Vague memories 1950 -1952

I left PS in May'52, and got on a Cunard Line boat "Scythia" in Southampton (as I recall), and emmigrated to Northern Alberta, Canada.  At that time, I was a 14 year old day student, travelling by train daily from Eastliegh (Bishopstoke).  I am trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. 

Reading through the "Obituaries, eulogies, tributes" was a real mind bender.  Instantly transported back 52 years to a time and place which had become mostly  meaningless and vague.  Strangely enough, I recall a number of teachers but so far have been unable to recognize names of students (on the message board).  I well remember the reign of terror of "EO"  Jones - having to touch my toes to let him administer his sadistic justice.  It all comes back to me - amo amas amat amamus amamus amant.  Since my last Latin class in 1952 I have never used it or had the slightest thought of "Latin is a language as dead as dead can be, first it killed the Romans and now EO damn near killed me".  Another name comes back to me ( or is my mind confusing time and place).  Did we have Len Lecasse for a French Teacher,  Biffer Smith for Math.? George Pierce for Nature Study - Life on the River Ouse. "Ferggy" must have left a real impression, what was his specialty?  The home room teacher was Jack North East, an art teacher as I recall, and a man I had great respect for.  Doc Freeman for divinity - what was that all about?  Life has been one hell of a ride, as it turns out very little of it related to what was passed on to me at Peter Symonds.  In retrospect, why does the older generation pass on such irrelevant bullshit in which they wish they believed but in passing it on they somehow think it gains credibility.  I am as guilty as the ones that went before me, so this is not to cast stones.  Just an observation. Life was taught in terms of absolutes - it turned out to be all about relevance.  The blacks and whites all turned out to be shades of grey.  The world used to have Adolph Hitler now we have George Bush - the more we change the more we stay the same and once again we will find out that might is not right.  If we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.

Well do I remember the Merchant of Venice - Mid Summer's Night Dream.  who was the teacher - I see him so vividly but a name escapes me.  Shakespeare really did have it all figured out " Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".  unfortunately we never did get to debate that one - God forbid, this must have been an atheist.

To Doug Clew and all, your site is very well named "unofficial nostalgia" and this was as good as any recreational drug, thank you.  I am sure I will never put the puzzle together, but the fun is trying.  If I ever think I have got it together I will have suceeded in deluding only myself.   So you ask, what is the purpose of this posting?

Like everything else don't look for one!!

 

Vague memories 1950 -1952

I left PS in May'52, and got on a Cunard Line boat "Scythia" in Southampton (as I recall), and emmigrated to Northern Alberta, Canada.  At that time, I was a 14 year old day student, travelling by train daily from Eastliegh (Bishopstoke).  I am trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. 

Reading through the "Obituaries, eulogies, tributes" was a real mind bender.  Instantly transported back 52 years to a time and place which had become mostly  meaningless and vague.  Strangely enough, I recall a number of teachers but so far have been unable to recognize names of students (on the message board).  I well remember the reign of terror of "EO"  Jones - having to touch my toes to let him administer his sadistic justice.  It all comes back to me - amo amas amat amamus amamus amant.  Since my last Latin class in 1952 I have never used it or had the slightest thought of "Latin is a language as dead as dead can be, first it killed the Romans and now EO damn near killed me".  Another name comes back to me ( or is my mind confusing time and place).  Did we have Len Lecasse for a French Teacher,  Biffer Smith for Math.? George Pierce for Nature Study - Life on the River Ouse. "Ferggy" must have left a real impression, what was his specialty?  The home room teacher was Jack North East, an art teacher as I recall, and a man I had great respect for.  Doc Freeman for divinity - what was that all about?  Life has been one hell of a ride, as it turns out very little of it related to what was passed on to me at Peter Symonds.  In retrospect, why does the older generation pass on such irrelevant bullshit in which they wish they believed but in passing it on they somehow think it gains credibility.  I am as guilty as the ones that went before me, so this is not to cast stones.  Just an observation. Life was taught in terms of absolutes - it turned out to be all about relevance.  The blacks and whites all turned out to be shades of grey.  The world used to have Adolph Hitler now we have George Bush - the more we change the more we stay the same and once again we will find out that might is not right.  If we do not learn from history we are doomed to repeat it.

Well do I remember the Merchant of Venice - Mid Summer's Night Dream.  who was the teacher - I see him so vividly but a name escapes me.  Shakespeare really did have it all figured out " Life is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing".  unfortunately we never did get to debate that one - God forbid, this must have been an atheist.

To Doug Clew and all, your site is very well named "unofficial nostalgia" and this was as good as any recreational drug, thank you.  I am sure I will never put the puzzle together, but the fun is trying.  If I ever think I have got it together I will have suceeded in deluding only myself.   So you ask, what is the purpose of this posting?

Like everything else don't look for one!!

 

Jim's visit to the school November 2004

I visited the school with a view to take some photographs of the interior, especially the hall and some of the adjoining classrooms. Unfortunately I made no prior arrangements with the school and when I spoke to the very polite receptionist she told me after checking with her manager that the people that I needed to speak to were busy and that I should write in. Drat and double drat.

Anyway I took some photos of landmarks that we all know nearby and they are in an album which starts here.

regards,

 

jim    

Jim's visit to the school November 2004

I visited the school with a view to take some photographs of the interior, especially the hall and some of the adjoining classrooms. Unfortunately I made no prior arrangements with the school and when I spoke to the very polite receptionist she told me after checking with her manager that the people that I needed to speak to were busy and that I should write in. Drat and double drat.

Anyway I took some photos of landmarks that we all know nearby and they are in an album which starts here.

regards,

 

jim    

Bill Palmer's memories

Bill is a new member and he sent me these memories, very evocative doncha think?

