Sloane Grammar School Hortensia Road Chelsea London England

 

 

 

 

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Myspace Graphics, Christmas Graphics at WishAFriend.com

I love that image above. So nostalgic, so warm..... 

 KEEP US ALL WARM FOR EVER .....

 

 .....by giving your memories of the 60s, or any other era, to this page. They don't have to be school related but as Sloane's the one thing we all have in common, you're bound to have some that are. Use CONTACT US to share them and, if they connect with something that's already been written, I'll make sure they're positioned underneath. Memories relating to subjects which already have their own page will be placed on that page.

 

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 Shared Memories Slideshow

This slideshow should bring thhe whiff of nostalgia to your nostrils and remind you of some of the things you thought you'd forgotten. The initial contributions have come from Brian Haynes, but if you have any photos or pictures you'd like me to add just e-mail them to me on tinyf@blueyonder.co.uk 

Hover your cursor over a picture to stop the flow and view the caption, and right click to zoom in or out.

 

 

  

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PIMLICO ACADEMY

Pimlico Comprehensive, the school that Sloane became a part of when it closed in 1970, has, since September 2008, been known as Pimlico Academy. Many of you moved on to the Comprehensive, but none of you that I've spoken to seem to have a good word to say for it! Problems with the glass and concrete school structure, despite it being an award winning design, have existed from day one. Things seem to be changing. As an Academy, with its Visual and Performing Arts specialism, interest from children wishing to attend has increased dramatically. This may, of course, have something to do with the lack of competition and the way it now presents itself but, whatever your views about Academies and, having had children attend our local Academy, mine have been negative, it deserves a chance. It is also undergoing a complete rebuild, which should be finished by September 2010.

If you'd like to take a look at the Academy's website just click on this link - http://www.pimlicoacademy.org/index.php?pg=14&spg=1

 

School Roll of Honour Boards:- 

You might recall that I have been trying to trace the 1914-18 World War I School Roll of Honour board that used to hang on an internal wall, and the book, that hung in a glass case next to it, commemorating those of the School who lost their lives as a result of the 1939-45 Second World War. Unfortunately, I have had no success. However, I did have an e-mail from the London Metropolitan Archives telling me what they do hold relating to Sloane. Some of the items are accessible if you visit the LMA at 40, Northampton Road, Clerkenwell, London, EC1R 0HB (phoning to make an appointment on 020 7332 3820 is advisable) but you will need to apply for a 'History Card' via their website if you intend printing copies of any of the items. Go to the website at www.lma.gov.uk for full details. Clicking on the following link,

http://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/436/1/0?SEARCH&SHOWSINGLE=Y&ERRMSG=[WWW_LMA]err.htm

will take you to a page on their site where you can enter 'Sloane School' in the Search Terms box and click on 'Run Search'. This will bring up all available items. These include Admission and Discharge Registers, a 1938 Plan of the school, drawings relating to Building Act case files and 23 photos of various school activities, though some of these are listed as 'missing'. Other items they hold are 'closed' under the 65 year rule that protects the confidentiality of living individuals. The 'closed' items are -

Log Book 1967-70 (Ref: LCC/EO/DIV01/SLO/LB/001)
Punishment Book 1962-70 (Ref: LCC/EO/DIV01/SLO/MISC/001)
Staff Registers -
1895-1963; 1965-70 (Ref: LCC/EO/DIV01/SLO/MISC/002-004)

These 'closed' items can be consulted by the LMA on behalf of individuals under the provisions of the Data Protection Act, so contact them direct if you're interested.

In a similar vein - Site member Richard Osborne has asked if anyone has any knowledge of what happened to the tape recording of the last school meeting, for which he helped set up the microphones, and Brian Haynes was wondering what happened to the lovely old gramophone that used to be in use. If you've any idea, please let me know.

 

Henry Rogers - Fulham Footballer:-

Most of us will know Henry Rogers but even he didn't remember this piece he wrote for the More House magazine of Summer 1968, until I sent him a copy. I'm not sure if it qualifies Henry for the Famous and Infamous page of this site but here it is. It was entitled 'Playing for Fulham' -

"To play for Fulham is for some boys the zenith in their wishes; to actually play upon the turf at Craven Cottage seems no more than a distant dream in their minds. But recently I have achieved both of these things. Back in March I was offered the chance to train with Fulham. I thought it over and finally decided to accept the offer. Fortunately, I had only been training for one week when an opportunity for me to play arose; we had several injuries in our S.E.Counties side and we were due to play West Ham under flood-lights on Tuesday 26th March. Our trainer, Mr A.Humphries, asked me to report to the ground at Craven Cottage that evening, but I was not sure whether I would play or not.

When I arrived at the ground at six o'clock, I walked through the players' entrance and suddenly felt very excited. On entering the dressing-room my mind strayed onto the thought of the professional Fulham players who had occupied the exact place that I was in.

When Mr Humphries arrived, he informed me  that I was playing at right-back. Suddenly I had instant butterflies; I began to think of playing on the large pitch outside, all the people watching me, and whether I would play well or not. I prayed that I would play well and not appear out-classed. Then I was introduced to the other players in the side, and they made me feel more confident by assuring me that everything would be alright.

When the football kit was handed out, I was surprised to learn that we were going to wear the first team's shirts.; these were shirts of 'Bri-Nylon' and to think that I was going to wear the same shirt that World Cup star George Cohen had been wearing. At this stage I just could not believe that I was actually living these experiences, I thought it was all just one big dream. But it was not dream, it was reality.

When we had all got changed, with only twenty minutes to kick-off, Mr Humphries gave us our last minute instructions on how he wanted us to play. He told me I had to play it hard, and if necessary, dirty. Then suddenly there was a shrill ringing, it was the bell signifying we were to go out onto the pitch. My heart began to race. Was this really I who was minutes away from playing for Fulham?

"Right, out you go lads. Good luck," came the cry from Mr Humphries. All the team wished each other good luck, and as it was my first game they all wished me the best of luck.

As we emerged from the cottage, I was to see quite a good crowd for a junior match, and I noticed that a number of the spectators were my own school friends. When I ran onto the pitch I was filled with a sudden burst of excitement; I could feel Fulham's turf beneath my feet, I was actually here, about to play. During the pre-match 'kick-about' my nervousness seemed to disappear.

Within minutes the whistle was blown and the match was under way. I, pessimistically, imagined the left-winger I was to mark would be the next Georgie Best. Therefore I was determined to really make him know I was not going to stand for anybody showing me up. So in the first tackle between the winger and myself, I really hit him hard. This tackle put great confidence into me, and I suddenly knew I had the beating of this winger. Now full of confidence, I played the rest of the game quite well, but unfortunately, and somewhat against the run of play, we lost 2-0.

I continued to play for Fulham on Saturdays, and one day I was asked by Mr Robson, the manager, to attend a Monday training session. After getting permission from Mr Bailey, I ran to Craven Cottage and to my surprise I was to be playing for Fulham against an Army representative side. Also in the team were Allan Clarke, George Cohen, Johnny Byrne, and Ian Seymour. I was told I would be playing n the second half. But George Cohen, who was using this match as a test for his injured leg, came off after fifteen minutes and I was sent out in his place.

Of all the games I played for Fulham this one meant the most to me; to actually be playing with players like Allan Clarke who is priced at £150,000 on the transfer market. In this match we won 7-0, Clarke scoring four, Byrne two.

After this match, I was surprised to find the professionals so friendly and happy to give hints of advice. Though Fulham has been relegated, the spirit at Fulham has in no way been demoralised, and I am looking forward to the next football season playing for FULHAM."

By H. Rogers. 6A

 

06/12/09:-

Roger Read remembers Geoff Hooper as being something of a 'star' in their class, saying that "in those pre-Biro days" Geoff always had "a collection of different colour ink bottles while we mostly stuck with the standard blue/black". He goes on to say, "I managed to upset my inkwell down Alan Parsons' jacket once and he reminded me of it several times when we served together in Germany, in the RAF, as photographers. I sat next to Don Samyint in that peculiar A-Z order from the class door they had in those days. I always remember Andrew Waluszewski, who would wander into class late every Thursday with the excuse that 'I had to wait for my 'Flight' magazine!'. And he seemed to get away with it!"

