Author: Stephen Pitts

Stephen Pitts - 09/09/2020

These are some of the memories that I have carried with me since I left Winbury in 1959. I had six happy years at the school, thanks to the leadership of Mr Spicer, and my teachers.

FIRST YEAR 1953 - 54 (Mrs HANKEY'S CLASS)
I joined Mrs Hankey's class when I first went to Winbury. She was both firm and kind. During the Spring term, she and her husband set up an aquarium in the classroom, complete with gravel, weed and pond water. Then one sunny Saturday afternoon the whole class went on a pond dipping excursion to the brick kiln ponds in Pinkneys Green. The aim was to bring back some suitable pond life for the newly established aquarium. You could tell by the noisy chatter that the discovery of a whole new world had excited the class. We peered into our jam jars and marvelled at the sheer number & variety of creatures we had caught in our nets.

The pond life we took back to our aquarium consisted mainly of tadpoles, caddis fly larvae, various water beetles, water fleas, water boatmen, water snails, one or two sticklebacks, and a water spider, complete with air bubble. We were rather disappointed that Mrs Hankey had put a ban on the dragonfly nymphs we had caught, saying they would eat everything else. For me, the aquarium was a complete revelation, and I think that this early experience inspired my lifelong interest in the natural world.

SECOND YEAR 1954 - 55 (Mrs SMITH'S CLASS, then Miss Colgrave & Mrs Harrison).
I then went up into Mrs Smith's class. She was proudly Australian, and had a reputation for being very strict, but fair. When a rubber belonging to one of the boys was reported missing just before it was time to go home, she declared that no-one would leave the room until the rubber had been found. I was very worried by this prospect because I risked missing my bus. Fortunately, the rubber was miraculously found within a few minutes, and I caught the bus !

THIRD YEAR 1955 - 56 (Mr PRIESTNALL'S CLASS)
I remember the time when we discovered that there was a loose floorboard at the back of the classroom. On further investigation, it was found that the adjacent board was also loose, and that when both boards were lifted, there was just enough space for a boy to squeeze through into the dark void underneath. This was clearly worthy of further investigation, and some boys brought torches to school the next day. During the lunch hour a small group disappeared under the floor and explored the 3' 6" high void as far as the boiler room, then returning to the classroom before the bell went. Our investigations continued the next day, and we managed to get as far as the kitchen, where the barrier of a concrete floor prevented further exploration. On our return journey, we stopped to peer at the playground through the ventilation airbricks in the walls. For additional entertainment, we soon found that we were able to push a grass stem through an airbrick, tickle some unsuspecting boy on the leg, then quickly retract the grass out of sight. It would have been quite puzzling for the victim !

The next day several boys wanted to have another look, and ventured down under the floor. When the bell sounded at the end of break, most of the young explorers returned to the classroom very quickly. However, two boys had crawled quite a long way, and didn't hear the bell at all. Mr Priestnall was over 5 minutes into his English lesson, when Palmer's head appeared just above the floor. He stood up and apologised for not having heard the bell, much to the incredulity and annoyance of Mr Priestnall. Then came some more scrabbling, and Etherington emerged from the void, using the same excuse, and receiving the same response:- "Come to my office at the end of the lesson". It was inevitable that this episode would end with a dose of the cane (aka 'Timothy') for the two boys, but far more disastrous was that our secret had been exposed. The next day the school handyman, Mr Pope, fixed the boards securely back into place, and we never went below deck again.

Our two grandchildren (9yrs) cannot believe that an exciting adventure like this could ever happen in their school. I think they're quite envious !

FOURTH YEAR (Mr FARRELL'S CLASS)
Mr Farrell was a likeable Geography teacher, who spoke softly with a strong Irish accent. We always knew where we were with him, especially when he was annoyed. I don't recall him ever using the cane, preferring instead to give a ½ hr after-school detention to those who misbehaved. It was indeed fortunate that he never detected the pea-shooter craze that swept through the class, then disappearing without trace after a few weeks. For a while, Mr Farrell was the proud owner of a white (kit?) car, with the legend 'Carlsburg' on the radiator.

Mr Bradley taught us History that year, and he really fired up my interest in the subject. During the last week of term, he would relax and read us extracts from Sellar & Yeatman's '1066 and All That', declaring it to be "the best history book ever written" ! As he read, the whole class would be erupting with fits of laughter, and this clearly delighted him. However, Mr Bradley also believed that discipline was important in the classroom, and reinforced this with the legendary 'Richard III', an enormous, Size 13 plimsoll. I can remember the time when a friend was caught talking at the back of the class, and was sent out into the lobby to find the dreaded slipper. He knew what was coming of course, spotted Richard III and hid it. After a suitable pause, he returned to the classroom apologising that he had been unable to locate Richard III, and offered Mr Bradley the only shoe he could find in the lobby - a Size 2 plimsoll ! Mr Bradley said "Well, that's no use for anything, is it ?"and the punishment was commuted to a ½ hour detention in the 'Mug Session' after school, much to my friend's relief.

