In the beginning

1956-60

Raymond Twort left Arden Street Junior School in the summer of 1956.
He was due to start at the new school on The Lines beginning with the new term in September. These are his memories of those days.

I am proud to say I was amongst the first intake at the new school.

In this photograph from 1955 you can see the site for the School has already been fenced off from the Lines, but building work has yet to start. 

First Year (at the Annex)

In September 1956 after the summer holidays I was to start at the new school, but it wasn't yet ready (I have no recollection of exactly when the building work actually started) and as the Education Committee hadn't settled on a name yet, it was just provisionally called the "Great Lines Secondary School", anyway us "Arden Street" boys who had been selected for the new school, now found ourselves temporarily ensconced in an annex attached to Skinner Street Infants School. I think on reflection it now seems obvious that there were further such enclaves at other schools in the area. 

While at the Annex (there were 31 of us in Form 1) the form master was Mister W. Woods. The Headmaster was Mister W. A. Batchelor. And we had Mister Twyman take us for metalwork. I can't remember where he would have done that, but I do recall there were some buildings behind Skinner Street School, which were actually on James Street, that formed part of the Richmond Road Secondary School complex. At break times we also made use of their playground. I recall on one particular break time one of the Richmond Road boys, who I knew from our time at Arden Street, started picking on me. He grabbed me round the neck from behind, the only way I could get him off me was to literally throw him over my shoulder. He never bothered me again. That taught me a valuable lesson, the more you try and avoid a fight, the more you would get picked on. (there's a saying "The best form of defence is attack") 
Anyway our time at the annex lasted until February 1957.

A first and last Great Lines Secondary School Report

First Year (now at Upbury)
It was at the start of the summer term '57 when we actually started at the new school, now officially called the Upbury Manor Secondary School (this is born out by my school reports, yes I still have them, sad ennit), I was placed in Form 1D (24 pupils), Mister A N Peters was our form master with Mister K E McDouall taking P.E. 

The headmaster throughout my time at Upbury was Mister McVie. This new school was a Co-Ed so being in a mixed class with girls was a new experience for me.

It is known that the School opened with 270 pupils, let’s think about that for a moment, it means there must've been 10 class Forms overall, with an average of 27 pupils per Form, 5 Forms for first year pupils, and 5 for second year pupils, with the Forms numbered 1A to 1E, and 2A to 2E. But in my Form 1D there were just 24 pupils (from a School report for the Summer Term 1957, shown below).

A first ever school report from Upbury Manor - July 1957

 (This report and those that followed were produced on Foolscap paper, this is longer than A4 paper by about 25mm. hence the bottom is missing from the scan.)

An impression of the new school, as it was when it first opened in 1957

 

School Building Phases

In the beginning the long block (A) only had classrooms on the north side of the corridor (1st phase), the other side was just bare walls with blank recesses every so often, ready for the doorways when the south side classrooms were built. The building work on blocks B and C (2nd phase) was started soon after we had settled in, and must've been completed by the beginning of the Autumn term in September '58, that allows for a new intake of first years while everyone else moves up a year.

Sports Activities

The playground at this time extended from the end of this long block up to the Lines perimeter fence. And as there were no sports facilities on site yet, we had to make use of the Services Sports grounds over by the Naval War Memorial, to this end a gate was installed in the perimeter fence and a trail was mown through the long grass creating a path across to the services grounds.

Second Year
With the start of term in September '57 After returning from the summer holidays, we were now in the 2nd year and in Form 2D (30 pupils). Our form teacher was Miss C G Ayres. We had Mister Coulson take us for woodwork, Mister Twyman for metalwork, Mister Peters for crafts, Miss H Rotherham for music. and Mister K E McDouall again for P.E. It was during this period (1957-58) that we were barred from using the main Entrance (pictured top of right hand panel), thereafter the pupils were obliged to use the entrance the other side of the Caretaker's house, which then became exclusively the pupils' entrance.

Ray Twort in the Upbury Manor uniform 2nd year 1957-58

That school uniform, oh how I yearned for my parents to get me some long trousers, but my pleas always seemed to fall on deaf ears (other boys were wearing long trousers, not all I'll admit, but it always made me feel inferior somehow). When I did eventually get long trousers, it made me feel like I was grown up, now I could hold my head up among my peers.

Upbury Manor Form 2D school year 1957-58

Members of Form 2D (1957-58)

(1)Paula Griffiths, (2)Michael Frost, (3)Yvonne Bruce, (4)Roger Kent, (5)Brenda Hunt, (6)Miss Ayres (Teacher), (7)Derek Oldfield, (8)David Langley, (9)Anthony Waterman, (10)Alan Kitto, (11)Roy Brandon, (12)UNKNOWN, (13)Alan Duff, (14)Maureen Budworth, (15)UNKNOWN, (16)Patricia Mosdell, (17)Jacqueline Nunney, (18)Janice Bubb, (19)Maureen Shannon, (20)Raymond Twort, (21)Neil Cunningham, (22)Julie Lincoln, (23)Patricia Hutton, (24)Diane Golding, (25)Pamela Woodall, (26)David Collier, (27)Christine Pudwell, (28)Paul Davenport, (29)Colin Jeffries.