12/11/09:- 

Stefan Bremner-Morris tells me that there are plans afoot in Fulham to create a beach in Bishop's Park, which sits beside the Thames near Putney Bridge. We both agree it probably has something to do with the local council compensating the (not so) well-off Fulham residents for not being able to take their holidays abroad in the recession. If, like me, you were born and bred in Fulham, you might recall that it's not a new idea. The photo below shows the paddling pool in the park c1905, complete with beach.

02/11/09:-

Les Grimes has come up with a name for the author of the Teddy Boys poem on the A Way With Words page. He believes it was written by a boy named Davies. Looking at copies of The Cheynean for that period I found the name E J Davies, so it could be him, although other issues show the name E J Davis (without the 'e'). Les recalls the boy had a 'big pal', name of Connolly, nicknamed Nolly.

Les' memory has recalled that Davies' pal, P. Connolly, wrote a short poem about The Brains Trust, which was a popular BBC radio programme of the time. It had a panel which was made up of, as Les puts it, 'cerebal types who were all professors'. Their names were Campbell, Huxley and Joad. Guy Boas had strong connections with Punch magazine so passed it onto them for publication. I've since found it in the December 1946 copy of The Cheynean. It went like this -

Campbell, Huxley and Joad,
All live in one house in one road.
At the same table
They eat the same bread.
Then all in one nighty,
And all in one bed,
Go Campbell, Huxley and Joad.

                                                                                          P. Connolly (III.B.)

 

28/10/09

I have been contacted from Norfolk by Jill Howard, nee Edwards, whose father Albert Richard Grierson Edwards (known as John) was at Sloane in the 1920s, living at 9, Cresswell Place, London, SW10 at the time. He served in the RAF duing the Second World War, attended the Officer Training School at RAF Cosford, and reached the rank of Flying Officer. Jill is interested in knowing more about the School and her father's time there. I have pointed her in the direction of Kensington and Chelsea Library and the London Metropolitan Archives for any mention of her father's name in The Cheynean or other School records, but, and it's obviously very unlikely, if the name rings any bells with any of you, for whatever reason, please let me know. Your paths may even have crossed when he was partaking of his favourite hobbies of golf and horseriding.

 

30/09/09:-

Martin Ferber sent me these two photos from his collection. They show Terry Fullerton (see Famous and Infamous page) leading a race at Hayes, Middlesex, with with his brother Mick Fullerton, and giving Martin some tips on handling the kart he's sitting in. Both were taken c1966. Martin says take note of the cost of TV rental!

 

22/09/09:- Sloane Boys' and Masters' Autographs:

Autograph hunting has been a craze for an age but in the 50s it seems to have become extremely popular with schoolboys. Perhaps they were convinced all their pals were going to become famous. Published below are some sent in by Frank Wilmot and Brian Haynes, which they collected on the back page of their copies of The Cheynean from 1951. See if any of the names bring back memories for you -

All the above from Frank Wilmot's 1951 copies of The Cheynean	All the above from Brian Haynes' 1951 copy of The Cheynean

 

15/09/09:-

Frank Wilmot sent in this evocative memory about the daily journey to school -

I think Guy and 'Puss' (his wife) must have been living out Putney way at the time in question, as he travelled into school on a number 14 bus, which ran through Fulham and on to Chelsea, dropping us off across the road from the school.

Guy's favourite seat was top deck, front seat, right of the gangway, whwer he could view all before him, rather like a ship's captain on his bridge. He chain smoked Abdullah cigarettes on the way in, smoking being allowed on the top decks of buses in those days. I can't remember whether he smoked in his study at school, but masters certainly used to in their Common Room (Editor Foulsham's Note: I have also seen reference to the 'Smoke Room' but don't know whether this was the same place). Anyway, if yopu didn't spot him on the bus from the stop, you certainly had a good idea that he was present as, when you mounted the platform, you could immediately smell the turkish tobacco smoke drifting down from the upper deck. It was then a case of trying to find room on the lower deck (not likely at that time of the morning) or hoping that you didn't end up anywhere near him on the upper deck. Happy days.

14/09/09:-

Brian Haynes corresponded with the late Don Wheal (see Famous and Infamous page) and below is a copy of one of the letters he received from Don, which gives an insight into the man he was and his feelings for the school -

 

14/09/09:-

Yet more memories from the ever-active Brian Haynes memory. Something else that was made active once more, according to Brian, were the bowels, when you drank Senna Pod Tea. (Very upmarket, Brian; we used liquid paraffin where I came from). 
He also reminds us of all these things, pictures of most of which you'll find on the Slideshow above -

- Speedway, which was very popular all over. London had a number of teams including Harringay, Wimbledon 'Dons', and Wembley Lions, (based at the 'real' Wembley Stadium), who I supported and in whose colours I painted the 'gas rattle' (see Slideshow).
- Marbles, ok if you could get 'em, but they just weren't around in the War, so we played 'chippers'. Chippers were known in some parts of London but not others, and could be used/played with in diferent ways. Chippers were/are what are now called crown caps, on beer bottles (see picture on Slideshow). The seal inside the chipper was made of cork, and could be prised out. The empty chippers could be placed over your shirt or jacket and the cork re-inserted behind the material, hey presto! - instant badges. As a substitute for marbles, the sharp edges could be hammered over, or left alone, and the chippers flicked along the pavement trying to hit you opponent's chipper, which you then won and kept, or flicked up against a wall - the winner being the one nearest the wall when all chippers were used. Knocking your opponent's chippers out of position was the skillful bit. We used them also to decorate our home-made carts and our home-made scooters. Two small planks of wood, some off-cuts, two screw eyes and hooks, and a steel bolt, were relatively easy to obtain. Ball, or Roller-bearings were required for the wheels, and these were goldmines. Our scooters were fast, very dangerous, and great fun, much better than what is sold now. If anyone is interested in making one for their kids, or grandkids, see the plans below.

- Real bus tickets.
- Real money, like tanners, 'threpny' bits, bobs
.- Proper cigarette packets.
- Dinky toys and lead figures.
- Does anyone else remember 'Juneero'; a sort of DIY Meccano
- when a Driving Licence was more than just a bit of paper
- when we used a wind-up gramophone to play our music, and had to use needle
- when we could collect knives to admire, not to use. The 'jack-knife' on the Slideshow above is my Dad's Army issue. My beautiful Scout's knife isn't shown; it was stolen
- the cinder track around Stamford Bridge Stadium, where Stamford Bridge Speedway and Dog Racing was held.
- the Actonia, and other, Cycling Clubs.
- Hank Janson paperbacks
- Brylcreem (I used blobs of it after swimming)
- Brilliantine (like green axle grease)
- when Fulham Broadway used to be called Walham Green (Editor Foulsham's Note: Fulham Broadway came into use in 1952 when the station's name was changed after local businessmen wanted to 'go upmarket', feeling Walham Green was too 'villagey').
- the Granville Theatre (Editor Foulsham's Note: The Granville had been started by music-hall man Dan Leno in the late 19th century and was demolished in 1971).
- the Fulham Baths in North End Road (Editor Foulsham's Note: Used for swimming by the school, they were closed around 1980 when new ones, minus the laundry facilities, were opened on the site of Normand Park, Lillie Road, and renamed Fulham Pools. Last time I looked, in 2009, the old baths housed an Italian restaurant and a dance studio).
- Ball point pens (described as 'entrenching tools' by Mr Gorman (Latin), I think, maybe Middleditch, Chem.) were banned at Sloane. Therefore 'ink-pens' had to be used, which entailed the use of blotting paper (see Slideshow - still usable!)

