That Summer we went to Sidmouth for our Summer Holiday, but first of all we had to be settled into new schools. Ray, Stan and I went to Percy Haller’s. He ran a Private School called “Brownlow College”. It was two large houses knocked into one at Brownlow Road, Bowes Park. Haller and his Wife, another Amy, were strict Methodists – My God they were! I can hear the Hymns we had to sing to this day! He was a bastard with his Cane! It had a brass ferrule on the hitting end. He used to lash out blindly and foam at the sides of his mouth, and spit when he lost his temper for no reason at all! He once lashed out and hit me on the back of the hand by mistake. A two inch lump came up immediately, so I shouted at him, walked out and went home! On that occasion perhaps he had reason to lose his temper. The other end of the cane was a bit frayed and we were able to pierce it with a big pin; so of course when he grabbed it………, we’ll leave what happened to your imagination!
I suppose I learned something, and indeed I was rapidly recovering from my previous time as a Boarder and Day Boy at Chelmsford. I was discovering that I could do what other boys did. I could run, climb trees, play games; and I developed rapidly to the state of becoming almost normal. It’s debatable if I ever entirely reached normality. So be it!
Kath went to a small private school in part of the house by the lake in Broomfield Park, Palmers Green. Poor old Peg was ill with Glandular Fever so they said, and had to be laid out in a Day Care perambulator. It was terrible! Doctors, later on, said she was alright and did not need to be stretched out so, but she suffered for quite a long time. She eventually went to the same school as Kath. We had a piano and I carried on with my music lessons. I believe Ray had them too.
By the time I was twelve, in the May of 1925 I started falling in love. There was Barbara Cove Smith who’s Brother was about to be a Doctor, and who was quite a fine Rugger Player. There was Ivy Went (I think that’s the surname) whom I chased hard and fast without much luck. There was Ivy Grubb who chased me! She once took me into Arnos Grove and we lay in the long grass, and she frightened me to death! There was Norah Hills (again I think that’s the surname) but only at a distance. I digress. We won’t go any further at this stage. I liked Betty Kitto who lived in our road at No. 7 but she was older then and played the Oboe in the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Alexandra Palace. Her mother had Cancer and had to have electric treatment on her nose. They were nice people. Opposite us lived the Wilkinson’s. “Tubby” was a friend of the Boys and his Father was an Artist. Dad bought some of his paintings of wildlife. I wonder what happened to them? He died very early on. Just above them on the same side were the Spattell’s. There were two boys – they were both killed in the War (WWII) in the RAF. Their Father was Captain on the Queen Mary. On one occasion he took the Queen Mary into harbour without a pilot because there was a strike on at the time. Opposite them were the Leeches, Les and Mary. They were Cousins of Mother’s. Their two Sons, Raymond and Bob went to Brighton College. (You can find Leeches on Louise’s Family Tree site but not all i.e Mary but not Raymond . I guess there is work to be done for someone!) Harry Wren lived with his Mum and Dad at the top of the Road. They had a large Humber Saloon. Harry went to Fox Lane Grammar School. His Father made pianos in their factory near Stoke Newington.
Grandma and Grandpa Newman lived at 127 Fox lane, about 20 minutes walk from us. Grandpa was retired and they used to walk up to us for tea every day. We often went there for tea on Sundays. I used to enjoy tea at Grandma’s. We always had something tasty; Sandwiches with Water Cress in them, Radishes. They were interesting, especially if Uncle Ron was there – he chewed every mouthful thirty times – Radishes made quite a good munch! We often had Shrimps which I still enjoy to this day. I don’t mean the frozen rubbish you get now, but the fresh ones which smelled of the Sea. A couple of Grandma’s Sisters lived at the bottom of Fox lane at No. 93. Uncles Fred and ? (Richard Edward Smith – Dad couldn’t remember – thanks to Louise’s Website!) and Aunts Edith and Emily. I had some other friends living in Mayfield Avenue; Eric Snuggs and Ralph Smith. We remained friends for as long as we stayed at Southgate.
That Summer we went to Sidmouth for our holiday and Grandma and Grandpa Newman came too. We went from Waterloo. Dad used to reserve a compartment on the train and the Guard would put up a long table down the middle of the compartment so we could play games. Grandpa Newman showed us all how the new Safety Locks worked on the Carriage Doors. He said it only opened to the first catch and needed another movement of the hand to completely open it. It opened OK. It flew open and nearly took him with it! We were travelling at quite a speed and we all had to hang on to his Jacket to stop him falling out! Of course the door flew back the opposite way to which we were travelling, so it was quite a job to get hold of the Window Strap and pull the door shut! Grandpa’s face was red for the rest of the journey.
