No more howling wind in the dead of night passing through those ill-fitting windows. I remember Mr Williams (not the reverend - Sarah, are you related?) having a bad car accident and his poor dog was killed.
I forgot Dudley, "Manned" by Mr Chopping (Chemistry) and Mr Wood (not sure what subject but I did some photography with him) Blunt was TJ Walker and Mr Gladwell.Senior House we 4 or 5 to a room and we had the life of Riley although rarely did we get onto the Snooker Table until the 5th.
Sorry Burcher's were next to the assembly hall. Blundell's came later.
Metalwork was brilliant, my favorite subject. It was in the Brick building between the Top field and the classrooms on the yard. We would make castings from aluminum. We would silver solder brightly polished copper. We would turn parts on the lathe. I remember it was a 4th and 5th only subject and the goal was to build yourself a real steam engine. Sadly,I dropped it in the 5th for Chemistry as I needed Chem to get into Cov Tech for A-Levels
The Gym - no such thing. Although we had a PE session a few times in the assembly hall when we were 1st years. Everything was outside, rain, hail or shine, hurricanes even and we would be attempting to pass the rugger ball - Rugby was big as I recall and failing that, cross country seemed to be endless all year round
I suppose it was the new Block, the last classroom near top pitch was Chemistry, the one prior was Physics, then the library above Mr Parker's office and then the geography room.
I loved all of the sport (and all of the lessons come to think of it) but hated getting my white plimsolls wet/dirty as we had to clean them for Sat Morning inspection. Monday morning was wash kit inspection, Tuesday was Athletics kit Wed was Linen locker (clothes) inspection (all rounded folds outside) and laundry day (you had to send two pairs of skids and socks at the very least to the laundry, no sports kit was allowed - you did that yourself in the ablution sink) Wed Shoe polish kit and spare shoes (although your shoes needed to be shiny every day) Thursday was letter writing kit I think (Stamps were a must) I cannot recall Fridays inspection theme but if you failed, 3 of the best off Faulkner and Eddie Williams in the 2nd and 3rd. Sunday was a day off inspection we would usually be cleaning our sports kit from Sat Morning games....
OK, Paul so your Gym became the metalwork Lab. Wow, that was a small room as I recall. The Air raid shelter behind it was a bain for me later.
Rugby boots and endless dubbin! Soap and washboard in the utility sink
Sound like Mr "Jock" Parker's office became the Burcher's flat!
Anyway, the two air-raid shelters (The air raid siren was still the fire alarm - God it was loud and could be heard from the village) one was behind sick bay that Matron used for storage I think and the other behind the metalwork (old gym) Lab, I was fascinated with it until the 5th year. Eventually I was gated for 5 weekends and had to fill it in with soil from Mr Parker's Cottage garden as punishment for being busted going over to the girl's dorm in the middle of the night.....there's a can o worms for ya!
Sarah Williams GIRLS DORM! Do explain Michael. Your memories are fantastic. (Sarah) My father was Ken Williams - I think we left well before your time, in 1968ish.
Michael Breslin -
Haha!....so in 76, There was a dorm between the music room and the swimming pool that was fixed up for field study trips. Between 15 and 20 girls would visit at a time for a week from Coventry Schools.
I was in Senior House by now and I was becoming very interested in girls by now
Every Wednesday Teatime, they would be paraded past us in the dining Hall, it was great. Sometimes they were very young, so I would continue to hog the beans or the crust (ends) of the bread and drink as much of the tea as possible.
We got to socialise with them in the Saloon by the swimming pool.
Of course, they were up to antics as well because probably their first time away from home so we would arrange midnight trysts....
Of course, it was well after midnight, usually 2 am when my fellow trysters, usually 4 of us (who shall remain anonymous) would "sleep walk"...
So....when Cardinal Wiseman girls school (5th form) arrived.....we had to use their main entrance and sneak past the Nun's room (she was snoring) to get in.
And when Barrs Hill or might have been Lyng Hall 6th Form paid a visit, we had mastered that alarm system over-ride.....
