Annual Athletics Meeting BCS at Hawkley 1944 & 1945
Hi All
Have a programme for the event mentioned, these names are not on Charles Sammond's list of original evacuees, are they Battersea evacuees (late arrivals?) or locals? Others on these programmes are on the web details e.g Tom Cowell (1944 Victores Ludorum), Peter Crofts (1941 Victores Ludorum), Richard Dickenson, (1940 Victores Ludorum), Fred Wakeling (1943 Victores Ludorum)
Can anybody clarify those below, pleaseAnnual Athletics Meeting BCS at Hawkley 1944 & 1945
Attfield Colin
Ayres Roy (1943 Gamest Loser)
Bailey
Benn
Biddle
Burrows
Decker Paul (44 Gamest Loser)
Devlin
Dyer
Edwards
Fialka
Flint
Harvey
Hine
Howes
Jones *****
Lock
Mason John (43 Gamest Loser)
McQueen
Money
Moulding
Nicholl
Nix David (43 Gamest Loser)
Ryan
Spiers
Sumray
Wellman
West
Williams
Wilson
If you have any information then the webmaster will be delighted to hear.
See below an e-mail from Eric Jones *****
Dear Cliff,
For some time now I have had good intentions to commend and thank you, and in no way is my sincerity diminished through my delay. My praise is for the Hawkley web-site, which is both interesting and informative. This leads me to thank you for publishing on the site an account of the first BCS Re-union held at Rowlands Castle on 14th January 2001. My connection is with the Rowlands Castle group since it was that part of the school I joined.
I have for a long time admired Charles Sammonds and Harry Withers for establishing and sustaining the Hawkley re-unions and I am pleased that they have had so many successful occasions. I had hoped to attend some but found that dates clashed with commitments I had and also Hawkley is not 'just up the road' from where I live in Devon. I was able to make a contribution to the Hawkley group by sending Harry names and addresses of those who had been at Rowlands Castle with me and I know that many of them did attend your re-unions.
Now that I am in contact with you perhaps I should point out that on your list of those who were evacuated to Rowlands Castle there are many who were not evacuees but were, like me, local boys who joined the school. As I understand it, as the London boys reached the leaving age and others became unhappy with life in the country, returned home, school numbers began to drop considerably, and we locals were enrolled. It is a small point I am raising but it could be confusing for some people. I am going to take the opportunity of adding material which may be of interest to you and leave it you to use all of it, some of it or throw it away!
Again, well done on the web-site. We in Rowlands Castle will never match the success of Hawkley because by the time our re-unions were started, past pupils were pretty old, many of them unwilling or unable to travel far.
It has been the choice of those attending our re-unions to have an informal day and for this reason no effort has been made to organise a collective meal which would be difficult anyway as the village people are very involved with their Annual Fair which coincides with the day of our gathering. There is a bonus to this however. Many villagers wander around the Green where the Fair takes place and from casual meetings and conversations of visitors and locals, many connections with the school have been discovered.
Below you will find the material for your considerations.
With best wishes,
Eric (Jones)
Amendments to your published Rowlands Castle list.
Not evacuees but local boys who joined the school.
ATTFIELD Colin (from Portsmouth)
FIANDER Bob
HOUSE Doug
JONES Eric
REED David
SAPSED Ken
STEMP Lionel
STUBBINGTON Reg
A list of Rowlands Castle pupils most of whom were evacuees so could be known by their contemporaries at Hawkley. (Has anyone ever established how it what decided which pupils should go the Hawkley or Rowlands Castle for as far as I know they all arrived in Petersfield and from there sent to either Hawkley or Rowlands Castle? Were lists made earlier?)