It was at about this time that two American boys arrived at Winbury. They were the sons of military personnel posted to the UK, and were of considerable interest to us, with their distinctive accents, friendly manner, and possession of items that were unavailable in the UK. I can remember the day when John Gebhardt introduced the Whoopee Cushion to us during morning break. We could hardly believe it, because it was a rare mixture of being both funny, and extremely rude at the same time. While we knew it was way beyond what would be considered acceptable to the school, it was just perfect for 10 year old boys.

Someone then dared Gebhardt to get Mr Bradley to sit on it. This caused some excited commotion while the matter was discussed, but Gebhardt was fearless - he placed the cushion on a school bench, and draped a cloth over it. A little while later, Mr Bradley arrived to take the next lesson, and Gebhardt duly invited him to sit down on the suspicious-looking cushion in front of him. The room went very quiet. Then with a slight smile, Mr Bradley inquired whether the cushion was really safe for him to sit on, while at the same time carefully scrutinising the 12 expectant young faces in the room. Perhaps this was not really surprising, as he was a retired Judge ! When Gebhardt confirmed that it was indeed safe, he gingerly sat down and gave a real 'Bronx Cheer', accompanied by much hilarity from the young spectators, and even a smile from Mr Bradley himself. I think this episode broke down a few barriers, and greatly enhanced Mr Bradley's reputation for being a 'good sport'.

The arrival of Gary Miller from the States was also of great interest to the boys in the school. Standing a good 10" above many of his classmates, he was tall, and looked very athletic. There was no question of who was going to win the 'throwing the cricket ball' competition on Sports Day - the real question was "by how much" ?

Miller also had another skill, which he demonstrated during break one morning. He had brought his 20' bullwhip into the school, and had clearly practised for hours with it. First he cut some paper into pieces, with a resounding crack every time. Then someone volunteered to hold a stem of grass in his mouth, to see if this could be trimmed to just a foot from his face. This was easy, so the next challenge was to trim the grass to just 6" long. Again, the bullwhip did a neat job with a satisfying crack, and scattering pieces of grass everywhere. Several boys queued up for repeat performances ! Then came the final challenge, which was to reduce the grass to just 2" long. Miller must have practised hard for this, and again his accuracy was spot on. For me, it provided a lasting memory that I treasure to this day. Gary Miller has written a piece for the WOB 'Memories' section. He still has the bullwhip !

FIFTH YEAR (Mr FARRELL'S CLASS)
We were very fortunate to be taught English by Mr Spicer that year. He was an excellent teacher, and an imaginative storyteller. He was able to read a story and enact it at the same time, so bringing it all to life. The scene in 'The Wind in the Willows', where Mole is spring cleaning his home, comes to mind. Another favourite of his was 'Rikki-Tikki-Tavi' from The Jungle Book. On the few occasions that rain stopped play on the cricket field, and teams were confined to the pavilion at Stafferton Lodge, Mr Spicer always found a story to enthrall his audience. To me, this was far better than playing cricket !

Mr Spicer had a love for sport in its many forms. We were occasionally taken to Maidenhead open air swimming pool in Cookham Rd. It was unheated, but in the summer term, the water temperature would rise to 65F, and the school swimming gala could be held. A South African boy called McIver had recently joined the school. He was slight in build, but had a powerful crawl and seemed invincible. Unfortunately for him, he broke his wrist a few days before the gala, and was not able to take part. However, on Gala day, Mr Spicer gave him the whistle and megaphone, asked him to call swimmers to their marks, start the races and announce the results to the parents watching the event. You could tell from McIver's face that this was a proud moment for him, making up for some of the disappointment he must have felt that day. Mr Spicer was a warm hearted and encouraging role model for us all.

SIXTH YEAR (Mr HANDYSIDE'S CLASS)
Mr Handyside was Scottish, and into his 70's when he taught at Winbury. He had been a missionary teacher in China for many years. He told us about the poverty there, and how there was barely enough money for families to buy food, let alone costly items like shoes. He had taught many children who walked barefoot to school, but they were bright, and eager to learn. There would then follow a lecture on how fortunate we all were at Winbury, and that we should make the most of the opportunities that lay ahead of us. While this topic may not have been strictly on the curriculum, it certainly had educational value, and was a real eye-opener for me. I always found him to be a very engaging and encouraging teacher.