We would place a credit card sized piece of wood (thin roof wood-shingle comes to mind because they were always falling off during storms) between the crack in the door and place tape over the latch part. We messed up one night and set the alarm off but the girls took the responsibility saying one of them was disoriented and wandered out of the fire escape.....phew. They used to visit all of the great places in the surrounding area and I am sure it must have been a week of absolute fun! I think that having a field study group was an attempt to bust the funding of the place in its floundering years and we probably have the dubious responsibility for putting a Kibosh on that option.
Ralph, I ran away in 1977 to see my girlfriend in Cov. When I returned, I was strapped with 6 o the best. So the auld Jock Strap was still in force. He also caned me for something that I cannot recall. I didn't see it as "running away" i just walked down the road in the middle of the night, walked to very near Bewdley when it was getting light and hitched a lift, first to Kidderminster, then to Birmingham where I caught the bus. I was home before 10
Trev, the Nun was with the Girls' School. They always brought a "chaperone" with them. We had a game of Rugby with Alderman Callow and their female teacher also played. Sadly, when I tackled her coming out of the maul , I broke her leg......No it was not deliberate so as to make sneaking around in the night easier. Fancy thinking that! tut tut... (I was accused of that by a fellow pupil)
I usually wrote to Nan or Mum cos Dad had passed before I even attended the school. It was usually a plea for money that rarely arrived (I was 1 of 9 siblings so cash was short) or a reminder that visiting day was coming up and to bring some cake!) Now there was some letters not to Mum and the replies were often highly scented which everyone soon got to hear about...but those should be kept secret eh? It was compulsory to have one letter to send on a Sunday Night.... Sadly Mum has been gone 20 plus years now so her trinkets have long been displaced. Now ...my ex's on the other hand, attentionl Lyng Hall, Alderman Callow, Stoke Park, Cardinal Wiseman, Barrs Hill letter hoarders...hehehe
I found a photo of Alan Thorne when we visited him just before he died. I will dig it out this evening. There is also one of the Scout troup (1st City of Coventry School) Summer camp in Jersey at Mr Germain's family property.
Ralph Aldhous Uniform. School uniform was:
1. Uncomfortable
2. Ugly
3. Ill-fitting
4. Deeply, deeply, uncool
For those of us, probably in the majority, whose parents didn't have deep pockets, school uniform was a huge expense and was bought as cheaply as possible, two sizes too big; 'He'll grow into it', so that at the start of the autumn term it hung off us and by the end of the summer term was too small. we had to have various bits of kit, but usually wore the same stuff more or less constantly. In the first and second year we wore grey flannel shorts with a cotton lining, and thereafter log trousers ditto. I wore the same blazer for months, and when it got damp I smelt like a pub carpet.
Trev Teasdel c 1966 in School Suit
We wore grey cotton shirts during the week and saturdays and a white shirt on Sundays. I think we had a Sunday best uniform. Once outside the school gates we always wore our caps and not to do so was a flogging offence (well it was for me on several occasions). The Slasher Jack haircut exactly complemented the cap : 'If it's under yer cap you can keep it' Hair below the cap line that could be tweaked was too long. Ties were also de rigeur.
We tried to personalise uniforms as we got older by wearing our trousers as tight as possible and purchasing winkle pickers, Cuban heels and Chelsea Boots or something that looked a bit like them in an attempt to emulate faux-cool. Dean Revell was the only one who was able to pull this off with anything like success. I think in the fifth year we were allowed to wear suits.
Charles JoyceRalph, yes I remember the strict dress code which had to be obeyed, I prefered a white bri-nylon shirt, they washed easily and dried in a flash. my 5th form suit, made to measure from the Coop.The trousers never a good fit, waist band to high, more victorian styed, some lads hammered nails in the heals of their shoes, this produced aray of sparks across the playground, some had army boots , which had much better result . Fashion conscious lads bought clothes from shop in Cov, such as American Styles, if you had spare money. The school scarf introduced a certain ambience, and raised the school image , as well as the thermal advantages in those winter months , a clever way of making a type of tube hat, worn on those cold days, a type of balaclava , the Siberian connection in the winter of 63' . The teachers wore sheepskin jackets , always remember Jim Lovatt's hat to match , some bought sheepskin flying jackets , possibly as a challenge to their authority, a rebel without a cause , Mods and Rockers . The Windsor knot tied on the school tie , too early for kipper ties . Sunday best clothes, inspected on a weekly bais, that Sunday walk along the muddy tracks, played havic when presented for inspection, don't get caught out , with dirty kit, or face the consequence.
