Henry Bailey, The Reverend 93, And Two Old Friends From 70 Years Ago.

A Memory of Beckington.

You mention two boys from long ago who were my friends. I wonder if they are still alive. Ridley became head boy at Ravenscroft, if my memory serves me right, and I believe Hoddinott lived on a farm half way between Beckington and Trowbridge. My best friend was Ian Anderson, who lived near us in Trowbridge, and who even at that very young age was fascinated by Norton motor bikes. I wonder too if he is still alive. We travelled by bus every day to Beckington, through Southwick and through (The Suspicions of Mr Whicher) village of Rode. Henry Bailey was a kind and enterprising headmaster. But the star teacher was undoubtedly the Rev EE Bromwich, who made small boys scream with laughter with his simulated obsessions over the number 93 and with a “moon” - his word for nought - which you’d usually get if you didn’t know the answer to a question. He’d only have to say: “There’s something rising in the sky”, and small 7 and 8-year-old boys would fall about laughing. I was only at Ravenscroft for about three years, but remarkably this was enough to help give me a secure emotional base which has mostly stayed with me all my life. Hence the importance of this message, created seven decades and a long lifetime after knowing the characters and events here fondly remembered….……
Richard Eaton

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