Newsletter Edition: Autumn 2013 T G A HE ATTON SSOCIATION Incorporating The Maitland Association, The Royal Albert Old Boy’s Association & The Royal Alexandra and Albert School Chairman: Phil Wade President: Ray Davies News Editor: Chas Bailey Contact E-Mail: [email protected] Website: WWW.THEGATTONASSOCIATION.COM Vice-Chairman’s Welcome. Newsletter Menu Dear Members, CHAIRMAN’S WELCOME 1 - COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2 Welcome to the Autumn / Winter Newsle(cid:24)er, and may I be the first to - HEADMASTERS LETTER wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2014 from - SMALL GUY LONG RIDE 3 all of the Commi(cid:24)ee! - SCHOOL NEWS - GATTON PARK MEMORIAL 4 Lots of exci*ng things have been happening since our last newsle(cid:24)er in- - MAITLAND PARK & 7 cluding a Royal visit to the school. Keep reading and all shall be revealed! BISHOPSWOOD CAMP We recently held our AGM which was very interes*ng and informa*ve. - BISHOPWOOD CAMP 9 MEMORIES All of the current commi(cid:24)ee members have stood for re-elec*on and are - BISHOPSWOOD FARM 10 standing for another term and I thank them all for their commitment and - THE TALE OF A 11 service to our Associa*on. We s*ll have vacancies on the commi(cid:24)ee for SCHOOLBOY EVACUEE anyone who feels that they could contribute to the - COMMEMORATION EVENT 15 running of the Associa*on, your age is immaterial, but enthusiasm is es- AND ROYAL VISIT sen*al! As you may be aware we are currently planning the next reunion which will be held on the 22nd – 24th August 2014. So book the day off work, get the babysi(cid:24)er lined up, and get prepared for another great reunion week- end! We have lots of photos and videos from previous reunions on our Ga(cid:24)on Park Facebook page, so feel free to have a look. Maybe even join our page if you haven’t already, the more the merrier! It’s always great to have your feedback, so, what do you want from your reunion? Please tell us by answering these 10 quick fire ques*ons: h(cid:24)p://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K5N96HH Before you read further, I would like to send my sincere condolences to the friends and families of some past pupils who sadly passed away this year. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. Take care all, and again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you! Alicia Edwards Pupil 1990 - 2000 (Continued on page 2) THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 2 CCCCoooommmmmmmmiiiitttttttteeeeeeee MMMMeeeemmmmbbbbeeeerrrrssss (Continued from page 1) Positions Name President: Ray Davies HEADMASTER’S LETTER Vice President: Benny Jones Chairman: Phil Wade Vice Chair: Alicia Edwards Secretary: Vacant This term got off to a hec*c start with the visit of the Duchess of Gloucester on 10th September. Invita*ons were sent to Old Treasurer: Ray Davies (Temporary) Scholars who had a(cid:24)ended one of the old schools before 1960 and we received a tremendous response with over 100 coming Membership Andrew Bailey Secretary: on the day. It was a great pleasure to see so many Old Scholars from the old Albert and Alexandra Orphanages as well as people Publicity Officers: Phil Wade Alicia Edwards who had been pupils here in Ga(cid:24)on Park. There has been a lot of posi*ve feedback about the day so we will arrange more Board of Governors John Billingham & Ex-Scholar: events for Old Scholars in the future. Archivist: Will Wilson Merchandising: Michelle Ellis We are now well into the first term of the academic year and we Events Co-ordinator: Vacant had a record number of pupils star*ng this year. Our Sixth Form has gone from strength to strength with boarding proving so News Editor: Chas Bailey popular we had a wai*ng list for beds. The A Level results in the E-Mail: [email protected] summer were excellent with many students geCng A*/A grades Phone: 020 8648 7274 and securing a place at a top university. Webmaster: Andrew Bailey Member Gina Perry As the School con*nues to grow we are working hard to maintain the high quality boarding and academic facil- i*es. Governors have just approved a project to build another Sixth Form annexe to accommodate 21 girls in ensuite study bedrooms. This should enable us to meet the increasing demand for boarding places, par*cular- ly for Sixth Form girls. We also have plans to improve our sports pitches. This term we have