GALLERY PART EIGHT - 1950s photos courtesy Craig Sams

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I remember the day that muesli was first served up at lunch, back in 1954. Frau Bohm, our German teacher, was an enthusiast. It was real Bircher Benner muesli too, soaked overnight to allow the development of lactic enzymes and thus make it more digestible. Long before anyone put it in packets.

My classmates included Jasper Selwyn, Peter Friedman, John Rolf, a girl called Usha, and the Weinstein sisters, Lisa, Paula and Donna, whose mother produced the Robin Hood TV series.

My favourite teacher was Mrs. Noyes (Noyesy behind her back) and my naughtiest moment was putting a drawing pin on her chair, which achieved the desired result.

We would go to summer camp at a farm near Thaxted. We'd play hares and hounds in the countryside, go for walks to Finchingfield and nurse a bottle of Tizer for several days, kept in the sleeping bag.

Like one of your other correspondents, I found that subsequent school was pretty effortless - I'd learned stuff at T&C that stood me in good stead throughout my subsequent American high school education.

The muesli rubbed off - I started up Whole Earth Foods in 1967 with my brother Gregory (from the junior side of the school) and more recently founded Green & Black's chocolate and am now also the chair of the Soil Association. Poor old Mrs. Paul - such an uninspiring ending to such a successful balancing of progressive methods with good, solid academic grounding.
Here are a couple of shots of the Lower V (or may have been the Upper 1V) in 1954.


The teacher for that class might have been Mr. Gubbins (“Gubby”) or Mrs. Noyes (“Noisey”),
Frau Böhm taught us German, Mrs. Paul taught us French.


Lisa Weinstein, (who produced the 1990 movie ‘Ghost’ ) joined the class soon after this picture was taken,
as did Paula Noble. Lisa’s younger sister Paula (producer of many films) or older sister Donna were in different classes.
Their mother Hannah, an exile from Hollywood, was the producer of the Robin Hood and Buccaneers TV series.

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Thanks to Craig Sams for providing these photos and anecdotes.
Perhaps you have something you could submit for inclusion, The teachers? The buildings? Hedgerley Wood?
whatever you have that you could share. Contact me