Hank Janson       Paperbacks

06/06/09:-

Brian Haynes has delved into his memory bank again to bring us this -

I feel a remember coming on:

- like when you could buy a pennyworth (1d) of batter crackling with your fish and chip order.
- like when we played French Cricket (sometimes called 'sticks') in the street; all that was required was four pieces of firewood and a tennis ball.... and two teams, of course.
- and 'lamp-ropes'.... lengths of washing line tied into large loops and hooked over the two arms on the street gas lamps. We could all swing round the lamp,....boy-girl-boy-girl....and as the ropes got shorter we all got scrunched up in the middle .... most enjoyable!
- get some chalk (broken plaster from a bombed house) and play 'London to Paris' on the pavement,
- and ordinary hopscotch
- and 'buck and four stones', though we, in our ignorance, called it 'buckle five stones', again, with stones from a bombed house.
- most families had a walking stick or two, so, two teams with inverted walking sticks and a tennis ball, and, hey presto!, street hockey....marvellous.
- even better, the above played on roller skates, terrific, though the windows of the families who lived down 'the area' suffered rather.
- 'the area' (see above), now that's interesting. Do you know what the area is/was in this context? Nearly all the houses in North Ken. had the bottom floor built below ground-level. The area in front of the house, where the steps led down to the bottom floor's doorway, was called, strangely enough, the 'area'.
- and what about scrapping in the Children's Library to get to the new Biggles books when they were put up on the shelves
- and Worrals books
- and Gimlet books.
- and what about buying 'loose' sweets from those large jars, when you could see what you were getting, and not getting conned with a packet that is only half full.
- and carbolic soap
- and cars had funny bent pieces of metal at the front called 'starting handles'
- and waving your right arm about when you wanted to slow down, or stop, or turn right. I've heard of drivers who would never, ever turn left 'cos they just couldn't get the hang of the wiggly, flippy-flappy turn left signal.

I think I'll 'throw a right' and get to bed. G'nite. Brian.  

 

28/08/09:-

World's End

I've recently added the names of two Sloane boys, who lost their lives during a night of bombing by the Luftwaffe in 1944, to the In Memory page. The late Donald James Wheal (see the Famous and Infamous page), talks of the same night in his superb book World's End. He had also been living in the Guinness Trust Buildings on Kings Road, on the night of the attack, February 23rd 1944, but, fortunately for him and for posterity, he and his family made it to the public shelter below the concrete of the yard. The families of Harold Constant and Arthur Revell had decided to stay in their flat and these two Sloane boys were killed.

In the Postscript to his book, Don recounts a strange coincidence regarding that sad night. The story was told to him of Ginger, a naval rating who had lived in Slaidburn Street, World's End, whose Landing Craft had been assigned to bring back some German prisoners. Among them was a Luftwaffe pilot who struck up a conversation with Ginger. In the course of the conversation Ginger told the pilot that he came from the World's End area of London - 

"Know it well," the German said. "From maps that is. I bombed the Power Station (Lots Road) there last February."

"You missed the bloody Power Station there last February," Ginger said and hit him so hard the force of the blow swept the pilot over the side of the boat.

The pilot was rescued, but Ginger thought his three days in the Brig for assaulting a prisoner more than well worth it. 

22/08/09:- Pre-War Holiday Impressions of Germany:

I reproduce below a piece that I found in the April 1938 issue of The Cheynean. It is attributed to I.H. and makes fascinating and, with hindsight, scary reading. It recalls the writer's experiences of pre-war Germany on a visit he paid there.  The last sentence, especially, shows how naive the rest of the world was about what was really happening to Germany. -

 

 

22/08/09:- 

The photographs below were sent to me by Brian Haynes. He's obviously treasured his Sloane mementoes. -

Brian Haynes models his cap & tie	Brian Haynes models his scarf
Brian Haynes' GCE Certificate	Brian Haynes' CV from Guy Boas

 

17/08/09:-

This was Howard Jones's piece accompanying his application to register for the site. His interesting Profile is also worth a read:-

I joined the School in 1955 and left in 1963 and joined the Met Police. I retired as a Det Ch Superintendent in 1993 and have since had a varied business career.

I was in Beaufort House, played cricket and football for Beaufort in School teams from the U12 in the first year right through to the First X1. I was a Prefect.

I remember many of the teachers fondly - Bill Berkeley taught History, Bill Bailey was Deputy Head most of the time I was there and Guy Boas was the Head Master.

I went on the school trip to Switzerland circa 1962 and remenber being briefed by the Head and Pussy his wife as I was one of the senior boys that boys were not to "frat" with the girls from a school in Marlborough who were billeted on the second floor of the hotel. One of my roles was to stop the "fratting" - too late loads of "fratting" was already taking place.

Lots of weeping and wailing from the girls when the Sloane School train left Montreux Station for the journey home a few days before the girls were due to leave.

Hopefully that will confirm my credentials - although the only member I actually recognised by name on the list of members was John Stockwell.

I hope to visit the school on 17th September and meet up with a few recognisable faces.

14/08/09:-

Stefan Bremner-Morris has sent me this lovely vignette he has written, relating to one of his violin teachers at the School, Montagu Cleeve:-

' Monty, a tall, silver-haired, military type, was one of my violin taechers at school, although I originally had lessons privately with the leader of my mother's amateur orchestra. Monty got me out of Latin, though, as the two subjects clashed! Tres bon!!!

One day we were invited to attend a musical soiree at his massive flat just off Kensington High Street. My mum and I turned up with our fiddles, and found a full orchestra had assembled - mostly M's friends and pupils. My father ferried us their in his taxi on a Saturday, poor devil.

Anyhow, we had been practicing a Bach Brandenberg Concerto at home for the occasion - I think No. 5. What we didn't know was that Monty had hired a 'guest conductor'. This turned out to be a certain Basil Cameron, who by then had become a freelance - 'have baton, will travel'.
He was, by all accounts, the most hated man at the Royal College of Music, where he taught. We didn't know that, of course!
Within a short while he had reduced a poor young female cellist to tears, by humiliating her in fron of the whole room, as to her non-existent (according to him) abilities. Others were to follow.....

The piece was then taken at an incredible lick by Basil, who seemed in a hurry to get away! None of us had performed it at that tempo before, and a shambles ensued, during which he yelled at everybody about their pitch, timing, and general incompetence. It didn't help me that my mother decided to support him, and delivered kicks to my ankles at the slightest error on my part!

After all this, there was a period of respite, when cakes and tea were taken. Then it was back to the final performance. When it was all over, Cameron turned on his heels, and without a word, vanished forever, presumably taking his fee at the door, courtesy of G Boas or the Department of Education!
The following week at Sloane, Monty apologised in his bumbling military sort of way for this psychotic fellow's behaviour. (Cleeve always reminded me of Sgt. Wilson in Dad's Army!).

Much later, on radio, I heard Basil booed to the rafters at a Promenade Concert, as he made his way to the rostrum - probably by his students!! He left in the same way.

Whilst at his flat, Monty had shown us his collection of Viola D-amores, and also pictures of the 'Big Bertha' guns he had served with in the war. I heard him on the BBC, giving talks on both of these loves. I believe you can download recordings from the Internet, but they are of the fee-related variety. I understand he lived into his 90s."

For the uninitiated, Stewart Montagu Cleeve, lived and died at 1, Parkside Avenue, Wimbledon Common, in 1993, 9 months short of his 100th birthday. He had also taught at Cheltenham College, Emmanuel School, Wandsworth, Battersea Grammar and Downside 'prep' school in Croydon. He had been a Lieutenant, and later Lieutenant-Colonel, in the First World War and the book, Forgotten Voices of the Great War, quotes him, when with the Royal Garrison Artillery, as saying,

"We found we literally couldn't walk along the trenches without treading on dead bodies, German and British. Eventually one just got over it and thought nothing of it. We couldn't help it, we were alive and that's what mattered. And being alive, we jolly well had to get on with it."

He was involved in the design of the 14in ex-naval gun known as the 'Boche- Buster' and in the Second World War, Churchill recalled him from Hong Kong to organise the resuscitation of the heavy artillery guns which had been hidden all over England since the signing of the Armistice at the end of WWI. Among these guns was the original 'Boche-Buster', which was re-assembled at Dover and, on King George VI's personal order, was fired again. His obituary in The Independent said,

'Monty Cleeve was a gentle man with a delightful sense of humour. But when fighting for a cause, he could be fiery and obstinate, and thereby added considerable colour to the musical world'.

He continued to teach privately into his mid-nineties, having said,

"I don't believe in age, only in being fit and doing what you enjoy most. In my case it's music."

Basil Cameron was born Basil George Cameron Hindenberg, in Reading, to German immigrants.

 

06/08/09:-

Brian Haynes sent this in after I sent him a copy of a piece he wrote that was published in The Cheynean -

"Yes, I remember it well, but thanks for reminding me., 'cos there is a story here.