We had relatives who lived at Sidmouth, in a house with a big Fig Tree in the Garden. We used to go there for tea. We went to Sidmouth several times. Chudleighs (a sweet, Scone like bun from near the town of Chudleigh in Devon – also known as “Cut Rounds” or “Splits“) and Cream, boat trips to Ladram Bay, walks, sand, bathing, three weeks! I don’t know how Dad afforded it – all of us to clothe, feed, School Fees, and of course when Ray and I and Stan went off to proper school – bus and train fares. I’m off target again! Us Boys are still at Haller’s, which is not the object of the exercise.
In September 1925 I went to Owen’s School in Islington. I had to go up to the School to take an entrance exam. I was not very brilliant so I don’t know to this day how I passed. My father took me up of course and when we got home he wanted me to remember what I had had to do. I could not remember a thing, so I made something up. I told him that one of the sums was a “square root”. I said the answer was 125, so he worked out the thing and said I did it correctly. When the results came out I had scored nil for Maths. My father said I had at least one correct answer. They still said no, and so he went up to the School and asked to see the Papers. The School was right of course. I had made a mess of it, and on top of it all, unlike George Washington, “I had told a lie”. However, much to everyone’s surprise they took me in. Dad came into my Bedroom one morning and said, “After all, you are going to a school for young gentlemen!”
Owen’s was founded in 1613 by the Husband of Dame Alice Owen to commemorate her not losing her life when walking by the Stream in the fields of Islington. An arrow from the Butts (an archery practice field, with mounds of earth used for the targets) in an adjoining field came over the hedge and went through her hat – hence Owen’s School! (still going today; check out the School website where they are planning their 400th Anniversary in 2013 – see Link in my Blogroll. Dad’s version of the story is slightly different to the School’s but the arrow hits its mark! Wikipedia also has an entry for Owen’s). It was free education for 30 boys, 24 from Islington and 6 from Clerkenwell. When I arrived there were about 600 boys, all fee paying except for the locals – they were, of course, not the originals! The School was later taken over by the “Worshipful Company of Brewers” (still Trustees today) and became one of the many minor Public Schools run by the Worshipful Companies, i.e Merchant Tailors, Stationers (where my two Brothers Ray and Stan went), The Grocers, The Haberdashers, The Vintners, Latymer Upper and Lower Schools, City of London, Dulwich College, etc. etc. William Ellis was also in the same category (William Ellis was a businessman who, in the mid-nineteenth century, founded a number of schools and inspired many teachers with his ideas on education. He wanted children to be taught “useful” subjects such as science, which was a different approach for the times. William Ellis School in Camden (est. 1862), is the only one of his schools that still exists today – more info on the www if you are interested)
In the early days, all the boys were given money at the end of the Summer Term to enable them to buy Beer to drink during the speeches on Speech Day. The amount depended on one’s age, and any boy absent on that day forfeited his “beer money”, and it went to the Head Boy – lucky chap! It’s still the custom today (check it out on the History page on the School website). It was really a marvellous school! It had everything and I mean everything! A Chemistry Lab, Science Lab, Physics Lab, Lecture Room with seating rising to the rear, Manual Room (I think Dad mean’s somewhere to do metalwork and woodwork, etc), a Gymnasium. The Art Room was huge and had a glass roof. The Canteen was run by Mr and Mrs Collins, the School Caretakers, who lived on the premises.
We had properly Qualified Masters. Mr Mauritzi (I think that’s Dad’s spelling), a Swede, was the Gym Master, nickname “Fitzi”. We had real Singing Masters and Art Masters. They were all either BAs or MAs. I had four Form Masters: “Dicky” Dare, Bill Baker, PC Rust and “Flash” Pete Hardwicke. “Dicky” Dare played Cricket for Essex. He also wrote the “History of Owen’s” in 1976 (A History of Owen’s School (1613-1976), R.A. Dare B.A). Bill Baker used to throw pieces of chalk, and my nickname was “Pipes” because I used to lean on the radiators. PC Rust wrote school textbooks on Mathematics. “Flash” Pete was a Canadian and came from British Columbia. He was a really smart chap. We had a school playing field at Oakleigh Park, ten acres of magnificent playing area, a pavilion, a house for the resident Groundsman and his Family and Classrooms for us.
