The following photos
and description were kindly provided by John Morrison early in 2010, Dear Norman, My sister Val (when at SMT&CS known as Valerie Morrison) sent me these photos. Val says please you are welcome to put on your SMTCS website, with the descriptions if you can. I shall be sending you more pix, ones I took at Stanford Hall, with horses and people featured. With best wishes John
This part of the letter is from Val herself While
I was still at the town part of St Mary’s (Autumn Term 1946 and Spring
Term 1947) I was in a play by William Butler Yeats, “The Land of Heart’s
Desire”. This is the set of photos of it. The curtain line up (No
11) is the clearest picture of the cast. James Williams (the music
teacher) smokes a pipe; the small girl beside him was Nina (?), Daisy
Glade (my best friend) played the part of the Priest; Me the fairy
(with long hair and flowers on my head); I can’t recall the names
of the other two. Love Val
“The Land of Heart’s Desire" curtain call as descibed by Val at the
top of this set
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by John Morrison in 2006, with additions from my sister Val who was there too. If you were there
then, you are welcome to email John (living in London) When I visited Stanford Hall a few years ago where was
Staff and others Aileen … - art teacher Miss Athol – History teacher, kept our attention with
marvellous stories Miss Jean Bennett – amazing presence and quiet friendly
control with a look or a word; her cottage in Beckley was near my parents’
cottage in Peasmarsh, West Sussex, though I never went there. Mr & Mrs Bernhard - Mr Bernhard was not a teacher.
He grew great quantities of wonderful vegetables in the walled market garden
in the grounds. Staff and pupils could opt for meat or vegetarian diet. Lord Braye – not staff, but occasionally appeared, as
the school occupied his ancestral home Leslie Fairchild – something of a revolution; initiated
the early morning run from the house to the waterfall and
back, and taught sport and maths. Mrs Fairchild was
there too, but no fair children. Mr & Mrs Gibson – owned the infamous bull terrier
“Topsy”. Mr Gibson had a beautuiful baritone singing voice. A few staff
and pupils including myself (Val) joined Mr Williams in the Ballroom
once a week for 'serious' singing evenings. Margaret “Maggie” Lewis – riding teacher, with her
favourite horse “Ladybird”. She owned the whole stable of horses, and
gave the responsibility of their care to keen seniors. We 'mucked them out',
groomed them, cleaned their tack, schooled them,and the best riders competed
with them in local Gymkhanas. The Misses Nee – matrons for the boys dormitory,
sisters from Estonia. I was ashamed when they were teased. Mrs Owen – the girls’ kindly and respected matron Mr Len Parkyn – school bursar, I remember him for
caring for the pocket money, catching a rat, and then he was for some unknown
reason sacked from the school Mrs Elisabeth Paul – most of us know her, the
“queen” of Stanford Hall. Mrs Selver, Mrs Paul's mother. Had the rather grand
drawing-room behind a secret panel. Heinz Gustav Adolf Paul (“Henry” or “Higgy”) – nothing
he liked better than to play the piano to himself in the ballroom or drive
off in his sports car with dog “Monty” in hot pursuit; I think he was really
a composer who sometimes taught German and signed school reports; took me to
hospital in Rugby in that car when my thumb was dislocated playing football Margaret Pollock (husband Peter?) had a beautiful
soprano singing voice. Mike Pollock – brother of Margaret, was a brilliant
trick rider, seen around a lot with Jill Kennedy (Kennard?) Mrs Reynolds Mrs Thomas Harry Walker – local handyman who could transform into
a ballroom dancer Marion and Doris, on the cleaning staff, taught us Old
Time Dancing. We loved the intricacies! Harry Walker may have been a relative
of theirs. Occasionally we all went to Old Time dances in local village
Halls. Mark Walker – no relation of Harry, taught English. James Williams – in music lessons, could sing Welsh
folksongs louder than the whole class, but not very good at keeping control
of my class (I was ashamed of them for spoiling the lesson). Not much
hair and a moustache. Boys Robert Bacharach – arrived at the school the same term
as me, one of my friends, lived on the North Circular Road Michael Belcher – younger brother of Paul Paul Belcher – seemed a rather unpredictable
character