During the latter part of the war, or maybe just after, there used to be a regular horror story broadcast on the 'wireless' (no TV back then) and read by a certain Mr Valentine Dyall. He had a very deep, scary voice and the series was called, I believe, The Man In Black. I had lived in London all through the 'blitz' and I supose was pretty shell-shocked, I certainly shouldn't have been listening to scary stories at such a tender age! Anyway, two of the stories I found particularly frightening, they both caused me to have nightmares for a long time. We didn't have elctricity, just a flickering gas mantle, and of course there were often bombs exploding nearby - a very apt setting for some blood and guts.

One story related to a chap, terrified of the dentist, who had to have some dental work done. As the gas (this was 60 years ago) took effect he felt he wasn't fully unconscious, because he was aware of tremendous pains in his face. He was in terrible pain when he finally did come to, covered in blood, and when he looked in a mirror he saw that all of his teeth had been removed and hammered into his face. The second story was one that got into my head. Dark, gaunt buildings, creaking doors, flickering candle light, the sound of rats scurrying and scratching, tortured faces peering out of dusty old paintings, a body in a noose at the end of a long rope which disappeared up into the bell-tower, swinging slowly like a long pendulum, in time with the slow, resonant booming of the death bell.

Yes, I remember it well.

Sleep well, and pleasant dreams."

Thanks, Brian - or is it Valentine? I don't think you've lost the knack.

22/07/09:-

These memories were posted by Steve Birch (Hawkins) who joined the site today-

"Many memories of my time at Sloane, not all happy.

Remember being hit across the head by a boy behind me during an Art lesson with Mr Ager. Sent to Mr Bailey where I was caned so I swung round and thumped Mr Bailey. Think it was then that Sloane and myself decided to part company.

Loved football at Roehampton Playing Fields and all sport.

Also remember at break times and lunch hours we would play a game in the playground with a tennis ball. You had to hit the basketball backboard at the other end, 2 teams. Great preparation for when I played cricket to a decent standard!"

16/07/09:  Posted by Steve Norris as his application for joining the site-


I was given this link by another old classmate and it's great to see a properly dedicated website for us old Cheyneans! I was 'taken in' (in fact done up like a kipper) in 1961 and lasted until 1967 when my father exclaimed " it's time you started paying me some rent my boy" - so off to work I had to go.

Great memories of old friends - in the holidays cycling to see my Gran in Norfolk (all in one hit from Sloane to Fakenham overnight!) with 'Chop' (Andrew) Whittle who was the schoolkeeper's son and with whom I am happily back in touch. Sharing a quiet music room to learn to play the guitar with one Steve Hackett ( ex lead guitarist of Genesis) who obviously got his small hands around a B-minor better than I did.

Brilliant days leering at the Carlyle girls, occasionally getting the cane (for being late 3 days in a row), occasionally getting bullied (but learned how to run), occasionally appearing in school plays but always a happy time.

If you consider me worthy let me know - I'd love to catch up with some old friends.

Once again, well done on a great site.

Kind regards,

Steve

 

07/07/2009: Edward (Ted) Simon makes contact with the site:-

Ted Simon, at Sloane between 1943-49 and now a renowned author, contacted me to ask whether anyone could give him more information on a time, towards the end of the Second World War, when some Sloane boys went to the West Country to help with the potato harvest.* He needs this for a new book he is researching so, if anyone has any memory of this time, please contact him through the site.

John Forbat, was unable to help but did say that he was evacuated to Melksham in Wiltshire from 1939-42, when he was a pupil at West Kensington Central School. He worked on the school allotment and produced a host of vegetables-including, of course, potatoes. After being given his own allotment to cultivate, he sold whatever he grew on the 'open market'. To him it was 'great fun' and helped to eke out his very meagre pocket money. His most vivid memory of the time is of walking a mile with a huge marrow, which he sold to a lady for 2p!

Jim Goodacre also responded to say that, although he didn't join Sloane until January 1945, he had been evacuated to St Just in Cornwall where he attended Penzance Grammar School.

*Editor Foulsham's Note 26/08/09:-  After checking the back copies of The Cheynean, I found mention of the Farming and Harvest Camps. During the years of the Second World War, two dozen or so Sloane boys, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Boas, spent around four weeks on the Bridehead Estate of Sir Philip and Lady Williams, at Littlebredy in Dorset. From here they harvested potatoes and other vegetables to help with the war effort. It was also profitable for them and/or the school. The harvest of 1945,from August 17th - September 15th, when the boys were also accompanied by Mr Harry Little, Mrs Green and Mr and Mrs Gurton, they earned £118-6s-6d for a total between them of 2,366 and a half hours! It wasn't all hard work though as the boys seemed to enjoy the entertainment they were afforded on the Estate.

 

06/07/2009 - Sent in by Elizabeth Arkell, daughter of William John Llewellyn Jones,  who started at Sloane just after the First World War:

My father, William John Llewellyn Jones, was born on 13/07/1906 and attended Sloane before going up to Selwyn College, Cambridge, in 1925 or '26. I still have his school cap which is black velvet with the letters SS entwined and 1923-1925 underneath. I wondered if this could have been a special cap for scholars or prefects*. He clearly treasured it!

My father was a very good diver and a group of swimmers were in the habit of spending summer holidays at the Helford river (Cornwall) with R.P. Jones, who, I can now make the connection, was a Governor at his old school. I have a number of photographs from that period, 1929. There was a high-diving scaffold erected on a lugger on the Helford river near Port Navas (near Falmouth) and RPJ and several other young men spent their time diving, fishing and generally partying! At this time my father was at Selwyn** as he is photographed wearing his Tadpoles Club blazer. At this time there wasn't a 'Blue' for diving at the University, but the membership of Tadpoles, I gathered, was the next best thing!

R.P. Jones had a Wolsey Hornet car which he gave to my father in the early 50ies.

* Editor Foulsham's Note 10/09/09:- Confirmation that the cap would have been a Prefect's cap comes from John Forbat, who also had one.

** Editor Foulsham's Note 10/10/09:- Selwyn College, Cambridge, was where the Rev. W.J. Llewellyn Jones went to, from Sloane, in 1925. Whilst there he had a distinguished rowing career. As a Master at Radley College, near Oxford, he coached the College crew, and was one of five coaches who trained the Oxford crew of 1954.

Sent in by Stefan Bremner-Morris and posted on 30/06/2009:- 

Rummaging through some papers at home, Stefan found the following compliments slip from Mr Bailey, sent to him when he lived in Maida Vale, after he had purchased a school tie as a memento, knowing the School was about to close for good-

 

 

Sent in by Stefan Bremner-Morris & posted on 02/06/2009:-

When Sloane closed its doors for the last time in 1970, what was called, "The Last Reunion", was held on Friday, June 26th. Shown below are the programme from that day and also the name badge that Stefan still has in his possession:-

 

Posted by Martin Ferber, March 20th, 2009:-

Just read the interesting profiles on "famous boys". Creasey must have visited the school in about 1967, as I had the honour of showing him around the Library. Also, Keith Strachan was Form Master for 4Y, he successfully kept his musical interests a secret, clearly teaching paid better than a street musician at that time, may not today!  I was a good mate of Terry Fullerton and went racing with him and his family quite often, I have pictures of him at an event or two somewhere will take a look. He did an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce before becoming the first Professional Karter in this country, his elder brother, less successful in the Kart, also at Sloane, Mick Fullerton.

 

Posted by Pete Bamford, 15th March, 2009:-

The following was written down for my benefit by my uncle, Reginald Steele, who was at Sloane from 1928 - 1934. He is now 92 years old and lives in Coventry:-

Sloane School, Fulham Road

 

Posted by Vernon Burgess, March 17th, 2009:-

Thanks for all your work on the web-site. I can see a lot of time and effort has been put into it. 

Did you remember that there was a long mirror engraved with the school crest, in the library. I believe John Creasey bought this. Who knows where it is now. I believe he bidded for it at the Last reunion of the Old Cheyneans.

Have also attached photo of my house tie with Badge in Yellow as Turner; My Prefect tie, full colours, my  senior prefects badge (only 6 or 8 of these were issued per year) 4 for the house captains; the head boy, and deputy I think, and 2 were without portfolio, I was one of these but think that was mainly because I remained overall in charge of the library, working there for some 4 years.

