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Chesham Stories

Fred (Godfrey) Reynolds - School in the late 1940s/early 1950s

Fred was born in 1942 and until the age of 11 or 12 was known as 'Goof' to family and friends alike. He started school at Newtown Infants. The family were living in Wey Lane at that time with his widowed paternal grandmother. He remembers his mother putting him on the Tring bus with another boy who lived nearby. However, it wasn't long before he was walking to school with other children. He went to his maternal grandparents in Broad Street for his lunch. Later the family moved to Bellingdon Road.

His teachers were Mrs Gomm and Mrs Ivory. Miss Quinn was amongst the first to use a 'biro' [ball point pen] but the children had to use pen and ink. He learned to write by copying, in a loopy style, to ensure pen was kept on paper, although one teacher disapproved of this method and discouraged it. Miss Baker became Headteacher.

At the age of eight he started at White Hill Junior Boys. Mrs Cook was his first year teacher. He appreciated being taught by Jim Randall, as did many Chesham boys. He enjoyed Jim's Bird and Tree club. There were nature walks and a daily nature diary chart was kept in the classroom. Wind direction was taken from the weathervane on top of the Brewery. Temperature was also recorded and there was a rain bottle on top of the air-raid shelter in the girls' playground. This was in the form of a kilner jar-type of container in which rainfall was measured on a weekly basis.

Fred (Godfrey) Reynolds

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