Ralph Aldhous Ah yes. Bri-nylon, Cold in winter, sweaty in summer.
You could buy the metal nails and bits in a cobblers in Cleobury near the bridge. Never could tie a decent Windsor knot that stayed in place. I think we did things with our belts as well...studs or something.
Sarah WilliamsThe cobblers - the smell of glue and leather. The wheels for polishing and trimming. Apart from mechanics in garages, cobblers were some of the last craft/tradesmen (never saw a female cobbler) you could see at work on a village street. Or have I forgotten others?
Ralph AldhousApparently there's a female blacksmith in Ditton Priors.
Sarah WilliamsOne thing I remember (and can almost feel) about my school uniform was that the skirt was woollen and rough and in the cold/wet/wind it rubbed my legs very uncomfortably.
Brezification
During the 70's, we had this fad of sticking these things on the shoe heel so that they made a click when we walked. I think they were called "segs" - The more that you had, the cooler you were. They made the shoe heel last longer so it was sort of a good thing to do. Since flairs had long gone out of fashion (and bell bottoms)we had Patch Pocket trousers with high waist bands, the wider the legs, the cooler you were. They got to be so ridiculously wide, unless you were tall, it was difficult to wear them really. Collars that buttoned-down were also cool. I
I think the rules on school uniform embraced the fashions really, by our time. I had a nice pair of brogues at on stage (complete with segs). 5th form were allowed to wear a grey suit but I do not recall anybody in my year ever doing so, we stuck with the obligatory Ben Sherman blazer (more comfortable than those wool/fleecey things)and patch pocket trousers. I really have to say hats off to you Mum. Every stitch of clothing had to have a name tape in, every single sock. These were purchased to order from Cash's in Coventry. (I bought some for my daughter last year). School caps were a thing of the past although I do remember one guy brought one with him as a "fuzzer" (1st year) 'Gross' Mike! We had this insane thing that we would do when we got one over on someone. We would push our bottom lip out with our tongue and rub our stretched lip between forefinger and thumb and make a sound something like "be-e-h" and it was called 'grossing'-weird stuff.....origins please????
Pat Bryan, now 83, was a child during the 2nd World War. Both her Mother and her Uncle taught for a short while at Wyre Farm Camp school during the early years of the war. Through a link- up facilitated by Aileen Parker (daughter of the last headmaster at the school - George Parker) I spoke to Pat on the phone at her home in Neen Savage.
Pat told me she was born in Coventry and lived off the Allesley Old Road. Her mother - Flora Aidie was a teacher in Coventry and I think her father worked in Radford. The outbreak of war changed their lives. Pat remembers hiding under the table in the home during the Coventry blitz not knowing if they would survive the night. Soon after the Coventry blitz November 1940 her mother was asked to go a teach at Wyre Farm Camp school where her Uncle - Harold Eaves was the Earlsdon Housemaster and a teacher.
Two Female Teachers
This may be a surprise to most of the boys who attended the school after the war but Pat's mother was the first female teacher at the school. I say first because, as we'll see later, there was another one after the war!
Pat doesn't know what subjects her mother taught but thinks it would be Maths and English or general studies. "Uncle Harold (Eaves) taught Geography and Woodwork but he got called up in 1942 along with Mr Morris and they both joined the RAF. Harold never went back to teach there. At the time Mr Martin was headmaster followed by Mr Donaldson and then of course Mr Morris in the 1950's. She recalls Mr John Lowe also who went on to be deputy head and scout master.