 

Posted by Mark Foulsham, 2nd March, 2009:-

Old Cheyneans:-

For those of you who have wondered what happened to the Old Cheyneans word has reached me from Brian Haynes that they disbanded many years ago and amalgamated with Shene Old Grammarians. Sports trophies and other memorabilia were auctioned off at the time so if anyone can throw any light on their whereabouts please let me know.
A check of the Internet reveals that the Cheyneans appear to have stopped playing in the London Old Boys' Soccer League after the 1966-67 season, when they finished 7th out of 11 teams. Their highest finishing position seems to have been the year they won the Old Boys' Premier League title in 1956-57. They did win the Old Boys' Senior Cup in 1952-53 and 1957-58 and were runners-up in 1929-30 and 1934-35. Old Cheyneans III were winners of the Junior Cup in 1959-60 and runners-up in seasons 1953-54, 1958-59 and 1960-61. The only success for The Cheyneans reserves came in the Intermediate (Kim Matthews) Cup Final of 1962-63, a competition in which they were also runners-up in 1936-37. I may not have been able to trace all their achievements so, if you know of others, use CONTACT US to tell me about them.

Posted by Mark Foulsham, 2nd March, 2009:-

Donald Manley tells me that Sloane was the first school in the UK, after the Second World War, to take a party of boys to Paris, They were there between July 22nd and August 6th, 1946 for a visit that was arranged by French Master, Harry Little* and included Mr Murphy, the English teacher. The school had just returned to the pre-war days of being the sole occupants of the building, having shared it with three others schools between 1942-1945, when it was known as the West London Emergency School. Anyone else remember it?

* Old boy, Donald James Wheal's book World's End illuminates this episode when he writes,

"French was taught by Harry Little, whose Commando French Course never seriously advanced our knowledge of the language, but whose black-market visit to Paris within months of the war ending netted the boys a good return - and himself a handsome profit, as well as renewed acquaintance with his good friends the night-club hostesses of Pigalle."

Posted by Mark Foulsham, 2nd March, 2009:-

John Stockwell mentioned that his father, who taught Maths and Physics at the school, had been instrumental in setting up, among other things, the table tennis club. What made it a test of skill was the table they used. It was made by Gad, the chemistry lab technician, and was a foot narrower than the real thing! Mr Stockwell is still fondly remembered as a well respected teacher who had also inaugurated the school dances in 1959 as well as the photography club, and had improved school dinners beyond belief. He was also a prodigious singer, singing at the Friday solos and in The Mikado around 1960 and lead some of the school Journeys (including those to St Malo and Montreux between 1958 and 1961) along with Mr (Freddie) Ager, who will be remembered by many for teaching Art. Mr Stockwell had started at Sloane in 1956 and left in 1961.
His teaching career included time at Munster Road and Henry Compton schools in Fulham and ended with a spell at Cricklewood Comprehensive, about 1969.

Posted by Mark Foulsham, February 25th, 2009.

WWW.SANDSENDREVISITED.NET:-

If, like me, you have connections with the borough of Fulham, you'll be interested in a lovely site that welcomes contributions from people who want to share their memories of the area and its people. To read what they've got to say and maybe contribute yourself, log onto the site using the link above. You'll find a number of Sloane old boys, me included, already contributing.

Posted by Mark Foulsham, February 25th, 2009:-

I used to love family parties when they all used to come back after the pub closed, drink some more, tell stories and sing the old songs. Have you considered, that in 40 years time, our kids will probably do the same except they'll be singing rap and other unintelligible songs and some of the old 'uns of both sexes will be dancing around sporting tatoos and body piercings? Not quite the same, is it?

E-mail sent to the site by Edward Nightingale, February 22nd, 2009:-

 

When told that John Forbat (see this site) had included a piece about Mr Nightingale on his Profile, to the effect that he was mad because he could draw perfect circles freehand on the blackboard and chose to wipe them off again using his gown, Edward replied, 

" It is actually the kind of amusing tit-bit which adds a lot of colour, esp when put to-gether with other such from all kinds of sources.  It may amuse Mr Forbet in turn to know that when my father returned home from school, his children would run to the door yelling 'Got any comics'? He would then hand over the highly unsuitable American comics which he had confiscated during the course of the day! "

*The 1965 copy of The Cheynean tells us that Herbert Paul Nightingale died on June 25th of that year, having been born 22nd June, 1888, and that he had actually taught at Sloane from 1913-1948. The only times he wasn't at the school during that time was when he was on active service in the First World War and when he taught temporarily at another London school when Sloane evacuated during the Second World War. He had also been responsible for the instigation of the Junior Boxing Club in 1935** and for the opening of the School Library on 25th November 1931, he assembled "an outstanding collection of graphs that showed in a spectacular manner the economic problems of our times."

**According to his son, Edward, Mr Nightingale's ideas about boxing were, like a lot of his ideas, based on maths. The idea being that "you merely had to stretch out your left arm, hold the other up as guard, and then 'fall on him'. This would do most damage, since all your weight would be behind, or above the blow. He wandered off, saying as he often did, 'it's all a question of mechanics'."

Projective Geometry in the Colour Drawings of H.P. Nightingale

Edward Nightingale's brother, Charles, produced a book about one of their father's passions. Projective Geometry in the Colour Drawings of H. P. Nightingale covers a subject unknown to me until now and, unless you are mathematically inclined, may be as incomprehensible to as many of you as it is to me. Herbert Paul Nightingale was obviously a mathematician of note and expanded his knowledge into the field of Projective Geometry, whose first exponent was Girard Desargues (1591-1661). I had difficulty finding a definition of the subject that made what it was all about any clearer. Whilst examples of it abound an understanding of it has probably only been grasped by those with an understanding of the mathematical principles involved. To outline the complexity of the subject, here are some of the examples I have found that attempt to explain what it is all about -

"Do parallel lines ever meet? In Projective Geometry they do, at infinity. They lead us through simple line drawings into a realm of beauty and new possibilities for intuitive thinking where sense and spirit touch creative forces that lie within all of us".

" A branch of mathematics that investigates those properties that are invariant when projected from a point to a line or plane (A plane being any flat, two-dimensional surface)".

" Projective Geometry can be thought of as the collection of all lines through the origin in three-dimensional space. That is, each point of Projected Geometry is actually a line through the origin in three-dimensional space".

The one definition I did find that I was almost able to understand is,

" The branch of geometry dealing with those properties of a figure (projective properties) that do not vary when the figure is projected".

Edward Nightingale did a better job than I could of explaining the subject when he said to me,

"As a non-mathematician, I think the simplest way to get a grip of this stuff, is to imagine some ordinary figure,say, a cube, and then pull one corner. At first it will look like, a dodgy cube; but as you pull and pull so that the corner is off the page, what remains will bear no resemblance to the original cube. It defeats me how this would enable anyone to solve a problem, but seemingly, it does. I think for my father, the fun was to set out with an equation, with no idea, how it would actually look when it had worked it through."


Charles Nightingale's book is not easy to come by, but Edward Nightingale provided some images from the book and further information for the exhibition covering Sloane, at Kensington & Chelsea College in October 2009. Photos I was able to take of the exhibit and those that Edward sent me, are not particularly clear but I reproduce them below to give you an idea of what was involved when their father did some projected geometrical drawings and coloured them in. I also show other examples of work on the subject to help -

The exhibition display	An example of H.P.Nightingale's work
An example of Projective Geometry	Another example of Projective Geometry

Herbert Nightingale's time at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated with an M.A., brought him into contact and friendship with many luminaries of the day. These included George Bernard Shaw, H.G. Wells, Rupert Brooke, John Maynard Keynes and, later on, after developing an interest in the occult, Aleister Crowley.

A worthy tribute to Herbert appears on Page 1 of the July 1948 copy of The Cheynean (See The Cheynean page), the year of his retirement, and it probably sums up his character nicely -

" Mr. Nightingale has never been the conventional schoolmaster, but has brought to everything he has handled an original touch. Whether teaching mathematics or swimming, helping to run a holiday camp, addressing the Parents Association, or instigating a Common Room discussion, he was like nobody but himself - whimsical yet earnest, intense yet witty, persistent yet charming, and capable in argument of breaking up opposition by an irresistible smile.