significantly increased the number and range of evening and weekend ac*vi*es for board- ers. So far this term, boarders have been able to go on a trip to Camber Sands, Chessington Zoo, do silk pain*ng, fly kites, go to the cinema, go mountain biking, go to a car boot sale, go shopping at Bluewater, or go to Priory Park in Reigate. These trips have been very popular with pupils and many more trips are planned. With best wishes Paul D Spencer Ellis To request a form so you can become a member of the “Ga(cid:20)on Associa(cid:23)on” please contact Helen Pollard at the school. Main Switchboard (044) 01737 649 000 THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 3 Small Guy Long Ride AGer comple*ng a demanding 2-year A Level course, most 18 year olds would be planning to take it easy for a few weeks. But Head Boy, Ross Gardner had other plans. He spent the summer cycling down the west coast of the USA, raising money for Cancer Research. On 30th June Ross flew to Sea(cid:24)le in Washington State. He cycled from the USA/Canada boarder south through the states of Washington, Oregon and California and ended his journey at San Diego on the border with Mexico. The journey took 3 months and Ross travelled around 40-60 miles a day. Ross made the journey alone, with no support so he planned every aspect of the journey me*culously. He had 5 bags on the bike, each with essen*al items for naviga*on, camping and maintaining the bike. Ross had originally planned to take a gap year but didn’t want to go back- packing. He enjoys cycling so decided to condense his gap year into 3 months and travel by bike. He also wanted to raise money for Cancer Re- search UK, a charity that is close to his heart because he lost his grandfather and his dog to cancer. He says “It is hard to find someone who is not affected by cancer, so I wanted to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK.” Whilst cycling through California Ross learned that he had achieved the A Level grades he needed to study Mechanical Engineering at Cardiff University. School News The first secondary in the country to achieve the Bike It Gold award The Royal Alexandra and Albert School is the first secondary school in the country to be awarded the Gold Sustrans School Mark Award for increasing the number of children regularly cy- cling to school from 9% to 31% since September 2010. In addi*on to the increase in the number of pupils cycling to school, there have been many other ways that the school encour- ages cycling. It has been included in the school curriculum in PE, Maths and other cross-curricular ini*a*ves. There have been compe**ve cycling events, most famously an annual inter-school mountain-biking compe**on, and there have been transi*on events linking up with local primary schools. The school has also run aGer school ac*vi*es to encourage cycling for fun, for exam- ple a Year 9 girls' cycle ride to Urban Kitchen in Reigate to have coffee and cake. There have been bike maintenance clas- ses and bike checks to ensure bikes are safe. Bike It champion Ian Rowe, who teaches maths at the School, said “We have worked hard to increase the number of pu- pils who cycle to school and are pleased that so many do so regularly. It is great seeing children outside in the fresh air enjoying themselves and doing exercise.” Many congratula*on to Ross for comple*ng the bike ride and raising over £1,700 for charity. THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 4 Ga(cid:24)on Park Memorial Page It is our sad duty to announce the passing of three of our school friends. Geoffrey Norman Edmunds Geoffrey had been unwell for a while, and passed away aged 76 in July on the Isle of Wight, where he had lived for many years. He a(cid:24)ended Bishopswood camp from 1947 to 1953 and went onto Henley Grammar school. He was at Bishopswood with his brother Keith, who went onto Ga(cid:24)on Park. David Arthur Spragg David Arthur Spragg who joined The school in 1945 un*l 1953 passed away suddenly at his home in Chobham Surrey on the 5th October. This sad news was sent to Ka*e Houston by his brother Alan Spragg from Vancouver Canada. David was buried in a Ra(cid:24)an basket on 21st October in an Eco-type ceremony at a local loca*on called "Clandon Wood" Natural Burial Park in the Surrey Hills. The service closed with Gene's Kelly's Singing in the Rain. David's marker is his name on a 12" square