The Pond 1908, Chertsey
The Pond 1908, Chertsey Ref: 51716
Memories of The Pond 1908, Chertsey
The Pond
This picture is of the pond near the junction of Pound Pond Road and Abbey Road in Chertsey. As a child I would walk pass this area on my way to school, but the 'pond' was more like a muddy ditch!!
Chertsey & local memories
Read and share memories of Chertsey and Surrey inspired by Frith photos.
Bullying
I still remember Carl Hazeltine who was regularly beaten up by the Noel W......s gang who ran the school. During that period, there were two very large older boys, Goodwin and Baxter. They were the two biggest boys and I remember the day they had a really dramatic fight which lasted for quite a long time, starting in the assembly hall and ending in the wash room. Goodwin, the bigger of the two won! I also remember Goodwin who was THE BULLY OF BULLIES getting his punishment when virtually the entire school ganged up on him in the assembly hall and giving him a good hiding which I still remember vividly. He was covered in well deserved kick marks, although my contribution was throwing a boot!"
Not Wanted.
This photo does bring back memories. At the start of the war in 1939 at the age of 8, I was sent off to Welwyn Garden City from Hastings. The family was split, the start of that unwanted feeling. For some reason I was again moved, this time to Chertsey and the school of Handicraft a place of no compassion and bullies, I feel that cattle had better treatment. I can understand the stress of those war years. but I could not treat anyone the way that we were treated. I longed for love and compassion but was denied. The good part is, years later I accepted Christ as my saviour and have His love also the love of family and friends. Now from unwanted to accepted.
My Time at The School of Handicrafts
After the war (1945) an elder brother was sent to a boy's home in Sidcup, Kent and two years later, I was sent to Chertsey. WE WERE SEPARATED. We had been sent to a family in Epsom Surrey for the duration of the war and with an even older sister were treated very badly, being regularly beaten and starved, Miss W.......y, a Surrey County Council child welfare officer was useless and was only interested in our being accommodated. The boy's home was an awful place. There was bullying, especially by Noel W,,,,,,,s, and one master in particular, slightly lame, was a sadistic, cruel man. I survived and in 1951 was taken to London by a LCC welfare officer, Capt P..e whose first action was to take me to his flat in Santos Rd, Clapham and attempt to molest me. Nobody cared and now, aged 76, I believe the same attitude prevails, Fortunately, I raised two daughters and now have four grandchildren, two in Australia and am financially secure. I am... Read more
Stepgates
The picture of is the new Stepgates Girls School, opened in September 1908. Very little had changed between 1908 and 1960, the road had been given a smoother surface and railings placed in front of the gate.
