| Topic: | Re:Re:History of Chiswick Community School | |
| Posted by: | Jim Lawes | |
| Date/Time: | 30/05/05 14:31:00 |
| Sean: Thats a great subject to be studying..and hopefully you will get many replies. I was at the School 1951 to 1958. There are separate websites for the three Old Boys Clubs: Old Meadonians Football Club (amateur Champions of London) and they have a history page. Chiswick Rugby Club Chiswick and Latymer Cricket Club. There used to be School Magazines in the 1950's ..certainly for the Boy's School. filled with info.of all kinds.....try the Chiswick Library perhaps The Boys School opened in 1925?1926..the girls School was already there. The Boys School was hit by a German Bomb during WWII ..there are pictures around..there air raids shelters on the School field. The School was ..in part..evacuated to High Wycombe. The School was strong on the stage drama front..with powerful plays every year. John Neville..who ran the Nottingham Playhouse is ex Chiswick. So too was Don Taylor who sadly recently died. Don wrote and directed plays..and his work often appeared on TV. (he was a star at Strand on the Green School too). Brian Tesler,(LWT?)..Phil Collins I believe,...Michael Solomons the Toastmaster with the record breaking length whiskers!!..was a Chiswick man too. Andrew Ronay and Robert Frith were record breaking sprint athletes in the 50's 60's and Dewar Neal in the 50's represented Wales in the Empire Games..in the pole vault event..holding the Welsh record!! Another chap was a national school boys boxing champion. The School colours were the same as West Ham's...maroon and light blue....and there was a 100% conformity. Oh yes..Chiswick had a good rowing club too..and a master called Geoffery Page was a key figure in the sport. The School hit the National Press in the 1950's when every pupil..the lot of us.. was kept after school for detention because someone had played around with a school poster on the Main Notice Board about "Blazers"..(Didn't someone amend it to "Braziers"? Mr Cook ..the Headmaster was obviously not amused. "Headmasters"..that reminds me of the hairdressing chain...that is owned and run by old boys of the School. A Mr Finch I recall was a master for 40+ years..and other Masters that come to mind include..Mr Cook, Mr Dutton, Kitchener, H Jones, the great BP Jones, Ryba (Economics), Ike Rees(Chemistry), Raymond waite(French), Hank Williams and Geoff Last (Geog), Charles Garlick (English)...the famous Jim Biddle (sports)(He went on to Borough Road and trained future Olympic Champions),John Troake..etc etc My favourite memory about the School..after post-war rationing.....was my first sight ever of a School Tuck Shop. Dear Mrs Woodrow..the Caretaker's husband..sold piles of fresh to us delighted souls..We'd never had it so good. By the every year we all assembled in the playground for the Annual School Photo..and these vast photos are now probably collectors items. Sports team photos lined one of the long corridors..I wonder what happened to them? I was surprised to find that so my pupils travelled so far to get to the School each day. The old 55 bus was packed..and many travelled on the Southern Railway.trains from Hounslow...even in those days. Thats enough from me today!!..and good luck with the studies. |