The School may have had more aggressive educational salesmen, but never one more sympathetic, benevolent, and high-minded. Men are acceptable who think as the majority do; but when they are sensitive and independent-minded they bring something of a peculiar value to a community - the fruit of an individual brain, the attraction of an individual personality, the strength of an individual character. Such were the attributes which Mr. Nightingale brought to Sloane, walking on higher ground than the hum-drum paths with which the more orthodox are content. The building will never be quite the same without him. Something will have gone - unpredictable, medieval, absolutely true and loyal and lovable. May his spirit haunt us to remind us of his pride in the School and of ours in him."

I do hope the spirit of a man of his obviously much-loved character still walks the old School building, and continues to do so even after its use is changed.

 

Posted by Stefan Bremner-Morris. February 13th, 2009:-

Cricket teams and stats from The Cheynean of 1962:-

 

Posted by Mark Foulsham. February 11th, 2009:-

If, like me, you used to love bread and dripping, you might be able to recall the shop, near our school, that sold it. I don't remember it but school old boy Harry Turner, in his book Growing Up In Fulham reminds us that the shop was in Fulham Road and "was so small that it was almost a cupboard, just a hole in the wall really. It sold loose sweets from big glass jars, striped humbugs, toffees, hunks of fudge and counterfeit liquorice allsorts, but its major trade was in bread and dripping. Great slices of white bread smothered in beef fat and liberally salted at a penny a slice. Its customers were mostly schoolboys from nearby Sloane School in Hortensia Road. A penny a slice but you could get three slices for tuppence. A feast of cholesterol, fit for the gods."

At home, we always had a large, white pudding basin, filled with this nectar, which sat in the larder cupboard just waiting to be spread on thick slices of plain or toasted, Victory loaf. It just doesn't taste the same today.

Update, August 23rd, 2009:-

Brian Haynes has added this to memories of the Bread and Dripping shop -

"For a while they sold home-made ice lollies, which I'm sure they kept under the bed. I had a lime-flavoured one which made me violently sick and ill for a week! I still cannot stomach lime or its smell. I agree about the 'b&d'. I was a keen cyclist and went on regular Sunday trips with my club (Actonia C.C., Acton). The club knew all the best 'b&d' stops, yes, 1d. a slice, and in winter hot blackcurrant juice to warm the cockles. That was living!"

 

 

Posted by Stefan Bremner-Morris. 1st February, 2009:-

 

 

 

Posted by Terence Duley. 27th January, 2009:-

Hello (I'm too old to say Hi!) Old Cheyneans and Friends,

I came from Langford Road School, Sands End, Fulham to Sloane School in 1947 and left in 1951ish without benefit of qualifications, other than having attended a rather good school. I later became a Chemist (Analytical) after several additional years of part time study. My major interest at school had been Chemistry and I particularly remember Mr Duffy and Mr Middleditch ("Boy, you give me the pip!"). I am in the 1949 school photograph, 3 places to the right of Galloway (our PTI and Chelsea FC when they had centre-halfs!). Then up three rows behind the Prefect(?) in dark jacket/blazer to me in grey jacket with lapel pin (Brotherhood of British Scouts - BBS). I will need some help in naming all of the Masters and Mistresses and/or identifying their subject. But starting from Guy Boas and moving right (in the photo) are:-
Mssrs. Berkeley - English, Middleditch - Chemistry, ?,?,Duffy - Chemistry, Griffiths/Griffin? - Woodwork/Metalwork (1st year only), Miss ? - Music, Lumsden/Lumsdaine (Aussie) - English?, Grindal - History, Gilliland - Geography, ?, ?, Galloway PTI, ? - French

Then moving left from Guy Boas:-
Mssrs Linklater - Deputy Headmaster - French, ?, ?, Murphy (Spud, what else!), English (& Horse Club - if you did well in class you were rewarded with a sugar cube), Gorman - ?, ? - ?, Bailey - ?(& Scouts),Little, Harry - French (& legendary school trips to Paris, sometimes with Spud), Smart - Art, Miss ?, Art, ?, ?, Pledger (Percy or Plum), ?, Purdey, Maths, ?,?, ?(Nature Boy so called after confiscating a copy of Health & Efficiency from a pupil reading it at the back of the class. He then concluded the lesson with a brief lecture on how a partially clad woman can be even more attractive than a completely naked one) - Physics, ?, Music? When these two entered the play ground together and sat down together, practically the whole school spontaneously sounded a long and loud "Oooooooooohh!
- much to their embarrassment.
Then comes the late and much lamented Don Wheal, Prefect and later School Captain. I had just finished reading his two books about his early life and time at Sloane School and was about to contact him to say how much I had enjoyed these books when I found a message connected to his Wikipedia site saying that he had suddenly died. He was always a very popular, fair and respected person at school and this was a sad and premature loss.

Standing behind and between the Music(?) Mistress and Don is one of my best school friends and class mate Cockell (for the life of me I cannot recall his Christian name - though we more often than not did only use our surnames when talking to each other). He lived in New Kings Road in Fulham and he was the nephew of Don Cockell the former British Heavy Weight Boxing Champion who hailed from Battersea (Latchmere Boxing Club, I think)
The 1949 school photograph on the website appears to be a little blurred in some areas. I know that the original negative is no longer available as it was apparently lost in a fire.
Best Wishes and Kind Regards

Terry Duley

PS Sorry to have rambled on, once the flood gates of the memory are lifted it all comes rushing out.

I now live in Cambridgeshire, close to Huntingdon. Are there any other Old Cheyneans in this area?

 

Posted by Stefan Bremner-Morris. 16th January,2009:-

Just thought I'd mention a couple of points re Guy's book from what I have read so far.........

I was interested that he mentioned the trip to Montreaux: pages 80-81. I was there, and barely noticed his presence, such was the lowness of his profile. However, I do remember the holidaying young ladies. Indeed, I seem to recall being in a hotel room with about a dozen of them dressed in what in those days were called 'baby-doll' style nightdresses ( them, not me!). A short time later we were told to assemble in what I would guess was some sort of smoking/relaxation room. Guy emerged at last, and gave us a seated lecture, emphasising that there should be no 'fraternizing' with the girls' schools at all. "No fraternization," he cried in his squeeky voice!  I think he stomped the floor with a stick too. This instruction did not appear to be wholly adhered to, as far as I could see, but the word fraternizing became de rigour for the rest of the trip amongst some of us! I also recall the Gornergrat climb, which nearly killed me, as I was wearing leather-bottomed shoes, being under the impression that we were going for a 'walk'! Most of our lot sensibly gave up at the first flat point with no snow. I think the hotel was called the Hotel Angleterre, or similar. It still exists under another name, and is very large.

We also went to Evian across Lake Geneva, where some international political meeting was being held, and came across the first armed copper I have ever seen. He took an instant dislike to us, and waved us away with his machine gun! Here is a photo of a few of my year in Evian ordering a well earned coffee.

 

 

 

 

I see on pages 85-86 he puts the boot in to the 'Authorities'! I think this is the tip of the 'Boas Rash' mentality. Curiously, all these years later I find I have a certain sympathy with this somewhat controversial stance. I can't say that comprehensive schools have been an unalloyed success. I think it would have been better to run the two systems together--but what do I know? Personally, I'm glad I never went to Pimlico, which always looked like a giant conservatory to me!

 

Posted by Mark Foulsham. 14th January, 2009:-

Could I have been the only boy, in the 50s, that spent his pocket money on a quarter of Spam from the butchers rather than sweets? I still like it today and it must have been better for me than all those sweets.

Posted by Mark Foulsham. 12th December, 2008:-

The book, "A Teacher's Story", written by our one-time Headmaster Guy Boas, contains some nice pieces relating some of the School's history. During the Second World War, whilst he was presiding over the 'Emergency School', which had opened in the Sloane building for boys whose parents had decided not to evacuate them to the country, a "doodle-bug" landed close enough to the building to blow out every pane of glass. Mr Boas received a phone call, at home in Wimbledon, from the master in charge of the school fire-watching  saying- "The Headmaster would like to know that the school has been struck." His response was that the Headmaster did not like to know this and, as he didn't know what he could do about it at midnight he returned to bed. Next day he had three dozen of the  boys cover the windows with asbestos whilst the rest were sent to the playing field at Roehampton. Needless to say they were disappointed when it only took two days for the school to be fit enough for them to return to it.