BOOTH Michael
BROCK Roland
BUTCHER Les
BUTCHER Sidney
CANAWAY Noel
COOTE Ronald
ELLWOOD Don
ENGLISH Audrey
ENGLISH Lawrence
GRANT Roy
GREEN Michael
HART John
HEATH Len
HOARE Tony
HOLDER Eileen
HOLDER John
HOLDER Marion
INGRAM John
KIY David
KIY Frank
LeGOUBIN John
LUSH Don
MASON Geoff
McCOURT Ian
McMILLAN Don
MERRYWEATHER Ernie
MESTON John
MILLS Alan
MOAT Eric
MOAT Gordon
MONK Ken
MONK Reg
PAFFORD Nigel
PERRY Owen
REDWAY Rex
ROUNDS Arthur
ROUNDS Fred
SMART Michael
SPIERS Cuthbert
STAFFORD John
STAFFORD Queenie
STEWART Charlie
STEWART Christine
TASKER Les
THOMPSON Eddie
TILLER Jim
VINCE Reg
WADKIN Alan
WADKIN Larry
WARREN Dougie
WHIDDET Harry
WHIDDET Les
Masters presumably all from London. Some visited weekly from Hawkley
Head: Mr. A Ling ('Dangles') English & Geog Mr, Mason ('Doggo')
History Mr. Taylor ('Tittle') French Mr. Walker ('Froggy')
PT Mr Dickie Lewis ('Lulu') Maths Mr. Hudson ('Soapy)
Science Mr. A. Conway ('Zippie) Art & RI Mr. A. Cox ('Canon Cox the Cursing
Christian')
Maths Mr. Stevens ('The Captain)Report of the Second Re-union at Rowlands Castle Sat 13th July 2002
Over sixty years ago, a few days before the outbreak of the Second World War, a young lady arrived in Rowlands Castle with her parents. With them came boys and a few girls who were pupils at the Battersea Central School for Boys, the young lady's father being Mr. Ling the Headmaster of the London school. On Saturday 13th July this year the young lady, now Mrs Millson, returned to the village to meet with a few of those who, like her and her parents, had been evacuated. Others at the second reunion were those who had lived locally and joined the school and also people now residing in the village or its neighbourhood who had some connections with the Battersea school boys because they or their parents knew ex-pupils. The bright colours and happy sounds of the Village Fair added to this enjoyable occasion when memories were exchanged and half truths related by those who had travelled from Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Devon, Dorset, London and other places, all returning to the village in which they had spent several formative years. Watching and listening to those fascinated by Ted Redsull's splendid display of memorabilia it was clear that despite the passing of many years they were happy to be back in Rowlands Castle with recollections not as faded as might be expected.
Memories of the evacuation and before by Joy Millson (nee Ling) 'Battersea Central School 1929-1943'
During the 1920's certain 'higher grade' schools were recognised by the LCC and called Central Schools. The headmaster advised by the Junior School Heads personally selected the scholars and based on scholarship examinations, taking those whom had not quite reached the standard for Grammar Schools. At the time, Grammar Schools would only have been able to take about 3 or 4 or less from each Junior School. These chosen pupils were expected to stay until their sixteenth birthday and had the opportunity of learning the same subjects as the Grammar School pupils except perhaps for the Classics. Therefore, the teachers were experts in their subjects, mostly with appropriate degrees and qualifications.
The first Headmaster was Henry Wootten, who retired in 1929 and was replaced by my father Albert Ling. My father was appointed for his organising ability and technical knowledge. After being demobbed from the Royal Engineers in 1919, he had become the Head of a technical evening Institute, part of the development of Adult Education. This became the Southeast London Technical College after my father moved to Battersea. He was very impressed by the standard of work done by the boys when he first visited Surrey Lane. For instance, they already did their own printing and the phrase 'printing on the premises' became a family joke.
Some of the staff already there was in 1929 were Messrs Mason, Turner, Knyston, Hodgkinson, Woods, Stocker and Jack White and Brown. The first appointment made by Mr. Ling was Stanley Raine, in charge of Science, who soon got his Doctorate, known as Dr. Raine officially but 'Bill Raine' to his colleagues. A brilliant up and coming PE specialist Williams followed him. I have a photo of his boys demonstrating to some high ups, including the Duke of York, later King George VI. Others I remember were Cossam and R Beasley (Carpentry), Halliday and Always (French) Protheroe (Science) H. Taylor, Hawkes (Geography) Broadhurst (Art). At that time the school was occupying Surrey Lane School. Top Floor - Boys: Middle Floor - Girls; Ground Floor - Infants, but a new purpose built Central School with modern facilities was being built in Culvert Road, due to be opened in 1940!
However, we know what happened in August 1939. It was a Government decision to evacuate children whose parents were prepared for them to go, to less vulnerable districts from the main built-up areas and on the 1st September, the boys, girls and infants set off with their gas masks and 'iron rations', in crocodiles to Clapham Junction, with mothers waving them goodbye, not knowing where they were going or with whom they would be living. It must have been a terrible decision for parents to make. We were put on a train and travelled non-stop to Petersfield where we were unloaded and walked to the Parish Church awaiting distribution. I believe the girls stayed in the town of Petersfield and the boys were divided between a coach going to Hawkley and another to Rowlands Castle barely ten miles north of Portsmouth! Here we were dropped at the Parish Hall until homes were found. Some settled happily in their new environment but naturally some had their problems. Younger brothers or sisters who continued their education in special groups accompanied quite a number.
