Upbury Manor Days: Settling in

Morning break: milk, in third pint bottles, was ready and waiting in crates stacked against the wall around the corner from the clock.

In addition, biscuits were sold from a table at an outer canteen door to pupils assembled in the courtyard. I believe Mister Dewar’s class ran this operation.

The Tuck Shop: pupils were allowed to visit the shop on York Avenue at lunch time. And they did, in droves. As I seldom had two ha’pennies to my name, I wasn’t one of them.

Everyone was invited to get involved with school activities. The choir? Forget it. Mister Sharp’s lunchtime guitar lessons? No thanks. Joining the school orchestra had no appeal, either. I wasn’t interested in playing the guitar, violin, cello or anything else. I only wanted to play football.

In the classroom the integration process was well underway. Characters were emerging, new friendships were flourishing and the brain boxes were shining through. I wasn’t the most confident of kids. Awkward in new company, I dreaded the fuss my accent could provoke, even after five years of living in Kent but I was happy with the start I’d made. A greater concern was learning how to do my tie, instead of just slackening it off whenever we had PE.

And early impressions of my new classmates?

Eddie Adams: all blond hair, gums and teeth. Eddie and Richard (Pascall) had already made their mark as the darlings of Miss Fyshe in Drama.

Hilary Austin: Tall, straight fair hair. (I think she had a brace on her teeth when she started.) Hilary was well behaved, clever and sensible, like most of the girls in our class.

Neil Bassadona: Doughnut had a dimple on his chin, just like Kirk Douglas. He also had a cowlick on his hairline, just like me. The whole class learned where his dad worked when Mister Potts – who must have had some awareness of the name – asked Neil if his father worked at the Municipal Buildings.

Peter Burtenshaw: a shortarse with short legs and a lower jaw like a bulldog. Burty was my new mate. He lived in the Anglo Saxon pub.

Deborah Byerley: A Canadian girl with blonde wavy hair.

Deborah Byerley

Diane Clark: A blonde brain box, I believed, as she’d been in the top class at Twydall Juniors.

Diane Clark

Victoria Crook: confident, popular and sensible.

Victoria Crook

Linda Doyle: Quietly spoken. I couldn’t help staring when I saw her and her identical twin (Angela in 1A2) together in the playground.

Valerie Farrow: quiet, sensible, studious, bespectacled. Good at most things.

Pat Foad: another quiet, clever sensible girl. Our classroom was full of them.

Jane Friar: quiet, wavy hair, nice smile. Yet another sensible one.

Keith Greenfield: clever kid, dark wavy hair, sharp wit.

John Greenland: my mate from Twydall; gentle natured with a relaxed attitude to just about everything.

Lindsay Hawkes: the class chatterbox. Never stopped yapping.

Lindsay Hawkes

Matthew Hewison: one of the quieter boys, Matthew was a sandy haired freckle faced kid.

Mark Honey: tall boy with a rosy complexion, Mark found it hard going in 1A1. Good footballer though, I hardly ever got past him.

Ann Howe: Lindsay’s sidekick and partner in yap. Where one went so did the other.

Diane Jarrett: tall, light wavy hair and goofy teeth. Another sensible one.

Half picture of Diane Jarrett,
as photographed by Ann Howe

Susan Johnson: dark haired. Like Diane, she’d been in the top class at Twydall. I was in awe of them.

Susan Johnson

Shelley Jordan: a girl with a big hooter who was useless at remembering her French name.

Brian Lack: stood out from the off with his talent for sports and mischief.

Brian Lack

Brian Lodge: a fat, friendly kid with glasses. I sat next to him in the 1A1 classroom. He lived in a pub too – The Fleur De Lis.

Helene Martin: a little dumpling with short fair hair and dimpled cheeks. Helene sat next to me in the 1A1 classroom. I considered her alright: for a girl.

Julie Mills: Another quiet and sensible one. It impressed me that she and Toni travelled by train from Rainham each day.

Jean Myles: taller than most of our girls, Jean was 11 going on 30. In a class full of sensible girls, Jean was so grown up and sensible she could have been my mother.

Paul Obee: Quiet, inoffensive and non-competitive.

Richard Pascall: the biggest, fattest kid in our year. Rubbish at football but an awesome sight on the rugby field. In full flight he was like a rampaging rhino with kids hanging off him like tranquiliser darts.

Linda Parkhouse: small and pretty. A tiny china doll with a tiny voice.

Sheila Peacock: a girl troubled by health problems. As difficult as that was for her, she was as bright and cheerful as anyone in the class.

Philip Spice: pale face, light hair. One of the quieter boys, I liked his sense of humour and enjoyed his company.

Charlie Titheridge: a fun loving kid who laughed a lot. He had us in stitches when he pulled a funny face for a school photo, which made him look like Vince in Deputy Dawg. The photo had to be retaken.