The school had its fair share of bombing incidents during that war and one involved one of the junior boys. He was in a Putney milk-bar at 11pm one night when it was hit by a bomb and a number of people were killed and many seriously injured. The boy was saved by the hollow milk-bar counter which had landed over him and protected him from the roof, which had caved in. The boy turned up for school at the usual time the next day. Another incident occured when a bomb fell about a mile away from the Roehampton playing field whilst Mr Boas was umpiring a cricket match and they all had to fall on their faces as instructed. No one was injured but one small boy seemed to the Head to be acting hysterically - 'He was abusing a fellow junior so wildly that I feared his nerve had gone, which was curious as no one else seemed to be at all affected. "What is the matter, sonny?" I asked. "You're all right. What's all the fuss about?" Came the reply, "He gave a seven-ball over!" Such were the hopes of Hitler.'  (This piece is reproduced on the Sloane At War page).

 

 

Posted by Stefan Bremner-Morris, 6th December, 2008:-

A Sloane Memory of the nuclear variety:-

Does anybody recall the ‘Café de Paix’ in Fulham Road, which was situated just about where the Tesco Metro resides these days, next to a tobacconist/confectioner, that displayed sun-faded Hank Jansen novels (remember them!) in the windows?

Externally, it was a dark, scruffy, brooding presence; internally it was even gloomier and lit mainly, I seem to remember, by the dripping candles on the tables. It was difficult to discern the ‘clients’, but they were mostly ‘beatnik’ types, probably plotting revolution in the deep shadows. There were strong rumours that narcotic substances of the Class A variety were available there to the interested, and I believe the constabulary were visitors more than once. There was also very murky coffee on offer, if you felt like living really dangerously!

Anyhow, one day, and I know not who instigated this, but I presume it had been sanctioned by our headmaster Guy (‘the Old Man’) Boas, some of our form were trundled over to this establishment on a cold winter lunch-break. I think this would have been in the fourth year in the late ‘50’s. We were marched downstairs to a cramped basement, heated only by an unguarded electric fire. Seated on whatever was available, or the floor, we were then subjected to a lengthy political diatribe from an individual representing ‘The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’. You could tell that he was not a man to be argued with, as he had that fundamentalist fervour about him, which brooked no dissent.

None of this appealed to me one little bit, as I have never been in the ‘unilateralist’ camp, and I certainly didn’t like the philosophy being forced down my throat in that uncomfortable environment. It also appeared that we had been locked in—certainly there was a ‘guard’ on the door! Frankly, at that point, we were more at risk from being roasted by the dodgy fire than any imminent nuclear conflagration--the Health and Safety Executive would have had a field day! There was a certain amount of indignant Sloane-type mumbling when we were eventually ‘released’ from our ‘hell-hole’, but there was little else that we could do, except return to double maths!

It seemed an extraordinary event to me (which I suppose is why it has stuck in my mind), especially as no permission had been sought from any parent. Still, if the object of the exercise had been to indoctrinate me into their particular mode of thinking, it had the exact opposite effect, and I remain firm in my nuclear position to this very day. That’s education for you I suppose?


 

Posted by Mark Foulsham, 5th December, 2008:-

Great Truths About Growing Old:-

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.

When you fall down you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.

Time may be a great healer but it's a lousy beautician.

Wisdom comes with age but sometimes age comes alone.

Forget the health food. We need all the preservatives we can get. Then again middle age is about choosing the cereal for the fibre and not the toy in the packet.

You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from the roller coaster.

It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

 

Posted by Mark Foulsham, 28th November, 2008:-

An article in the 1964 edition of The Cheynean talks of a Swimming Club initiated by Peter Pallai. Does anyone remember it? Did any of you belong to it? The article is not attributed to anybody but its tongue in cheek style might enable you to make a guess or two as to who wrote it. It said this:-

Some time ago a Swimming Club was initiated quietly and almost privately by Mr Pallai. A faithful band of boys, keen on improving their style and endurance met together twice a week in Fulham Baths and worked fairly hard under the expert tuition of Mr Pallai. Recently interest has quickened; those who found the going too hard (fifteen lengths, legs only, arms only, under water, toes first, head first, sideways, backwards) have dropped out, and a crowd of converts from all parts of the school has taken their place. But as Christofi and Dengel, both of them third-formers have pointed out, " The teacher in charge does not force you to swim all the time." Mr Clarke is there to provide light relief and informal competitions, which include: seeing who can walk across the water, (the record so far is four steps by Mick Ring), who can stay in the air longest after diving (four minutes, according to Mr Pallai's watch recently recovered from the 'Deep End'), and who can perform the most incompetent 'belly-flop'. On the other hand, many boys have found Mr Pallai's vivid, and at times grotesque demonstrations of the 'crawl' movement very inspiring. Few will forget the vision of him flat out on the marble surround, breathing out of the corner of his grimacing mouth like a stranded seal. Such things are necessary, however, for the whole emphasis is on style and endurance; there are several inter-school Galas coming, and as many found out in the School and Chelsea Finals, practise over a long period is essential for speed. In the latter competition, Sloane did commendably well.

The Club has further developed its own social atmosphere, especially since the boys of St Gabriel's Lycee, Putney, have been challenged to races, as they also use the Baths on Wednesdays after School. And after these inter-continental exertions there's tea and toast in the Pool Cafe, not to mention half-an-hour's gossip.......  

 

Posted by Jim Goodacre, 17th November, 2008:-

Do you remember when we had chicken only once a year, for Christmas dinner? (In our case, my uncle who lived downstairs used to kill it and pluck it as well!). And what about black and white TVs - news readers in evening dress - the evening's programmes which ended with the National Anthem and staying to watch the little white dot disappear from the screen when the set was switched off. -What about the first time the Daleks appeared in Doctor Who!!!!!!!!!

Remember when we kept out the cold in winter not by putting on warmer clothing but by adding extra layers of ordinary clothing?

Posted by Mark Foulsham. 11th November, 2008:-

The following thoughts about the past have been going around the Internet for a while now but I thought they were worth repeating and I've added a few of my own.So for all you kids who survived the 30s,40s,50s,60s and 70s:-

We survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us for 9 months. They also took aspirin.

They put us to sleep in cots painted in bright coloured lead-based paints.

When we were ill mum didn't struggle to take the childproof lid off the medicine bottle and she was forever putting a plaster on our head or leg after we'd fallen off our bikes, because we hadn't worn the helmet or knee pads that seem compulsory these days.

We actually rode in the front seats of cars with no seat belts or air bags.

We shared one soft drink with many of our friends, from the same bottle, and no one actually died because of it.

We ate cupcakes, white bread with real butter and drank drinks with sugar in them, but we weren't overweight because we were outside playing!

In the school holidays we would stay out playing all day and it was ok so long as we were in before the street lights came on. During all that time no one knew where we were and couldn't keep a check on us because we had a mobile phone.

We'd spend hours with dad making a go-kart out of old pram wheels and the end boards from beds only to forget we didn't have any brakes, but it was never going to be a problem.

We had no games machines, multi-channel TVs, cell phones or computers with Internet chat rooms but we did have friends and went outside to play, in all weathers, anything we could dream up. If it was raining there was always a book or comic to keep us happy and our imagination to make them seem real.

We fell out of trees and off of playground rides but lawsuits didn't follow. No matter how bad our injuries we blamed ourselves.

We ate mud and worms that didn't live inside us forever (as far as we know!)

We used catapults and spud guns and lived to tell the tale.

We picked sides for games of football and, usually, it was the same boys who were last to be picked. As far as we know they didn't need counselling to deal with it and if they never made the team at all they managed to deal with the disappointment.

If we broke some minor law or upset one of our elders, did our parents stand up for us? No! They sided with the law or the injured party and we were punished in some small way that we'd never forget and that made us think twice about doing it again.

WE HAD FREEDOM, FAILURE, SUCCESS AND RESPONSIBILITY and we learned how to deal with it all in ways that made us a generation of risk-takers, problem solvers, innovators and inventors and we made it through without our lives being regulated by governments "for our own good".

AND -

Do you remember when...?

It took five minutes for the TV to warm up?