plaque hanging on a newly planted Beech tree. It is a fiCng send off for a lover of nature, flowers and the countryside. Our sincere condolences go to David's wife and family and to his brother Alan. Andrew McIntyre Andrew sadly passed away on the 28th October of a suspected heart a(cid:24)ack aged 46. He leaves behind a wife and 2 small children and his sister Donna. Kenneth George Day From Peter Howell 549741 AircraGsman 2nd Class (W.Op. [Air]) Kenneth George “Talkie” Day (18 Dec 1918 – 4 Sep 1939) IX Squadron, Royal Air Force, Honington A Maitland Park Old Scholar from 23 Aug 1927 to 24 Oct 1933 The first iden*fied casualty of the Second World War The School's records say that in 1927 Kenneth's father, George, became “incapacitated”. It is not clear what (Continued on page 5) THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 5 (Continued from page 4) this means. Perhaps he had been injured in the Great War and his health had greatly deteriorated, or was he the vic*m of a serious accident or illness? What is clear is that Kenneth's father could no longer work and so could no longer earn any money. Help was needed and sponsorship was found for Kenneth to go to the Alex- andra Orphanage, Maitland Park, Haverstock Hill, London. The Alexandra Orphanage is an antecedent school of the Royal Alexandra and Albert School, Ga(cid:24)on Park, Reigate, Surrey. So on the 23rd August 1927, when he was eight and a half years old, Kenneth leG home and went to the Alex- andra Orphanage. He was a happy-go-lucky chap, nicknamed 'Talkie', and there he lived and was educated. On 24th October 1933, aged 14, Kenneth leG the School to join the RAF as a boy appren*ce and to train as a Wireless Operator. To have gone into such a highly technical, new technology field at that *me he must have been a well educated and promising young man when he leG our school. At some stage whilst he was serving in the RAF Kenneth joined Sir Oswald Moseley's Black Shirts, who's sympa- thies lay with Germany's Adolf Hitler and his Na*onal Socialists. Mosley's Blackshirts serving in Britain's armed forces or government service were ordered to con*nue to do their duty by the Government in the lead up to a possible war with Germany. On 3rd September, 1939, when the Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany, Kenneth was 20 years old. The next day, 4th September, at 16:05 hrs., three Wellington bombers of IX Squadron took off from RAF Hon- ington, 6 miles south of TheYord in Suffolk, to a(cid:24)ack ships of the German Kriegsmarine (navy) near the Ger- man port of Brunsbü(cid:24)el, which lies on the mouth of the River Elbe and the North Sea. The Wellingtons encountered a lot of an*-aircraG fire but returned safely to England. Kenneth was one of the crew of five of a Wellington bomber in a second flight of three aircraG which arrived twenty minutes later aGer the first flight. Another of Kenneth's crew was AircraGsman George Brocking, also one of Moseley's Blackshirts. Both Kenneth and Brocking were ground crew and need not have been on the raid, but they had volunteered to do their duty and went on the mission. Presumably Kenneth was Wireless Operator/Top Gunner and Brocking was Tail Gunner. Had they not perished, Kenneth and Brocking may have been detained in the later war*me round-up of fas- cists in 1940. That second flight of three Wellington bombers was met by nine Messerschmi(cid:24) Bf 109E fighter planes of the LuGwaffe's Gruppe II Jagdeschwader 77 (II./JG 77) fighter Geschwader, or Group, based at Nordholz, 12 km south-west of Cuxhaven, also on the North Sea at the mouth of the River Elbe. One Wellington escaped and returned home, but the other two were shot down and crashed into the North Sea with the complete loss of the ten airmen from the two bombers. That is when Kenneth died – late in the aGernoon, or perhaps the early evening, on the 4th September, 1939, the second day of the war. But, surprisingly, the story con*nues. Ten days later, a German cargo ship saw Kenneth's body floa*ng in the sea, near to the Elbe lightships, and brought it ashore to Cuxhaven. Two days later, Kenneth Day was buried in Cuxhaven cemetery by officers of the German LuGwaffe, who gave him a funeral with full military honours. (Continued on page 6) THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 6 (Continued from page 5) At the *me of his death Kenneth's parents, George Allen Day and Edith Blanche Day, were living in Belle Vue, just outside of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. Of the five-man crews of the two Wellington bombers who all died that day, Kenneth was the first known casu- alty of the Second World War whose body was recovered. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot of Kenneth's air- craG were recovered later and interred in the Sage War Cemetery, Oldenberg, Germany. The bodies of George Brocking and the fiGh airman from Kenneth's aircraG, and all the five airmen of the second aircraG, were never found and have no known graves. The names of those seven missing airmen are recorded on the Air Forces Memorial at Runnymead, near Windsor, which commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during opera*ons from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. Kenneth was reburied aGer the war and finally laid to rest with perhaps the last iden*fied casual*es of World War Two in Becklingen War Cemetery, near Saltau, in Germany. The site of Becklingen War Cemetery was chosen for its posi*on on a hillside which overlooks Luneburg Heath, where Field-Marshal Montgomery accepted the German surrender from Admiral Doenitz on 4 May 1945. Burials were brought into the cemetery from isolated sites in the countryside, small German cemeteries and prisoner of war camps' cemeter- ies, including the Fallingbostel cemetery, within a radius of about 80 kilometres. Most of those buried in the cemetery died during the last two months of the war. Becklingen War Cemetery contains 2,374 Commonwealth burials of the Sec- ond World War, 97 of them uniden*fied. There are also 27 war graves of other na*onali*es, many of them Polish. Rest In Peace Old Scholar Kenneth “Talkie” Day. Unless the dead are named, how are they to be remembered? h(cid:24)ps://www.dropbox.com/s/vmc0w57]4ccrk9/Last%20Post.mp3 May we offer our deepest condolences and sympathy to all of the families and friends. Rest in peace our Ga(cid:20)on brothers. In our memories and hearts you will live on forever. Find a Friend SEARCHER’s NAME FRIEND’s NAME Name House Year Left Name House Year Left Looking for a friend, add your search here by visiting the TGA website or use e-mail below. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 02086487274 THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 7 MAITLAND PARK & BISHOPSWOOD CAMP I will start off by saying I sincerely hope our Bishopswood con*ngent of The Ga(cid:24)on Associa*on have had a lovely summer in the glorious weather we have had. What a pleasant change aGer last year. Once again, I don’t have any news to add as our members have been very silent! But at least it not an obituary either. So that leaves me to try to fill our page and all I can do is to talk about my sister Stella and myself. We both a(cid:24)ended ElmcroG, Goring-on-Thames and Bishopswood Camp near Reading from 1940 un*l its closure in spring 1953 when the school merged with Ga(cid:24)on Hall. We became scholars at a very early age, I was just three years old and Stel- la a babe in arms aGer our Father was killed in 1940. We both enjoyed our *me at the school (aGer all it was the only home we re- membered.) We always spent our Christmas at school with just a handful of other children who for one reason or another couldn’t go home to their Moth- ers. The few staff that stayed with us made Christmas a very joyful *me. We woke early to find we had a filled sock at the end of the bed with an orange, a few sweets and a small game. At 12.30 we went to The Dining Hall where we had the tradi*onal Christmas dinner and in true Bishopswood tradi*on we banged our spoons on the wooden table un*l the Pudding arrived. At two o’clock we were taken over to The Hall and there on the stage was Father Christmas ready to hand out our presents. We had a family parcel to share from Mother marked “The Houston Family” and a personal present each. We spent the aGernoon playing with our new toys. We only missed one Christmas at school when I was thirteen and a half and Stella was 11 years. We were put on a train at Reading sta*on and we were looked aGer by the guard all the way to Chichester. We were met by a lady who called herself Sybil PycroG. We caught a bus and no*ced all the decorated shops in the town. However, we arrived at our des*na*on in the dark. We were very