Mr Brown had a strong northern accent, and came to the school to teach Maths. This was a subject that four boys in the class, including me, had been having a lot of trouble with. After a week of trying to get through to us, Mr Brown realised he was not making much progress, and was becoming increasingly exasperated. He would set a piece of work for the class to get on with, then haul the four non-mathematicians up to the blackboard to see why we were having such difficulty. To him, the subject was straightforward, logical and easy, but it wasn't very long before he started responding to incorrect answers with a raised voice, and a clip around the ear. This came as something of a cultural shock to us, so perhaps it was not very surprising that he found this didn't work either. In fact, one boy was so alarmed by the new approach that he would duck as soon as Mr Brown raised an arm. It was not a happy time. During lunch hour, I noticed that Mr Brown would often retreat to the Hall, where he would play the piano to calm his nerves. I suspect that he hadn't taught in a Prep school before.

BREAKTIME
During the morning break, we were generally left to our own devices. A lot of engineering work took place on what had once been a raised area of planting in the playground. We found that the spike on Boy Scouts' penknives for removing stones from horses' hoofs was perfect for the soil excavation work, while Dinky lorries were brought in from various homes to cart the spoil away, and complete the job. The area would be a veritable hive of industry during the warmer months of the year. Other playground games included British Bulldog, Chain-He and various other chasing games. These were excellent for burning up surplus energy, and generally letting off steam before the start of the next lesson.

Later on in the year, these activities would make way for games of Conkers, followed by Marbles when conkers could no longer be found. Glass marbles were the order of the day, but some boys used large ball bearings, and I felt that this was very unsporting.

I also recall the rudimentary camp that had been set up in a corner of the playground, well away from the main building. The occupants' task was to defend the structure against attacks from a 'rival' gang. This play fighting was generally good, clean, noisy fun, and involved a lot of posturing. I don't remember anyone actually getting hurt !

LUNCHTIME
Lunch for the 70 boys who had school dinners was organised in two sittings. There were five set meals, and it was possible to tell the day of the week from the smells emanating from the kitchen. Sausages were served on Tuesdays; meat pie on Wednesdays, and fish on Fridays. There was an unwritten school rule that all food on your plate must be eaten. As a result, the seats next to the Dining Room windows were in great demand from fussy eaters, who would surreptitiously throw unwanted food out for collection later. Sometimes, Marie would burn the custard, giving it a strangely bitter taste. Occasionally, black ants would meet their doom by climbing up into the custard while it was cooling on a window sill. The additional ingredient made no difference - we still had to eat it, ants and all. Mr Bradley brushed aside all the excuses saying:- "Ants are good for you !".

LIFE AFTER WINBURY
After leaving Winbury in 1959, I went to the County Boys School in Shoppenhangers Rd. From there, I went on a Diploma course at the Oxford School of Architecture, followed by a course in Town Planning. During this time, I had a year out working for the new Lea Valley Regional Park Authority in London. This project was the precursor to the Olympic Games, which eventually arrived some 40 years later. One has to plan ahead for these things !

I then moved from Oxford to Coventry for work, and gained some much needed experience with three architectural practices. I remained there for 12 years, working on a wide range of projects including schools, banks, offices, residential developments, a shopping centre and a convent. During this time, my elderly parents were becoming increasingly frail, so with my wife Eleanor and three young children, I moved back to the Reading area to be on hand to help them. For employment, I joined an architectural practice that specialised in the booming hospitality sector, and worked on hotel leisure centres. Unfortunately, the boom turned into a slump after a few years, and the company folded. Faced with redundancy for the first time in my life, I set up my own practice at home and have never looked back. Living in a thriving community in South Oxfordshire, I found that most of my work came from recommendation. Numerous projects kept me busy until I retired a few years ago. Looking back, I know I was extremely lucky to have worked for over 40 years in the field that I loved, when so many people in this country have had to retrain, develop new skills, or move abroad to find work.

INTERESTS
Cycling - Member of Maidenhead & District CC. Toured & raced, and am still riding.
Chess - I am the Hon. Secretary of Henley Chess Club, and have played for Berkshire.
Ornithology - Eleanor and I are members of Berkshire Ornithological Club.
Walking - We walk in the wilder places of the UK for solace. eg. Cornish coast path.
Family tree - I have searched many Parish Registers in my quest, & have got back to 1490.
Archaeology- I am interested in visiting remnants of British history, particularly pre-1066.
Cave art - I have visited many caves in France & Spain to see their prehistoric paintings.

Stephen Pitts/ 18.09.20/ C