Nearly every one's Mum was indoors when they got home from school?

Nobody owned a purebred dog?

When a shilling (5p) a week was decent pocket money?

All your male teachers wore ties and female teachers had their hair done most days and wore high heels?

You got your windscreen cleaned, oil checked and petrol pumped for free without having to ask?

When a Ford Capri was every one's dream car?

No one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, with the doors unlocked?

Your door key was always hanging on a string inside the letterbox?

It was a treat to be taken out to dinner in a 'real' restaurant by your parents?

Stuff from the shop came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger?

You could buy bags of loose, broken biscuits?

Laurel and Hardy, Roy Rogers and Trigger, Robin Hood, The Lone Ranger, Muffin the Mule, The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, the comics - Eagle, Beano, Dandy, Topper, Victor, Tiger, Roy of the Rovers, lemonade powder, sherbet dabs, the mivvi and the frozen jubbly and Saturday morning pictures as an ABC Minor?

Pathe News?

Playing Doctors and Nurses and being embarrassed if your parents ever caught you playing it?

Transforming your bike into a motorbike by putting a playing or bubblegum card in the spokes?

Important decisions were made by "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"?

"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest?

Mum had a Twin-tub to do the washing if she was lucky or still used a bar of Fairy and a washboard if she wasn't?

You made music with a comb and paper, a crate, broom handle and piece of string and a washboard and a couple of Mum's thimbles?

Meccano, Bako, Bazooka Joe, Mojos, sherbert filled flying saucers, sweet cigarettes, Spanish wood, blackjacks and fruit salads?

Reel-to-Reel tape recorders?

Izal and Bronco toilet paper?

Taking liquid paraffin for constipation?

Trying to get ice out of metal ice-cube trays?

Milk delivered to your doorstep in glass bottles?

Coal deliveries by men whose appearance frightened the life out of you?

Marbles?

When water bombs were the weapons of mass destruction?

Four digit telephone numbers with three letters in front?

Press button A then button B in the phone box?

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a catapult or pea-shooter or teacher finding elastic bands stretched on your ruler?

Taking drugs meant having your Polio injection in school?

Nitty Nora?

When being sent to the Headmaster's office was nothing compared to your fate if Mum or Dad found out about it?

Snake belts?

Remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care. In spite of all that progress has given us it would still be nice to slip back in time and savour what definitely seemed like a slower pace and to be able to share that with the kids of today.

And if you do ever manage to return to that dreamtime try to remember a few more things I can add to this page.

 

Posted by Les Grimes, 7th November, 2008:-

I remember a school mate, John Fisher Chown *, being awarded the British Empire Medal after he disarmed a Pole who was attacking a woman with a knife near Lancaster Park Station in the school holidays of 1949. John was stabbed but recovered well enough to be selected for aircrew training. I was panned on a wonky left eye (in spite of my King's Scout, Bushman's Thong and Air Training Corps Proficiency Certificate). A Bushman's Thong was an elaborately knotted and twisted leather rope worn from left shoulder to left breast pocket and was awarded for mastery of a number of Bush Skills,being considered the top scouting accolade for Senior Scouts. My life's ambition to become a pilot being dashed, I was able to qualify as a Chartered Surveyor after demob from National Service. Despite the school having a Scout Troop, I joined the 17th Fulham Twynholm troop and remember the McCoy twins defecting from there to the school troop. Tony(?) Alsop was Head Prefect and was last seen in his Sandhurst uniform wearing a ginger moustache and a Sam Browne belt. He could be a Chelsea Pensioner now! Sam Kelso was a school Cricket Captain and played Shylock in the school's production of The Merchant of Venice.

Circa 1947 Compton and Edrich of Middx were hammering centuries for England and, when they were at it, our maths master named Brierley used to disappear every now and then to open the batting for Middx in place of Edrich. I never got one second of coaching from him. In fact the first coaching I ever received was years later when I paid for myself. Now, my grandson has been getting coached by the local club pro and the Hampshire C.C. clinic since he was 7.

In 1945, The Russian team, Moscow Dynamo visited England (before the Cold War) and played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on November 13th. Truancy was a temptation to everyone and much discussed. At lunch hour I nipped into my classroom to get something from my desk and bumped into my French teacher, the legendary Harry Little." What are you doing here Grimes?" "Getting a book sir" "Why aren't you going to the match?" "That would be truant sir" He let out a snort and turned to go, then pausing, turned and said "You'll never get the chance again".  and he walked away. I put the book back into my disk and made off to the match. The ground was packed and yet more streamed in. Kids, me included, were passed hand to hand over the heads of the spectators, starting at the top of the terraces and down to the touchline. I sat on the pitch, my feet almost over the touchline and adjacent to one of the goals. I remember that the Dynamos' goal keeper was a great ox who seemed to fill the goal completely. He saved a penalty with a prodigious right hook without moving his feet that stunned the crowd into silence for a few seconds. The Russians were considered to be "Our Brave Comrades In Arms" and received a heroes welcome wherever they went. To every one's surprise, they came onto the pitch carrying posies of flowers which they handed out to their opponents. That was something new to the local followers of the game! Next day, the matter of truancy was not even mentioned in most forms, whilst any punishment meted out was very light indeed.

* Editor Foulsham's Note:-  John Fisher Chown's citation read "For his courage and determination in trying to prevent an armed criminal from escaping."

Posted by Jim Goodacre. 7th November, 2008:-

I read Les's account of the Chelsea v Moscow Dynamos match in 1949. I also remember it well as being a very major fixture at the time. However, I wasn't among the truants because, despite us living next to QPR, my dad who was a lifelong Fulham supporter used to take me to Craven Cottage every home game and I learnt to despise Chelsea from an early age! I wouldn't have gone to see them play anybody! (Still prefer it when they lose even now - silly isn't it?). However, what Les forgot to mention was that the match was played in such thick fog that it was almost called off. Only the spectators at the half way line could make out the goals - and then only faintly through the murk.

Posted by Mark Foulsham. 7th November,2008:-

Some additional info to add to Les' and Jim's memories of the Chelsea v Moscow Dynamo game. The admission price for boys was 7d and the programme cost 6d. The final score was 3-3. Most of the boys used football rattles at the time and, as the war had only just ended, most of those were Air Raid Warden's gas rattles.The first rattle I took to Fulham was one of these and boy were they heavy! On the same tour the Dynamos also drew 2-2 with Glasgow Rangers, beat an Arsenal side, that included Matthews, Mortensen and Bacuzzi as guests, 3-2 and thrashed Cardiff City 10-1.

 

Posted by Mark Foulsham. 25th September, 2008:-

The day The Beatles came to Fulham. It was either 1963 or 1964 and they turned up, unannounced, at the old Granville Theatre, which stood on the island in Fulham Broadway, for some filming. They were only there long enough to stop the traffic, let us all catch a glimpse and send a few hundred girls into hysteria, but long enough also for it never to be forgotten by those of us from my Council estate who found out about it and went to take a look.

Update 23/07/09 - Phil Yerby reliably informs me that their presence at The Granville was for a recording to be broadcast on the US TV show 'Shindig' and the date was October 3rd, 1964. Phil also tells me that Yvonne Tozer, wife of Old Cheynean Mick Tozer, was in the audience at the recording.

 

Posted by Mark Foulsham. 2nd November, 2008:-

Is it my imagination or was there a time when, on games day, we were told not to wear underpants whilst playing football. I've got a memory of Mr Eversfield being the instigator and do recall occasionally having to stop in mid-run down the wing to tuck something back in. Please tell me it wasn't part of an elaborate hoax aimed only at me. It just all seems so unlikely now.

It wasn't my imagination! I've just been told (15/11/08) by Steve (Sherlock) Holmes that it really was the case. Can anyone remember what reason we were given for having to do it? Probably something to do with hygiene but I think 'elf and safety would have something to say about it today, as they have about everything!

Posted by Mark Foulsham, 2nd November, 2008:-

Was I the only sad person who spent the occasional lunchtime over the road in Brompton Cemetery? It was quite peaceful wandering its 40 acres amongst the 35,000 monuments. It holds the graves of 13 holders of the Victoria Cross and many Chelsea Pensioners. I found out recently that it is the only nationalised cemetery in the country - the Government's graveyard in effect.

 

 



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