excited the next morning as at school we were given wellingtons, a woolly hat, scarf and gloves and we were informed we were going to a Farm. Imagine our excitement geCng up and going outside only to find out that it was a “brick farm” and the only other living thing was a gaggle of geese which scared the daylights out of us. A boy called Billy from The Albert School in Camberley also arrived and he was obviously “Miss PycroG’s fa- vourite”. We hung our sock up on Christmas Eve but when we woke it was s*ll empty. Miss didn’t seem to know what young children did or thought about at Christmas. Most mornings Stella and I had to walk round (Continued on page 8) THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 8 (Continued from page 7) the quiet country lanes in the bi(cid:24)er cold on our own and when we returned to the co(cid:24)age we went to our room. The only good thing about it was the four poster bed. We decided to make a tent with the sheets and we were having some fun when suddenly the bedroom door opened and she cried out “what do you think you are doing? Take those sheets down at once and make the bed up properly. Oh! How we longed to be back at school. A very miserable *me was spent in Chichester and we couldn’t wait to get back to our familiar sur- roundings. We s*ll talk about Sybil (Piecrust) as we nicknamed her every *me Christmas arrives. We told our children about the most miserable Christmas we ever spent and made sure that their Christmas was a joyous *me spent with family and friends. In turn they told their children and so our grandchildren know what a happy *me Christmas should be. The grandchildren are now all in their twen*es and I am sure that one day they too will pass our story down. Stella and I would like to wish YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2014 Ka*e (Pu(cid:24)) and Stella (Banks) née “THE HOUSTONS” THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 9 Bishopwood Camp Memories I well remember when no one was allowed to go home for the Christmas holiday, because of the measles out- break. The hospital was full so the la(cid:24)er casual*es had to sleep in the dormitories. Believe me, there was a lot of tears that night and a few more nights besides. And yes it was exactly as Ka*e’s infinite words, the staff made it a be(cid:24)er Christmas than we thought possible. I too remember the spoon banging on the tables wai*ng for the Christmas pudding to arrive on the counter. And yes another confirma*on of Ka*e’s words when we all went to the dining hall, the stage was full of parcels right up to the ceiling. Various members of staff helped present the presents when Father Christmas was looking a li(cid:24)le *red. Every child received two presents each. AGer all there were about 264 children at Bishopwood, because were the ones in those years who really had roughed it during the war, with ra*oning of food and the strict discipline we were all subject to, - not a crease in a made up bed, or it was duly stripped off and we had to remake it. Not to men*on having the cane which was the main punishment for a small misdemeanour. We were all so cold, in the winter months we were locked out of the dormitories and leG out in the thick snow. No windows were allowed to be closed at night. No nice warm duvet, two blankets that’s all. But we did do naughty things to have a good laugh, it made life more bearable, but we were paid for that I can assure you. I was an only child an felt I had been brought up with lots of sisters, so come on boys, write a few lines to keep Bishopwood in the frame for the Alexandra newsle(cid:24)er and keep Ka*e and me company. They don’t mind spelling mistakes, they’ll correct them for you, and they most probably have corrected some of mine. So come on lads, we know you roughed it but also had your laughs like us girls. I didn’t have much of a brain in my head, but I made the best of life I could and became one of the top models in London and my face was seen on billboards, buses and in top magazines. I live in Spain now and have done for the past 16 years. I always look forward to reading the Ga(cid:24)on Associa*on Newsle(cid:24)er and am very grateful I am on the mailing list – Thank you Chas. Please don’t forget us who were at Bishopwood who kept the other half of the “Royal Alexander and Albert School” going who all roughed it. I honestly don’t think