Eastcote Lane - Roxeth Manor School

Syd Dean

I remember going to Harrow swimming baths with the School before the war and the water was so cold the temperature board said it was 40f and the Teacher had her overcoat on and a big scarf round her neck and after we all got out and got dressed they gave us a cup of Oxo or Bovril I am not sure which, but everyone was blue with the cold.
Another time again before the war started I remember going by Coach to look round The Houses of Parliament and then we went across the big green to The Guild Hall, and I believe the last place we visited that day was Westminster Abbey.
This could probably have been with Miss Butt as both my Friend Cliff Coyne and myself were in her Class in 3a, we were together in 1a,2a,3a, and 4b with Miss Bass.
This was because there were too many people in Miss Butts Class 4a and they said they would like two friends to go and take their lessons in 4b, but it soon became obvious that it did not work out just Cliff and I taking lessons from another Teacher so we then took all our lessons from Miss Bass who later became Mrs Hayes.
At one time we were in Miss Thorpe's class who was the Art Teacher for the Junior School and we 'borrowed' some of the coloured paint tablets, which afterwards we did not want to get caught with so we threw them onto the toilets roof.
No one would have known if it had not rained when the different colours ran down the wall, luckily we were never caught.
When I went up to the Senior School I had only been there a week in class 1-1 Mrs McClay I think her name was, (she was a bit of a communist on the quiet I think) when I was taken into Harrow Hospital up Roxeth Hill by the side of the Timber Carraige public house, and at the weekend on the Saturday morning my Teacher turned up at the Hospital with two or three Students one of which was Alfie Jacobs and he was carrying a great big basket of fruit, everything you could imagine,
His Father owned a Greengrocers Shop in Rayners Lane I believe it was, there was so much fruit every Child in the ward was given some.
It was so hard to believe only one week in School after the summer Holidays and then this visit to me in Hospital.
I had to have another couple of weeks off and when I went back the whole class cheered.
This was the same Teacher who later on told me off, I had a habit of tapping on the desk with my fingers and she said one day "Dean if you must tap then please tap on your head" well it worked I did it for a few times but soon stopped.
I used to like going into Mr Shepard's Class for Technical Drawing, I really enjoyed those lessons, When I was in the 3rd Year I was in Mrs Lewis's Class, she had been a Welsh International Hockey Player and her favourite saying in her strong welsh accent was "I'll box yer ears" but she was a good Teacher who in my mind knew her stuff.
I also had her as my Teacher after my last Summer holiday at School in 1944 all those people leaving at the Christmas were put into Class 3L, this represented Third Year Leavers.
We again were in the Science Lab; for out lessons, although Mrs Lewis was more relaxed with us that Term.
Mainly I suppose bearing in mind that during the war we had very little schooling because of the interruptions caused by the air raids with most of the time down the shelters when they were dry enough to use, and the lack of teaching Staff owing to their being called up for the armed Services, and the time when we only had half a day at School, what tuition we did have was of a very good standard and the Teachers all did their best to cope with the situation they found themselves in. ©syddean29008

syd 1 year