Pat shared some of her memories with me which I captured on tape - and explained her Coventry background (not recorded) and after surviving the Coventry blitz Oct 1941 - her mother Flora Aidie was asked to teach at Wyre Farm camp school for a short while. Pat's Uncle - Harold Eaves was already teaching there from when the school began. Pat takes up the story from Christmas 1940...
" My uncle brought me back down to Coventry two or three days before Christmas because my father was still there in Coventry then he and I came back to the school on Christmas Eve 1940. We came over to stay - my mother got us fixed up with some digs at Morley Town farm which was the farm just along from the City of Coventry School so that was the three of us - my mother, father and myself in one place - anyway that was Christmas Eve. My uncle Harold - when we got to his room in the Earlsdon block where he was housemaster, his bed was covered with socks, so we helped him put an apple orange some sweets and then we crept down the dormitories putting one on each of the beds because it was Christmas Eve. The boys had to stay at the school over Christmas during the evacuation period otherwise it would have defeated the object. The parents sent their presents on to the school.
So Christmas day came and we all ate in the big dining room and we had turkey - well I never tasted turkey in my life. In those days if you had a chicken, you had it at Christmas and Easter and special occasions, not like we do today and have it all the time and so turkey was a luxury!
The next day it snowed and the boys absolutely went berserk. They were snowballing and tobogganing and something.
School House- Barbrook Neen Savage
My mother was trying to get me into one of the local schools but they were all full up with evacuees too but out of the blue I got a letter from A.J. Barratt the Headmaster at Bridgnorth Grammar school to say that there was a place there if I wanted it and I did but then my mother got recalled to Coventry and Dad had gone back to work in Coventry in January 1941. My mother was only there about a year and t she was the only woman teacher. So my mother and my dad went back to Coventry and i stayed with my uncle but then he got called up and joined the RAF so I stayed on - I've never went back to Coventry. My maternal Grandmother had a bedsit in Cleobury Mortimer and she managed to get a cottage in Cleobury, so I moved in with her - then my father came and joined us because he was fed up with his job in Coventry and then my mother saw an advert for a Headmistress in Neen Savage school. People said you don't want to do that - you'll end up playing the organ and singing in the choir which actually she did - anyway the woman who got the job - she only stayed a couple of months and then she took off, so the job was advertised again so that was that - she applied for the job and got it and we moved into the school house in Neen savage where there was a house with the job so we were all three of us together. The house was up the road from the church. So she was the headmistress and I carried on at Bridgnorth Grammar school and dad got a job in Cleobury with Off Turns? one of the local grocers."
Pat married a local farmer and had two daughters who became friendly with some of the lads at the school in the late 60's early seventies. She mentioned Ray Evitts, Stephen Gollop and Steve Hudson. She kept up links with the families of Headmaster Mr Rowland and George Parker and still lives in Neen Savage with one of her daughters. She too became a Comprehensive teacher in Cleobury Mortimer and so has been in or around education all her life.
Here is some of the interview with Pat on video.
Memories from Ron Brookes
Ron Brookes, who now lives in Plymouth, sent in some memories of the school.
"I was at the camp from 1944 to 1946. The teachers as I can remember were - HEAD - MR MARTIN.DEPUTY - MR MORRIS - MR. DAY - MR LAMBLEY- PT) MR.LAMB - MR.
MUSGROVE - and a lady teacher - my dormitory was EARLSDON (E12) MR LAMBLEY was our dorm' master and he was strict - polished our floors beds made neat - walked on cloths on the floor to keep polished .I must admit he gave a whack on the behind with a slipper for not doing some thing !!!!! OUCH !!!! WE WERE ALWAYS THE BEST ! The first Sunday of the month we would wait for the Midland Red buses to come in, I think there were four or five. The parents who couldn't come upset some of the boys me included although I was lucky I could go to the village as my grandmother and aunts lived there . There is more but for now I will leave it there . If you would like to see my exam paper I can e mail it to you . It was the last . That's it for now from PLYMOUTH . REGARDS - RONALD D.BROOKES (E12) "
Tanky Thorne’s Treasure Trove, The loft space above his room in the old Mortimer dorm was a hoard of confiscated items he had collected over the years. Getting ready for the move to the new block, he decided to clear the lot out!