that the modern day scholar of the RAAS could have coped like we had to at the Royal Alexandra School at Bishopwood. Lest we forget. – Never!! Lorna Holder (nee Mar*n) P.S. Bishopwood was like a military boot camp, or at least that’s what it felt like for 10 years. THE GATTON ASSOCIATION PAGE 10 Bishopswood Farm Camp By Ken Wilkinson I was delighted to read in the Ga(cid:24)on Associa*on spring newsle(cid:24)er 2013 that Rotherfield United FC had pur- chased the land on which I spent many happy years playing on. Last *me I was down there some years ago it was owned by the Oxford County Council who were trying to sell it, probably for housing? There were a num- ber of quite wealthy people who lived in Peppard just up the road from school, across the road from the Wish- ing Well was a house named Olde Yew Tree Co(cid:24)age, that would be worth a lot of money today, used to go and do the "Bob A Job" there!! . When I was last in Peppard in the 80's I visited the Post Office and the Elderly Post Mistress remembered us and said the Village had not recovered from the loss of the School, although the Orchardists would have been delighted, no more scrumpers. I don't recall; a Sue Abbot but if she was "mature" enough she may have pleasant memories of 264 Boys and Girls romping around the Commons, and livening the place up. We were easily recognisable as we had to be in school uniform complete with maroon coloured Cap at all *mes. Henley Grammar School was used for the 11plus children, as there was no Bus service a special bus would pick up the children from the camp and from Peppard Common Mon to Fri, and if you played sport, Rugby or Crick- et for the local Grammar school we had to run there and back on Saturday.. The Grammar school is no longer there, it was too up market for a Labour Govt, and was turned into a Business Management School, I am aware of people travelling from New Zealand to take their Business Management Degree, it now has an Interna*onal reputa*on. I looked up Jim/James Rayner but couldn’t find him in the 1956 Centenary Gaze(cid:24)e, maybe he was not a mem- ber of the Maitland Associa*on, names of members and addresses going back to 1890 are listed. I was sur- prised he talked about digging the Trenches in the Woods in 1937?? The school did not move out of Maitland Park un*l 1939 when Gerry put a bomb thru the Marshall Memorial Gymnasium, the Older Children were evac- uated to Billets in the Bedford Area and the Juniors and Babies were evacuated to Horsell Common Nr Woking and Duxhurst and ul*matey to ElmcroG at Goring on Thames. The purchase of Duxhurst Estate arranged by Mr James V. Rank and was to be the site of the New School but was requisi*oned by the Military and the plans to build were refused. The School moved into Bishopswood Farm Camp in early 1940 The Trenches stretched from the Sonning Common end of the woods right through to the the Meadow end of the woods they were quiet substan*al Trenches which were always full of leaves, nobody would believe it these days that we had Gardening Lessons every week as part of the curriculum, the leaves would be dug out of the trenches and used as manure and trench dug into the school gardens!!! . I have no record of Lenny Poole either, certainly knew Harold R Sheppard he was the Senior Boys Dormitory House Master, he was Canadian and started work at the school at Bishopswood, I suspect he did not want to be involved in the Military, Before he came to school he was the Organist at Toronto Cathedral and had also been a Concert Pianist. He gave Piano lessons to children whose parents were prepared to Pay Him. He was a brilliant pianist. To the best of my knowledge there were no Air Raid Shelters behind the Kitchen or Boiler House. the concret- ed area behind the boiler house was where the Heaps of Coke and Anthracite were dumped, all the coke and anthracite had to be wheel barrowed into the boiler house. A few hours a day was spent barrowing coke and anthracite into the boiler house. I am surprised the sewage plant is s*ll there, Last *me I was down there many years ago!! there were new buildings in the area of the sewage plant and I was advised by a groundsman that I spoke with that the buildings housed Intellectually Handicapped Children???, which surprised me as that area grew the finest Rhubarb you have ever seen, the area was not infrequently (Continued on page 11)