DAVID Thomas from Solihull in the West Midlands has been in touch about memories of Mrs Dibben’s class at St. Nicholas Primary School, Broadwey, near Weymouth, which was featured on the Looking Back page earlier this year.

The picture was taken in 1954 on the steps of the Temperance Hall and David was pictured in the photograph at the right hand end of the top row.

He writes: “The article accompanying the photos explains that the pictures were supplied by Mrs Sandra Frampton (nee Hutchings) who I knew as Sally.”

David has very kindly also sent in several pages of memories of his time at the school, some of which we are reproducing here. However, he is at pains to stress that while the general memories are clear, some of the more specific ones have smudged with time and he is unable to recall all the names of his friends and classmates.

David writes: “My time at St. Nicholas school started in the autumn of 1949 and went through until the summer of 1955. During that time there were two infants’ classes and four classes for juniors; the teachers for these classes were as follows: first infant class – Miss Jacob, second infant class – Mrs. Stokes, first junior class (Standard 1) – Mrs. Dowding, second junior (Standard 2) – Mr. Cheeseman, third junior (Standard 3) – Mrs. Dibben, fourth junior (Standard 4) – Mr. Allan. During my time at the school there were two consecutive headmasters, firstly Mr. Coombes and latterly Mr. Hudson.

“I had just turned five years old when I joined Miss Jacob’s infants class in September 1949. The classroom was large with a big black cast iron coal-fired heating stove about mid-way along the north wall. For purposes of safety the stove had vertical metal rails arranged in a ‘fence’ around it to prevent us getting too close to the heat. In those days each pupil was given a one third pint bottle of milk which was drunk with the aid of a drinking-straw during the morning break. Quite regularly during winter time the crates of milk bottles were placed around the heating stove to thaw the milk so as to render it possible to drink.

The surfaced quadrangle of the playground area for infants and junior girls was to the north of Miss Jacob’s classroom; the ground level of the playground was higher than that of the classroom and had to be accessed by stone steps leading up to it. A large elm tree grew at about the centre of the quadrangle and this was ideal for chasing each other around. The Abbotsbury branch railway line ran in a cutting alongside the north edge of the playground and we were able to look down on the passing trains hauled by steam engines.

At that time the bridge carrying the Dorchester Road over the railway did just that, but these days it seems to be filled in underneath so is probably no longer a bridge in the true sense.

Part of the playground extended around the back, ie. down the eastern side, of the school building; this part of it was an embankment having a bare earth surface – strictly out of bounds in wet conditions! Growing out of this embankment was an enormous beech tree which had a large proportion of its roots exposed above the surface, these were ideal for climbing amongst. I remember it being a popular pastime to collect the beech mast (nuts) in autumn time.

Miss Jacob was a very kind person but nonetheless had her methods of keeping us disciplined. Anyone caught eating a sweet whilst in class was compelled to drop same into the waste bin and then stand for a while behind the blackboard which rested on a large easel at the front of the classroom. I also recall her severe threat to any of us who wouldn’t stop talking when she requested silence. She kept a bottle of coloured liquid and a teaspoon on her desk and if anyone, despite being warned, persisted in chattering she would threaten to administer some of the liquid which would cause their tongue to shrivel up and thereby prevent any more talking. I think it fair to say that none of us really believed her claim about the liquid’s effect but nobody had the courage to put it to the ultimate test!

On certain days of the week we had to move our desks and chairs to the periphery of the room to make space for physical exercise which involved ‘running, skipping, hopping etc.’ This activity was to the accompaniment of school radio broadcasts; I think the programmes were called “Music and Movement” and “Time and Tune”.

Just prior to the dinner break, when we would all file down to the dining area at the Renold’s Institute, we would sing grace; I can’t recall all the words but it was sung to the tune of “All people that on earth do dwell” and began “We thank thee Lord for this our food …”

St. Nicholas being a C of E school did of course have close ties with St. Nicholas church opposite. I remember the vicar at the time was Mr. Galloway, a large round faced man with a few remaining strands of hair stretched over his otherwise bald head. He was quite a jolly person with the ability to talk to children at their own level. Occasionally he would come into the school to speak to us at the morning assembly. At various times of the year all pupils of the school were taken to attend services at the church; I particularly recall us all being given small crosses made from palm for Palm Sunday.”

l The original photograph was sent into us by Sally Frampton, who David can remember well and would like to contact to share memories and try and put everyone’s name to their face.