He asked me to help him get all these items, including every type of knife , weapon, contraband and all the contents were taken to the incinerator and he personally watched me throw then in the fire. The knife issue that Ralph raised on Facebook - the scouts were allowed to keep sheath knives, and a pen knife was an essential schoolboys kit, eg; Swiss army knife, but don’t get caught with one today.
I love Ray Mears, survival programmes, his knife can be so useful. How come we never had a dart board ? I sure it would have improved my mental arithmetic , perhaps the darts were too much of a temptation, or the association of pubs and alcohol , I like to watch Bullseye , the star prize, some allegro car. Back to the treasure trove, I remember a collection of butterflies all mounted in a glass cased display, I don’t think those went in the fire.
I see there’s been some new material come in, Jock’s Clyde boat trip, Frank went on, made him had his hair cut on the holiday trip, and made him pay months later, how tight could anyone get, We had a collection and raised the money, and he even got bollocked for not paying sooner.
"Saturday afternoon cinema in Cleobury - I remember when they showed "Rock Around The Clock"
Michael Billings
Saturdays at the Boarding school we could take sandwiches and skip lunch to go more long distance places like Kidderminster, Bewdley, Bridgenorth, Ludlow, Clee Hills etc. Usually by bike or bus and be back for 6pm tea time. At other times you'd stay on the campus, reading, playing soccer, watching telly, playing guitar or just hanging out with friends. The nearest village was Cleobury Mortimer and you'd walk the three miles via Six Ashes or Cherry Orchard or take a short cut across the muddy Glen. sometimes it would be for the walk, the shops, to hang out and some had girlfriends in the village. Another attraction was the Saturday Cinema -
Michael Billings (who was at the school in the late fifties)
"Saturday afternoon cinema in Cleobury I remember well. When they showed "Rock Around The Clock" I think the whole school must have gone down as the cinema was packed. Can you all remember the sweet shop just before the church on the opposite side of the road? Always called in on my way to the pictures. Going back to school i used to catch the coach up to four oaks so I didn't have to walk back up the hill."
Tony Morgan(was at the school in the mid sixties) "I went down to the fliks and watched South Pacific!."
Rosemary Webb Rehill(Rosemary's Dad was the school bursar) "Tony, I remember seeing South Pacific on a Saturday afternoon in that cinema! Too funny! The owner used to call dad to see if the boys were coming down as he wouldn't open if they weren't."
Michael Billings "The cinema in Cleobury was at the end of the High Street up a small jitty opposite the road to Tenbury Wells. When I visited Cleobury last in was an Antiques Center."
Formerly Cleobury Cinema - closed 1962 Michael Billings The Old Cinema closed in 1962 and it became the antiques Centre before the new facade was added when it became a private house.
Film shows at the School Lauri Lindsay"Saturday night in the Assembly hall for the movies." Michael Billings "I remember the films in the hall which we had on Wednesdays. "Man Without a Star" - Kirk Douglas, "Richard III "- Laurence Olivier and "Harvey" - James Stewart are a few I remember." Rosemary Webb Rehill "I used to sit with the teachers on the stage. I remember watching a lot of WW2 movies." Michael Billings "When i was there 1955-1958 they were always on Wednesday night. Might have changed the days for you young 'uns after i left."
Trev Teasdel "The only Rock n Roll film we saw was Elvis Presley's Loving You which by 1964 was about 7 years old (more recent than most of the others though - George Formby, Fred Astaire and the war films! - I didn't go to the cinema in Cleobury as far as I remember but 1965 i was in the school Cross Country team. We would often go to Coventry on a Saturday to run in the Memorial park. in the morning. In the afternoon we were free to stay in Cov until Sunday night. I either went with my dad to see Cov City play or to the cinema. I remember seeing two films at the Gaumont around that time Goldfinger - James Bond fever had begun and The Beatles in Help!"