John Cameron – mysterious but clever I’m sure John Cannon – brilliant pianist from Cambridge, and
airplane modeller Julian Chagrin – he became a professional and very
original mime artist, actor, comedian; appeared with Spike Milligan, etc. –
look him up on the world-wide web John Colton – one of my friends, I could always
persuade him to play cricket, even just the two of us; and he was a brilliant
horse rider Robert “Robbie” Colton – John’s twin brother, another
brilliant horse rider Malcolm Copeman – older and to me seemed very worldly
wise Neil Crawford Harry Fraser – I’m sure he could sell anything to
anybody Michael Graber – wore glasses Michael Hall – one of my friends, always enthusiastic
about everything Henry Hartley – his name was anglicised from Heinz
Herzberg, always arrived and departed from school with Tony Roland Inam Ikramullah – when he arrived, he decided I was his
best friend and generously shared his food parcels Robin Jeffrey – sold me some bike lights; made
aeroplane models that flew, with noisy and smelly little diesel engines Basil Long – I should not have had that fight with him,
he was taller than me Bill McMichael – older and taller than everyone else,
could play two pieces of Beethoven on the piano, and worked the signal
box at Swinford station weekends. He had the responsibility for ringing the
school bell for classes and meals. Robin Minsky – somehow taught us to get down on all fours
and trot, canter and gallop around the dormitory like horses John Morrison – me, collaborator with Tony Roland and
John Ravilious, and despair of the staff for being bright but
disorganised; now having got over several years of having to program computers,
I play and arrange good music; live in Richmond near London with wife
Katherine and our two children John Ravilious – son of English artist Eric Ravilious;
we made our own fireworks together; I think he became an inventive sort of
artist Tony Roland – one of my friends, with a father who had
an art gallery in Bond Street. Look him up on the world wide web as Anthony
Roland. Together we sold our own raffle tickets to parents on parents day Micky Staples – younger brother of Tim Tim Staples – taught me to ride a bike! Michael Sutton – a friend of my sister Val Peter Welch – protégé of Jean Bennett; in the holidays
I went for long bike rides with him in Sussex Christopher Weatherbee David Wilby Girls Evelyn Bacharach – Robert’s young sister Molly Branch – a friend of mine Sarah “Sally” Branch – Molly’s younger sister Gabrielle “Gabby” Collis – to me she seemed to be one
of the naughty ones – was it her story of putting a kipper into the radiator
of Higgy’s car? Elizabeth “Lizzie” Colton – good rider and
good-looking, elder sister of John and Robbie April Conacher – exactly the same age as me, I was
shocked when she tragically died in the school holidays Juliet Hunt – seemed to me delicate and
beautiful. She was a good ballet dancer. Val saw her at the London
Victoria Palace years later. Jill Kennedy (Kennard?) – did she marry Mike
Pollock? Was Val’s closest friend. Lived near Swiss Cottage. Val
says she was Jill Kennedy, I say she was Jill Kennard – who knows? Evelyne Masson-Forestier – from France Marianne Meinhardt – rather wild Carol More – friend of Harry Fraser Valerie Morrison – my sister, liked singing and ballet Anne Profaze – was blinded in one eye by a stick n
arrow Dawn Uniacke - both twins suffered from a condition
that they bruised and bled easily Dierdre Uniacke - Dawn's twin sister Sally Walker – a friend of mine, with red hair, and I
actually went to her house north of London somewhere Girls I remember,without their surnames… Hilary … Karen … - owner of corgi dog “Foxy” Sandra …- lovely red hair, with her own horse at school Susan … - the first girl I danced with Tilly … Zoë … - wild Horses Blended David – he was lazy, and safe for beginners as he
needed kick-starting Ladybird – lovely and brilliant, belonged to Maggie
Lewis Robert Shantung Star – a big palomino gelding, my sister Val’s
favourite The Grey Twinkle – cute skewbald Shetland, had an even cuter
foal – Val has pictures.. Dogs Dan Foxy – a corgi, belonged to Karen Kim Lindy Monty – Mr Paul’s dog, used to sing whenever the school
bell was rung, and chase his car Rob Topsy – The infamous Staffordshire bull terrier, the
only dog I have been scared of. She attacked the twins, and Val say she
had somewhat of a mauling from her. Mice Fascinating, especially when they had families; and
smelly. They were kept in the stables. |