 

Thanks for the mail Jim,

 

I was there from 1953 until 1958, having been at Western primary school first. I was a "Day Boy".

 

Memories include

 

- the cross country runs we had - the pain and the pride... mainly the pain!

 

- the CCF, where after achieving Cert A, I joined the Navy section - figuring on an easy uniform. It wasn´t!  All those folds in the

  trousers had to be ironed from opposite sides. . Still we got to Lee on Solent (where I was later to ride many bicycle races)

  and had a ride in a Dragon Rapide. That was my first air experience sitting adjacent to the pilot and watched  fascinatedly as

  the Isle of Wight tilted when we banked.

 

- on the subject of aviation, which became my life later but wasn쨈t then - watching the "big boys" balancing the glider on its

  stand in the wind and as they were catapulted along the ground by a long bungy stretched by armies of lads. I believe

  someone got it airborne and deposited it in the school swimming bath, which I however did not see.

 

- prayers - and the way Doc Freeman pronounced "Artificer Apprentices" in a disdainful voice as though below his dignity.

 

- running the gauntlet of the Kelsoe boys as we bicycled through a hail of very hard snowballs on our indirect way home -

  indirect because we had to make a detour past the girls County High school to see who might be there...

 

- playing a borrowed banjo ukelele in Peter (Frank) Whitford´s skiffle group.  We practised many songs for said High School

  dance - then when we turned up, there was a professional band there - we were only required to entertain during the tea and

  buns break!  Frank, who was a great artist and cartoonist later wrote travel books and I heard him (in German) on a German

  talk radio show once. I believe he  became a professor of English at a Cambridge University.

 

- getting belted with a tennis shoe by some sadistic prefect on a Wednesday lunch time - probably learned his business at the

  hands of Eo Jones.

 

- watching the cricket match at the open day (which year?) when Archie Warr, who wore a leg brace, hit 4s and 6s all over the

  place off Chalky White and in so doing engendered a little of the tradition of the public school in me.

 

- being forced to eat school dinners completely by Hawkins. I used to hide big pieces of greasy meat in my handkerchief - till

  my mother noticed it and made sandwiches to take instead.

 

- actually learning something - mainly biology from Cox, German from Gladwell and Maths from White. Not much, it has to be

  said but the knowledge remains to this day.

 

- actually passing something - just the basic 6 O levels, which some years later enabled me to Join the RAF and fly.

 

Well, its a long time back and since then I had 5 disasterous years at the Castle,  8 years RAF, 25 Years Swissair, 2 years

flying for a Japanese airline and finally 3 years with easyJet. Now I am retired, so there ist just bicycle , guitar and some web surfing!

 

Good luck with the site.

 

Bill Palmer.

 

PS. How about a "Do you know where .... is now?"  page?

Bill Palmer's memories

Bill is a new member and he sent me these memories, very evocative doncha think?

 

Thanks for the mail Jim,

 

I was there from 1953 until 1958, having been at Western primary school first. I was a "Day Boy".

 

Memories include

 

- the cross country runs we had - the pain and the pride... mainly the pain!

 

- the CCF, where after achieving Cert A, I joined the Navy section - figuring on an easy uniform. It wasn´t!  All those folds in the

  trousers had to be ironed from opposite sides. . Still we got to Lee on Solent (where I was later to ride many bicycle races)

  and had a ride in a Dragon Rapide. That was my first air experience sitting adjacent to the pilot and watched  fascinatedly as

  the Isle of Wight tilted when we banked.

 

- on the subject of aviation, which became my life later but wasn쨈t then - watching the "big boys" balancing the glider on its

  stand in the wind and as they were catapulted along the ground by a long bungy stretched by armies of lads. I believe

  someone got it airborne and deposited it in the school swimming bath, which I however did not see.

 

- prayers - and the way Doc Freeman pronounced "Artificer Apprentices" in a disdainful voice as though below his dignity.

 

- running the gauntlet of the Kelsoe boys as we bicycled through a hail of very hard snowballs on our indirect way home -

  indirect because we had to make a detour past the girls County High school to see who might be there...

 

- playing a borrowed banjo ukelele in Peter (Frank) Whitford´s skiffle group.  We practised many songs for said High School

  dance - then when we turned up, there was a professional band there - we were only required to entertain during the tea and

  buns break!  Frank, who was a great artist and cartoonist later wrote travel books and I heard him (in German) on a German

  talk radio show once. I believe he  became a professor of English at a Cambridge University.

 

- getting belted with a tennis shoe by some sadistic prefect on a Wednesday lunch time - probably learned his business at the

  hands of Eo Jones.

 

- watching the cricket match at the open day (which year?) when Archie Warr, who wore a leg brace, hit 4s and 6s all over the

  place off Chalky White and in so doing engendered a little of the tradition of the public school in me.

 

- being forced to eat school dinners completely by Hawkins. I used to hide big pieces of greasy meat in my handkerchief - till

  my mother noticed it and made sandwiches to take instead.

 

- actually learning something - mainly biology from Cox, German from Gladwell and Maths from White. Not much, it has to be

  said but the knowledge remains to this day.

 

- actually passing something - just the basic 6 O levels, which some years later enabled me to Join the RAF and fly.

 

Well, its a long time back and since then I had 5 disasterous years at the Castle,  8 years RAF, 25 Years Swissair, 2 years

flying for a Japanese airline and finally 3 years with easyJet. Now I am retired, so there ist just bicycle , guitar and some web surfing!

 

Good luck with the site.

 

Bill Palmer.

 

PS. How about a "Do you know where .... is now?"  page?

old stan

Hi Stan Brehaut,

                             Warwick Wride P.S.1949-1953 and late late of Southern T.V .Like to hear from you

warwick@picquets.fsnet.co.uk .