We were either Upper, Middle or Lower Schools and went in turn to Oakleigh Park direct from home, either on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday depending on your Grade. We did lessons from 9 -12 then Games, etc. I was in Lonsdale House and by 1928/29 I was Captain of my House, and was playing First Eleven Cricket and Football, and got my School Colours for both. Our Latin Master once wrote at the bottom of a page of translation, “Jesus Christ!”. One does not often get marked like that. I considered it a great honour! I can’t remember the exact date but I was in Form IVc, “Flash” Pete’s. We were on the fifth floor and it suddenly became very dark. A huge object passed close to the window blotting out the light. It was the “Graf Zeppelin”, passing over the City of London. I don’t know but I rather think it might have been its last voyage. It caught fire in America with large loss of life (actually Dad it was the Hindenburg in 1937 which caught fire in New Jersey, and this disaster spelled the end for commercial airships and ended the Graf Zeppelin’s passenger carrying life. What you saw could well have been the Graf Zeppelin’s first commercial transatlantic flight in October 1928, passing over London from Friedrichshafen on route to Lakehurst, New Jersey – if you are interested, see my Blogroll Links for more on the Graf Zeppelin).
I was not very fond of schoolwork and only did enough to get by. I suppose I could have done better, and wish now that I had tried harder. I found some subjects i.e. English Literature, Grammar, Geography and especially Art, easy to get along with. French and German I tolerated. History I liked but could not bother with. Arithmitic, Geometry and Algebra, I hated! Latin, I have already mentioned. My Manual Work was good and we made folding desks for the Art Room, with a panel of Scrollwork with our initials, fixed to the front. Gym was good. Funnily enough, although I never played many games up to the age of 12 because I was supposed to be a “weakling”, I developed amazingly and soon did well in most Sports. The fact that I played Cricket and Football for my House and eventually the School, kept me out of quite a bit of trouble over my work.
One of my best friends at “Owen’s” was Doug Smith. His Parents had two shops, one at Stoke Newington, and the other at Palmer’s Green opposite the Fox Public House, at the bottom of Fox Lane where they lived. He was in the Scouts, and one Summer he went to Looe in Cornwall for Annual Camp. He caught Meningitis and came home in a Coffin!
We had given up Sidmouth and had a couple of Holidays at Penmaenmawr in North Wales (Snowdonia, near Conwy). Lovely sandy beach, marvellous walks across Penmaenbach to Aber falls , trips to Conwy, F–light Glen (can anyone help?) and Dwygyfylchi down to Swallow Falls, and walks up to the mountain lake, Bala. One year, or rather, each year, to Llanberis and the walk to Mount Ywithwa (Dad: I think you mean Yr Wyddfa, or The Burial Place (in English)), which people do not realise is the highest peak in the Snowdon Range, the highest peak is not Mount Snowdon (Dad, the highest peak is Mt. Snowdon. The Welsh name for the mountain is Yr Wyddfa) (the walks are still marvellous today Dad! check out Wikipedia for Aber Falls or follow my Blogroll Links to whet your appetite!). Walking up the last part, called “The Saddle”, can be a nightmare, especially if it is cloud covered and windy! The path is narrow, and on the left, straight down, is the Llanberis Pass. The right-hand side is also dangerously steep! At the top is the end of the “Rack Railway”and the Restaurant. We, of course, did not use the Railway; it took about 5 hours to walk up and 2 to come down.
Marvellous holidays we had! Cousins Ernest and Vera usually came with us. We also joined up with a family from Liverpool, the Dalgarno Family; they stayed at the same Boarding House. I wonder what happened to them? One day we met a party of German Scouts. They were sitting on top of the hill overlooking Conwy and the Suspension Bridge. I’ve often thought about them; they must have been German Spies!
Grandma and Grandpa Harries had moved some years previously from Billericay to Harwell, then to Winchelsea near Rye in Sussex, and then to Stockens Green near Knebworth. Grandpa was retired, and Leonard was working at the Eastern Telegraph Company in London. Dad had got him a job there. Anyway Leonard got married in 1931. I was eighteen and I was his Best Man. He married a girl called Vera and the Reception was at the Knebworth Tennis Club; he was Captain there and quite a good player. He was also a marvellous pianist. They lived at Knebworth for a while, but Grandma and Grandpa moved soon to Mayfield Avenue at Southgate. Isn’t it strange how we follow one another around. Are Families still like that, or are the Harries’ peculiar?
My academic capabilities not being terribly outstanding, it was time for me to be casting about for a job, and if you are interested, you can read about it in the following pages…….