I must acknowledge Paula Griffith for providing me with names for all the girls, and some of the boys (I couldn't recollect any of the girls).

  (If anyone can put names to the unknowns or correct 

any that I may have wrong, please let Gerard know.)

David Collier and Roy Brandon on a school trip to London, early summer.

I think it was also while in the second year that we went on a school outing to London. I recall we took in Knightsbridge Barracks opposite Hyde Park, then Parliament Square,  I remember we went in Gamages (what sticks in my mind here is the Model Railway they had running around the balcony on the 1st floor), then we visited the Monument (the photo above was taken nearby), a group of us started up the steps all 311, but we never made it all the way, because before we reached the top, we were called back, as we had to move on, we ended up at the Tower of London (luckily not incarcerated in it).

I took some snaps with my Mum's Kodak Box Brownie camera, but they didn't come out at all well, they were either leaning, blurred, or out of focus (if you've ever used one of these camera's you'll know how difficult it is to hold the camera still while operating the shutter lever). 

Third Year

In the 3rd year I went up a grade and landed up in Form 3C (33 pupils).  Our form teacher was Miss H Rotherham, she also took us for music. Again we had Mister Coulson for woodwork and Mister Twyman for metalwork. We also had the feared Mister Rye for maths. When in his class, every so often a pupil would timidly knock on the door, having been sent by another teacher for punishment for some misdemeanour. Some have credited Mister Potts for the same sort of thing, but I don't recall him doing anything like that, I only remember him taking geography lessons.

In the first term of this 3rd year they had the boys doing domestic science, and the girls doing metalwork & woodwork, I remember we had to provide the ingredients ourselves: I made a Victoria Sponge Cake, which tasted very nice, though it was quite flat and not very soft, not a great success. This experiment was very short lived, as the next term we were doing Technical Drawing.

I think it was in the third year we had a novice teacher take our class, but she couldn't control the classroom hardcases who were disrupting the lesson, and fled the room in tears. A short while later Mister McVie stepped in. He didn't single out the disruptive element but punished the whole class (I don't know if he thought we should've controlled these hardcases, but the rest of the class were scared of them, they intimidated all of us), and we all had to write out so many lines (for a cash strapped school, they must've wasted reams of paper in this way).

Mary Ellis, Jill Angus, Jacqueline Nunney c.1959

Impression of how the school looked when officially opened c.1959

In June 1959 during the last term of my Third year I recollect that we had Dame Edith Evans O.B.E. come to officially open the School.

Fourth Year (last at Upbury)

Miraculously I was still C grade and in Form 4C (32 pupils). Our form teacher was Mister K. E. McDouall. We had Mister Woods for history, and once again we had Mister Rye for maths, Mister Coulson for woodwork, Mister Twyman for metalwork, and Miss Rotherham for music.

During my time in 4C, I was given a homework task of doing an essay on how paper is made, from felling the trees to finished product, I wasn't very enthusiastic with this project and kept putting it off, till finally very reluctantly I got it finished, now I thought my effort was pretty good, but I only got a 'B' for it, the Teacher liked the sketches I did for it though (its something else I still have from my school days, sad or what).

I used to enjoy cycling to school, but during the autumn of 1958 the family moved to Rock Avenue, it was not long after this that the school brought in a ban on anyone cycling to school from within a designated area, and you guessed it, I lived just within this area.

Towards the end of my time at Upbury, there were rumours of the school having its own swimming pool, but this was something for the distant future (there was no Black Lion Leisure complex then, and the nearest pool was at the Strand).

Random Memories

I understand Mr Rye had once played cricket for Kent, but at some point he had suffered a knee injury, sometimes he would amuse the class by slipping his knee out of joint (makes me shudder just thinking about it).

There were no woodwork or metalwork classes during the summer term '57 (1st year), woodwork & metalwork classes only began with the start of term in September '57 (2nd year). In the woodworking class, I recall an attempt to make a boat (but there wasn't anything made that was worth taking home). In metalwork however, this was something I really enjoyed doing, and I made a nice little copper & brass bowl.

My little Copper Bowl still has pride of place on the mantle shelf

I also made some fireside tools, a poker, a brush, and a little fireside shovel thing, these were all taken home. However disappointingly only the poker was actually made by me as when we returned after the holidays, my stuff had been purloined by someone else (nothing anyone could do, as none of the work was marked with the name of who made it). With hindsight this was a failing by the teacher.

