Mr Thomas, a master as well as a teacher married the
sister of the sanitarium – Miss Macashon.
She nursed Mr Thomas when he had a bad fall and romanced blossomed.
Miss Lennox who I have already mentioned was a tall
slim music teacher. After giving her
music lessons each week, Miss Lennox would ask if Margo wanted her to play
something for her. She would always ask
her to play Tchaikovsky’s concerto in B flat minor and to see her fingers
running over the keys was absolutely fantastic.
One day Marjorie and Margo together with one boy
were invited to take a piano exam at the home of Miss Lennox. The only reason the boy passed was because
he was the only one to notice the chair was not straight as it should be. Another exam was taken in a large hall in
Croydon, which gave Margo and the other children a certificate of music. During the intervals of each year’s Christmas
show, Marjorie and Margo would entertain the school by playing duets on the
piano.
Margo also enjoyed music lessons with Mr Thomas the
music teacher and was very proud to win the Charles Link Memorial prize in Form
8 on 25th June 1947 . She was given 21/- (21 shillings) and was
allowed to go to the local shops and purchase something with the money. She bought a Royal Philharmonic book and it
was presented to her with the inscription on the inside cover, signed by the
headmaster – Mr LCF Fairbairn. Her name
was also included on the music prize board in the dining hall in gold
lettering. All the children whose names
appeared on either of the two boards for prizes won were proud. Those two boards must be somewhere. It is a shame they were lost when the school
buildings were demolished in 1980.
After 53 years it is amazing how the girl’s names
are still remembered. Two of the girls
Margo spent so many years at the orphanage with are Marjorie Bower and Nora
Williams; both were bridesmaids at Margo’s wedding. Both were married and sadly widowed, but we
have kept in touch since our school days.
Other names which come into mind are Shirley Lintott, a bit bossy, Paddy
Plumbridge, Enid Fry, Mary Beavan, Joan Dutton, Iris Huck, Ann Whybrow, Sheila
Pilbeam and sister Ann, Margaret & Kathleen Tappin, twins, and many more –
I could go on.
Nora’s mother Margo will always remember. She would take Margo and Freddy out on
visiting day if their mother was unable to, she would send them back with
money, sweets etc, the same as her own four children.
The PE teacher gave the girl’s weekly exercises in
their lessons as well as running around the large playground which kept the
girls fit, although as young girl’s, they were not always enjoyed, but Margo,
having a bad posture found many of these exercise of great help, especially
when she got older and began to suffer with her back, she would find some of
them relaxing.
Matron had a Black Labrador called Ben. He was a great favourite of the girls. One day Matron asked the girls to get rid of
some pets he had. They were all over his
skin and their bodies could be seen, but the legs were inside his skin. The girls spent many hours pulling these pets
out, much to Ben’s delight not forgetting matron. Ben never suffered with them again.
Winter Blues.
The girl’s routine didn’t vary and boredom could set
in during the winter. As already
described, many girls enjoyed the snow and would be out in the cold having
fun. Margo was unable to join in the fun
because of her chilblains. A girl named
Helen Williams would tap dance in the playroom and girls would want to learn. Margo
being indoors all the time would be watching and learning herself. Helen was a new girl and one day she saw
Margo tapping and wanted to know how she could tap. Explaining that she had been watching her
teach some of the girls, Helen wanted to show Margo other steps and to join in
the Christmas shows. One Christmas while
the girls were entertaining the school with their show, Helen was trying to
think of how she and Margo could finish a routine they were going to do in the
show. Just before they were due on
stage, Margo managed to master a difficult few steps and did it without a
mistake in front of the school. The art of tapping is to tap your foot forward
and then backward, which Margo found easy.
One day the mistress allowed some of the girls to
join Helen at the local School of Dancing
One year the mistresses decided the girls should
learn how to knit and gave them all needles and wool and taught them to knit
themselves a jumper, this was very useful when Margo was married. She would knit everything for her daughters
during their school years. Needlework
was a lesson Margo did not enjoy at school and even in her adult life. One lesson she thought she would be clever
and make a tablecloth, but it ended up so small it would only fit a small
table. Darning was taught to the girls
by the mistresses which also became very handy before and after one got
married.