Ralph Aldhous said... Rosemary remembers Saturday night as film night in the assembly hall. I remember it as Wednesday. I can remember seeing Cruel Sea, Quo Vadis and Seven Samurai (my favourite by far): I remember seeing 'Journey to the centre of the earth' at the cinema.
Additional comments from facebook -
Paul Nicholas Williamson The film "Up in the world" with Norman Wisdom which is currently being shown on BBC 1 was the
first film I saw at school in the assembly hall, why should I remember that !!! That was in 1958.
Peter Molesworth "Zulu" was my first
Pete DayI can't remember many but I do remember 'Guns of Navarone'
Paul Rees Yes, Zulu was my first too. Must have watched it 100 times since and bought the dvd especially. My son loves it too.
Paul Nicholas Williamson funny that "Zulu" was your first film as a mate of mine is an expert on the Zulu wars and are you aware that an eclipse of the sun was taking place during the battle and one more bit of useless information is that the company dog was called "Pip".
Bob Sutton Lord of the Flies was mine
Paul Rees Zulu was also not fought by a Welsh Regiment. It was a West Midlands Regiment of Foot and only a third of the soldiers were Welsh, even though the Reg was based in Brecon. Most of the battle was fought at night too. I don't think they had time to sing!!! One more attack by the Zulu's would have finished them but the Zulu's mostly older men were tired.
John Tearse I remember that film too Paul
Do you remember watching Battleship Potemkin with the soundtrack played by
Mr Partridge on the piano?
Rosemary Webb Rehill I remember a lot of war films . Oh and Bridge over the River Kwai.
Ralph Aldhous Cruel Sea. We did the book with grubby. I remember him commenting on the scene where they depth-charge the U-Boat hiding under the survivors. He said they would have done it as a matter of course. Our generation has been very lucky. So far.
John Tearse posted these items on the school Facebook page. They relate to the mid 60's.
How much did it cost to send a pupil to the City of Coventry Boarding School in the mid 60's. This letter gives an insight -
Every Friday lunch time we had to prepare our laundry to be collected by the outsourced laundry service. originally they took socks but as they often got separated in the wash, we had to wash our socks by hand in the ablutions at lunch time. Instead we could send handkerchiefs - the change over is reflected in this list originally belonging to Stephen Tearse. Thanks John for these.
and explained her Coventry background (not recorded) and after surviving the Coventry blitz Oct 1941 - her mother Flora Aidie was asked to teach at Wyre Farm camp school for a short while. Pat's Uncle - Harold Eaves was already teaching there from when the school began. Pat takes up the story from Christmas 1940...
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My mother was trying to get me into one of the local schools but they were all full up with evacuees too but out of the blue I got a letter from A.J. Barratt the Headmaster at Bridgnorth Grammar school to say that there was a place there if I wanted it and I did but then my mother got recalled to Coventry and Dad had gone back to work in Coventry in January 1941. My mother was only there about a year and t she was the only woman teacher. So my mother and my dad went back to Coventry and i stayed with my uncle but then he got called up and joined the RAF so I stayed on - I've never went back to Coventry. My maternal Grandmother had a bedsit in Cleobury Mortimer and she managed to get a cottage in Cleobury, so I moved in with her - then my father came and joined us because he was fed up with his job in Coventry and then my mother saw an advert for a Headmistress in Neen Savage school. People said you don't want to do that - you'll end up playing the organ and singing in the choir which actually she did - anyway the woman who got the job - she only stayed a couple of months and then she took off, so the job was advertised again so that was that - she applied for the job and got it and we moved into the school house in Neen savage where there was a house with the job so we were all three of us together. The house was up the road from the church. So she was the headmistress and I carried on at Bridgnorth Grammar school and dad got a job in Cleobury with Off Turns? one of the local grocers."
I see there’s been some new material come in, Jock’s Clyde boat trip, Frank went on, made him had his hair cut on the holiday trip, and made him pay months later, how tight could anyone get, We had a collection and raised the money, and he even got bollocked for not paying sooner.
Michael Billings "The cinema in Cleobury was at the end of the High Street up a small jitty opposite the road to Tenbury Wells. When I visited Cleobury last in was an Antiques Center."
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