School Reunion Photos Saturday September 6, 2014 (Part Two)

More photos of the reunion taken, I think, by Keely Donald (Stephen Donald's daughter) in the Pioneer Centre.

Michael Billings, Stephen Donald, Gordon and Dyllis Place

Judith Chopping and Tony Booton (and ?)

? / keith Ison / Trev

Foreground Mick Chopping and Stephen Donald. Background Charles Joyce, Rick Gillespie and Ralph Aldhous.

Lloyd Preece, Stephen Donald, Adrian Adams

School Reunion Photos Saturday September 6, 2014

On Saturday 6th September 2014 former City of Coventry Boarding School pupils returned to the camp, thanks to Stephen Donald, a pupil who was there in the late 50's. Stephen did a competent job of bringing together about 20 former pupils at Pioneer centre as the campus is now called.

The following are the photos that have emerged so far on Facebook. There will be more and Roger McGee is to send some archive photos from the 50's which he rescued from the main hall, including a copy of the 2nd Boarder magazine which we don't have.

First off is Stephen Donald's list of attendees. It's more or less right but a few changes. Chris Applebey (Mr Pip Pip) and his wife attended despite being crossed off the list.

In this photo left to right Trev Teasdel, Tony Booton, Dave Meacham, Michael Billings, Charles Joyce, Lloyd Preece (standing), Gordon and Dyllis Place - not sure of the rest.

Ralph Aldhous, Dyllis Place, Trev Teasdel, Mick Gajic.

Same as above.

In the new part of the Pioneer centre - In the foreground - Tony Booton and Keely Donald. At the back - Lloyd Preece, ?, Dave and Lynn Meacham and Mick and Judith Chopping.

Around the Campus

Lloyd Preece, Ralph Aldous, Mick (Dragan) Gajic.

Air raid shelter behind the ablutions with newer constructions for the Pioneer centre.

Lloyd Preece and Wife

Charles Joyce calculates his chances of escape by the 'Watch Towers' (In reality climbing towers!).

Path to what was Jim Lovatt's Music Room and the Head's cottage.

The field behind what was the ablutions - you can see one of the air raid shelter at the back.

The air raid shleter nearest to Jim Lovatt;s class room.

Another view of the air raid shelter (at the back).

You can see the warning sign about the overgrown air raid shelter.

These trees are near where the sick bay used to be - now demolished.

Meanwhile back in Cleobury Mortimer outside the Talbot

Coventry Telegraph Feature on Wyre Farm Camp School

I think some of this information came from this site. It's part of a feature on Coventry's Lost schools and Colleges by Lucy Lynch. Thanks Lucy.

"Coventry Boarding School

In the 1930s government ministers were worried about working class children living in cramped accommodation in polluted industrial cities.

The National Camps Corporation recommended setting up a series of boarding schools around the country to give children a chance to live in the countryside.

But soon after war broke out and only a few were ever finished. Coventry got one which was Wyre Farm Camp School in Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire.

By the time it was finished the Second World War had started and the first pupils were evacuees from the bombing.

In 1957 Coventry City Council’s education bosses took charge and the camp became Coventry Boarding School. Many of the children were from military families whose parents were serving abroad.

Among the memories pupils have are swimming in an unheated outdoor pool, long cross country runs through the hills and long walks to church every Sunday.

For many it was their first time away from home. Some cried and some tried to run away but with few buses and no trains for miles they didn’t get very far.

Once a month there would be a visiting day when relatives would arrive in a fleet of buses from Coventry. And once a week pupils were allowed into the village to spend their pocket money on sweets and cakes.

The school closed in the early 1980s. Coventry City Council bosses were funding most of the places and said it was too expensive to run, citing a high staff to pupil ratio. It is now a outdoor activity centre."

The full article can be viewed here - http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/coventry-warwickshires-lost-schools-colleges-7550478

Thanks to Charles Joyce for sending the actual cutting from the Coventry Telegraph

List of Pupil Intake Between 1940 and 1950

Lynn Tiltman whose father Lionel John Aubrey was at Wyrefarm School between 1946 and 1949, has
contributed a great excel document showing the intake of pupils between 1940 and 1950. You can read more about Lionel's early memories of the school in the 1940's here http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/70/a6764970.shtml

And there has been some analysis done from this sheet on the above site -

"Wyre farm was a boy’s school and records show that the first intake of boys from Coventry was in June 1940 increasing in intensity through to 1942. Records show that the boys were mainly from schools in the town and factory areas of the city and by December 1942, 283 boys had been relocated to Wyre Farm. It is assumed that most of the boys had lost their homes, or parents, or both. By the end of May 1945, 584 boys had moved through Wyre Farm.

Through the post war years in to the early 1950s as the city was rebuilt and food rationing was eased the intake of boys continued and by April 1948 over 100 boys had been accommodated at Wyre Farm. By January 1950 this number had increased to over 1200. From 1950 onward the records show that boys were accommodated for shorter periods of time perhaps out of term time to give them a change from city life and chance to enjoy the fresh air and countryside of Cleobury Mortimer. Later the school name was changed to the City of Coventry Boys School."

Here is the the Excel Sheet as a PDF file. To view it full size on Google drive click herehttps://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3jdiuocvMcsTWNvZXp1UUFqd0k/edit?usp=sharing

Wrens Warren Camp School in Coleman's Hatch, East Sussex. (Pathe news Video)

I think these two videos are of  Wrens Warren Camp School in Coleman's Hatch, East Sussex and have recently been released on youtube by British Pathe news. The similarities to Wyre Farm Camp school will be obvious.

The first is an edited version with voice over and the 2nd one is is silent with a lot of unedited footage. Read more about Wrens Warren Camp School here on this very site   http://wyrefarmed.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/wrens-warren-camp-school-national-camps.html

Read more about the National Camps corporation schools (of which our school was a part) here also on this very site!

http://wyrefarmed.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/national-camps-corporation-ncc-origins.html