The Main Hall is where we all gathered for morning assembly, or for special announcements, it had a stage at the back so it must've been used for other things as well, but if it was I have no memory of it. The block between the hall and the hub is where we went for art & craft classes (Mister Peters), and geography lessons (Mister Potts), which were on either the 1st or 2nd floors above the Dinning hall, but can't remember now who was on what floor.

When contractors started work on the Sports fields they used some huge earth moving machines to level the area needed for the pitches, one type had a middle section that dropped down and scooped up the earth, they then deposited the spoil in a heap south of the then existing playground.

But the machine that sticks most vividly in my mind, I now know was a grader similar to the one in the picture, but the one I remember had an open cab, and two huge balloon tyred wheels at the rear with two smaller wheels at the front. I recall these machines were either dark green or army drab, which makes me wonder if the work was actually undertaken by the Royal Engineers, as a training exercise.

Soon there was a large spoil heap extending the length of the playground. And during the winter months when it was covered with snow, the boys would have great fun creating slides down this heap and along the playground, in the early days there were wooden benches provided as seating around the playground, they had fold up legs either of wood or metal not sure which, anyway these were commandeered upturned and used as sleds down the spoil heap. I expect there were a fair number written-off. It was when we returned after one of the holiday breaks we found that they had all been removed, I thought perhaps to be repaired or restored, but they were never seen again. And the spoil heaps were still there when I left in 1960.

People I remember from Upbury

All except for a couple, are in the same year as me. It's only because I have a photograph of Form 2D that I know the other class members, the School doesn't appear to have done any class photographs for our 3rd & 4th years, and I have no recollection of those who were with me in Forms 3C & 4C during these years.

         

Pupils from Arden St. School:         Teaching Staff (1957-1960)

Raymond Twort (1957-1960)             Mr. J D R McVie (Headmaster)

David Horton (1957-1960)

Barry Oxley (1957-1960)                    Form Teachers

Michael Frost (1957-1960)                 Mr. A N Peters (1st year)

David Langley (1957-1960)                 Miss C G Ayre (2nd year)

Anthony Waterman (1957-1960)         Miss H Rotherham (3rd year)

Paul Davenport (1957-1960)               Mr. K E McDouall (4th year)

Bill Foster (1957-1960)

Pupils from other Schools:              Class Teachers

Alan Kitto (1957-1960)                       Mr. Twyman (Metalwork)

David Collier (1957-1960)                  Mr. Coulson (Woodwork)

David Nelson (1957-1960)                  Mr. G D Carroll (Science)

Roy Brandon (1957-1960)                  Mr. M F Potts (Geography)

Roger Kent (1957-1960)                     Mr. C Rye (Maths)

Alan Duff (1957-1960)                       Mr. W Woods (History)

David Oldfield (1957-1960)                Miss H Rotherham (Music)

Colin Jeffries (1957-1960)

Neil Cunningham (1957-1960)

Jane Dawe (1957-1960)

2 years behind

Pauline Foster (1958-1962)

Roma Compton (1958-1960) but transferred to another school or college.

Entertainment

Disappearing Gillingham, who remembers the "Grand Cinema" this was on the corner of Skinner Street & Jeffery Street, I recall going there to see the film 'The Dam Busters' that must have been around 1956. Sadly it was demolished in 1965, and after it had gone, I couldn't believe just how small the site had been for such an imposing building.

Transport

TKM 361 the last bus to join the C&D fleet in 1954

Another memory from my school days was the demise after 25 years of our local bus company 'Chatham & District Traction', when at the end of September 1955 it was absorbed into the parent company 'Maidstone & District', I recall the distinctive Brown & Green liveried buses still running around the towns for a couple of years afterwards, but with the M&D scroll on their sides instead of the C&D logo, but that was before they were either withdrawn or repainted in the livery of the M&D main fleet.

Still with the Transport theme and the Railways, that up until 1959 were electrified only as far as Gillingham, beyond Gillingham Steam reigned supreme, services from London to the Coast were all Steam hauled. I well remember just laying in bed in the quiet of the night listening to the buffers clanging as the wagons were being shunted in the goods yard.

I don't think there are many who know that there is a Railway Tunnel Ventilation shaft in the garden of one of the properties opposite the school (one used to be able to get right up close to it via an alley from York Avenue), it can be seen in the bottom right hand corner of the school photo's above.

During the school holidays each year all through the 1950's our family  would buy one of the weekly 'Holiday Runabout Tickets' BR used to sell (these allowed you to travel anywhere on the line between the Medway Towns and Ramsgate or Dover) which we did during Dad's holiday fortnight from the Dockyard. In the early days the trains were steam hauled, then during 1958-59 the railway lines to the coast were electrified in the "Kent Coast Electrification Scheme", and the first all electric services started on 15 June 1959, and steam services withdrawn.

Ray Twort