Lessons Margo did enjoy were cookery. Cakes, Pastries and even a dinner, which the
girls were allowed to take into the dining hall for their meal. The cookery and science lessons were taken in
the room on the back road. The only
problem was when the lesson was to cook a meal this would involve peeling
onions which always made Margo’s eyes water, the teacher would tell her to
stand outside until her eyes felt better.
However, one particular time Margo was standing outside waiting for her
eyes to stop watering when the sister from the sanitarium walked past asking
what naughty thing she had done to deserve standing outside. She tried to make her understand she hadn’t
been misbehaving but to no avail.
In the junior classes each morning the first lesson
was for everyone to chant the times tables, followed by scripture and
maths. The lessons would begin at 0900 –
1200 after which all the girls would prepare for their meal, the whistle would
be heard for them to get into line in the playroom ready to walk quietly
through the corridor to the dining hall and it was at this time brothers and
sisters would look out for each other.
No talking was allowed during meals, only at teatime which I have
already mentioned. Classes would return
for the afternoon session ending about 1600.
Although Margo was only average with maths, it was
to be her decision later to earn her living in an office in the accounts
department. She loved it so much that
when she married, in between having her family, she stayed in that department
for over 40 years and has since enjoyed figures.
Spelling Margo enjoyed and always felt to be of
great importance, so much so she helped her daughters to learn to spell well as
their school education didn’t teach the children to spell, but to recognise the
word with a picture.
Holidays at Home.
One holiday at home when Margo was aged about 9 or
10, she wanted to go to the park on her own and once she proved to her mother
she knew which bus to get on, she was allowed to go. However, the bus she was on returning home
turned down the wrong road and she knew she had got on the wrong bus. She immediately got off and began to walk
back up to the High Street. A policeman
walking behind caught up with her as she began to cry because she knew she
didn’t have enough money for another bus.
When she explained what had happened he took her to the police station
where all the police spoiled her with cakes, ice cream and cold drinks. Needless to say when her mother arrived and
took her home she was sick.
Embarrassment and Frights.
During the juniors Margo was frightened and
embarrassed many times. Very often when
she would wake up during the night to see standing at the bottom of her bed
three figures dressed in black. It was
always two men and one lady. She was so
petrified she would dive immediately under the bedclothes. Those appearances occurred for many years
before stopping. The embarrassment was
these happenings caused her to wet the bed.
Each morning the girls had to strip their beds, fold sheets and blankets
and pile them at the end of their beds. Not a difficult thing to do, but when
your sheet was wet it was a problem to deal with without anyone noticing what
she had done. The mistresses had
obviously noticed the problem Margo had and a plastic sheet was therefore put
under the bottom sheet. Margo was very
stressed about this and relieved when this bed-wetting stopped when she was
about 11 years old.
The Return to School from the Evacuation.
The war was over.
It was June 1945 and the children returned to the orphanage from Nottingham . Although the parting from Nottingham and the families who had
looked after them had been very emotional, it was nice to get back to the
orphanage and see their friends who hadn’t gone with them. Photographs had recorded their return. The school ruling and routine the children
had to adjust to again, as the war and move to safety had interrupted all
that. The farm smells and to hear the
chickens again all came back.
There were times when some of the girls would slip
down to the farm hoping nobody would see them.
It was assumed that eggs, vegetables and fruit the children did have
came from the farm. Margo can remember
helping the farmer who was very nice, to collect the eggs from underneath the
chickens, (if anyone would have found out he would have been in trouble). At the bottom of the driveway stood the
cottage, which was the home of the farmer and his wife – Mr and Mrs
Kitchen. Sometimes the children were
allowed to go down and visit them, as they were loved with affection from the
girls anyway. In 1980 when the school
was demolished the cottage was kept and is used to this day as the museum.
Photo of my Mum with her mother outside the orphange on a visitors day
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