Chesham Bois School (1994)

The reality of war was ever with us, even as children, as we had to take our gas-masks to school with us, and had a daily drill on how to use them. Fortunately that aspect of the war never actually touched us, but we were prepared. I have a photo of myself and my Dad in his army uniform, both wearing our masks. I think at 3 years old I looked on it as a sort of game.

Me Going to School (carrying mask)	Dad and Me in Gas Masks

I remember that Miss Knight was our Headmistress, and I had a very kind classroom teacher - I think her name was Miss Weedon. I can still 'see' the alphabet printed up on the wall charts for us to learn how to make our letters. And a specially 'fun' activity was making paper chains for the Christmas tree out of brightly-colored shiny paper which we glued into interlocking loops! I thought they were so very pretty and was so happy when I could take one home with me!

Now I really must tell you about the Famous Episode that happened at school! Food was in very short supply during the war, and fresh fruit was almost unknown. Well one day somebody brought a real strawberry to school - and it was the equivalent of 'Show and Tell' in the playground! Most of us had never seen one before, and it was passed around from one grubby hand to another so that everyone could have a lick to find out what it tasted like!! ( Ugh! ) That was a red-letter day for us!

My special friends at that school were two sisters, Heather and Anne Alder and another girl named Alison Plank. We used to spend ages out in the playground scooping up the gravel into lines to make walls and doorways etc. so we could play 'house'! Then the boys would come along and scuff it all up and we'd have to start all over again. Grrr!! Boys - who needs them!

Of course we played all the other games as well - skipping, bouncing balls against the school walls, etc. - each with their accompanying rhyme or song! One singing game had a special meaning for me - 'Oranges and Lemons' - where two of you made an arch and the others would run through underneath until one was caught.

My special point was in the song.....

'Oranges and Lemons'...	say the bells of Saint Clement's,
'You owe me five farthings'...	say the bells of Saint Martin's,
'When will you pay me?'...	say the bells of Old Bailey,
'When I grow rich'...	say the bells of Shoreditch,
'When will that be?' ...	say the bells of Stepney,
'That I don't know'...	says the big bell of Bow.
Here comes a candle to light you to bed -
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head -
Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead!

All the old bells of London churches are named here, but the special one is the Big Bell of Bow. If one is born 'within the sound of Bow bells' one is offically a Cockney, and as I first saw the light of day at St.Thomas' Hospital, that makes me a Cockney, see?!

My Dad used to tease me with Cockney Rhyming Slang, such as ......

• 'going up the apples and pears' for 'stairs',
• 'use your loaf '(of bread) for 'head',
• 'have a butcher's' (hook) for 'look',
• 'half inched' for 'pinched' (i.e. stolen)

School Group Photo

In this photo I am sitting 3rd from the right in the front row, with Anne beside me and Heather 2 away from her. I also remember Margaret Worrell next to her, and Sylvia Ayres 3rd from the right in the back row. I wish I could recall some other names (- as they say, the face is familiar but.....!)

In those days in England we didn't have Hallowe'en - (I don't know if they do now) - however instead we used to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th. For those who don't know, this commemorates the night when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, many years ago of course! Actually it was in 1605 and the rhyme we children used to chant goes like this:

"Please to remember the 5th of November,
With gunpowder, treason and plot!
We see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!"

Anyway, the children would make a 'guy' out of old clothes and stuff him with straw and put a hat on his head - something like a scarecrow. Then they would sit him up in a wheelbarrow and wheel him around the streets calling out "a penny for the guy"! The idea of this was to get pennies with which to buy fireworks. (Yes, you could buy them for pennies in those days!!)

We never did that part of it, but I do recall a great Guy Fawkes bonfire outside my friend Alison's house, where we roasted potatoes and chestnuts in the hot embers! We only had a few small fireworks, not like the fancy ones you see nowadays! But the ones I really remember were the 'squibs' which chased you around on the ground. How I hated them! And guess who set them off behind your back? Those boys again!!!

The 'piece de resistance' was putting old Guy up on top of the fire and burning him (for his treason)! What a bloodthirsty lot the English are!!

Just as a matter of interest before we pass on from wartime, these are a couple more photos of that era. On the left, I am helping (?) some Boy Scouts with the paper recycling war effort. On the right, a few years later, I am standing proudly in my Brownie uniform with my Dad in his Army uniform!

A happier memory comes to me about the end of the war. May 8th, 1945 was known as V.E. Day - which stood for Victory in Europe Day! The bells all over England pealed out the good news, and celebrations were held in every town and village! Chesham Bois held a big celebration on the Common, at which there was a picnic, and singing and dancing - and even a Maypole!!
I remember being there and sitting on the grass to watch. Very vividly comes back the lovely smell of the sun's warmth on the grass, and the sight of little blue harebells nodding there under peaceful skies. Such a happy day! Freedom at last!

Before continuing any further, the bright idea has come to me that a map of the area (as it was in those days ) might be useful to help you visualize the places that I mention. So here it is........