Still Clear Memories Of My Birth Town

A Memory of Barking.

I notice many other contributors focus on the shops in the town centre and I will cover these in my next ramblings but start with my schools.
I was born in March 1949 at Upney maternity hospital and my first school was Northbury.
Teachers I remember were Mr.Rowe, cold fish he was, Mr Bowers I liked him. I remember the school's diamond anniversary celebrations and watching out of the class room windows the building of the underpasses and flyovers on the Fenchurch St. line that ran past the school, steam trains in those days, we made a model of the work going on.
After my 11plus I went to Park Modern off Upney lane and assumed I had failed but until my year's arrival the schools had been segregated, boys and girls separate and did not take the same exams as the Abbey grammar school. Our year was the first mixed classes and we were the first to take what was then Oxford G.C.E's the same as the Abbey. We later leant that the Abbey was physically full up and we were at Park Modern for that reason and did the same work as if we had gone to the Abbey, effectively we operated as a school within a school for learning purposes but part of the overall school for practicalities.
Teachers I loved and hated included, Mr Lewin for maths, used to fancy himself and dribbled when he saw Miss. O' Conner walk by in her high heels, she was stunning all the pupils and staff fancied her. Mr. King for metalwork, he was fine. Mr. Murrell for woodwork he was o.k. Our form teacher Mrs. Orbell and later Mrs. Dove. Miss. Barraclough for French was hopeless. Head was Mr. Clements and deputy Mrs. Fraser.
Does any of this ring bells with any readers?