Growing Up In Holbeach St Marks (The Marsh)

A Memory of Holbeach St Marks.

Although I was actually born in Holbeach Bank, and spent the first 3 1/2 years of my life in Holbeach St Matthews, I spent my childhood in Holbeach St Marks. My mother and father Ray and Greta Gray, moved to Holbeach St Marks mainly because of access to a school for me once I reached school age.

The house we moved to could not have been more convenient to the school, it was next to it. It was just a small semi-detached cottage, then a tied house owned by HCC Tinsley, where my Dad obtained a job as a farm labourer. Our next-door neighbours were Johnny and Joyce Johnson and their young son Clive. Ron Johnson's, the butchers shop, was the other side.

Holbeach St Marks School had just 3 classes, the headteacher being Mr Phillip Button, who later handed over to Mr Ron Clare. The infants class, during my time, was run by the lovely Verna Rowson (later Twell). The junior class teacher was a very stern Mr Woodruff White who later handed over to the delightful Miss Janet Beeba (later Meadows). The school had extremely strong links with the church and we had regular visits by the charismatic and incredibly popular vicar, the Rev Canon Cyril Browne-Wilkinson. Along with my close friend Graham Johnson, I eventually became a choir-boy.

In those days, there were simply not enough hours available to fit everything in. Football and cricket down the 'Rec', fishing in Welland and Horse-shoe Gull, collecting cockles, winkles and samphire from the marshes, picking strawberries and bean-pulling for pocket money, biking to outlying villages and riding on tractors on the farms were just some of our regular activities. Poker, 3-card brag and 'The HSM Olympics' down at Sycamore Farm with friends John, Dick and Neville Dunham, Johnny Faulkner, Chris Croker, Chris and Dave Chapman, Keith Lawrence and Graham Johnson took much of our time.

On leaving Holbeach St Mark's school, I went on to the George Farmer at Holbeach. It was at this time that Ron Clare took over as headmaster of the school and he and his wife Mary, also teaching, began the HSM Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies, with many helpers. Virtually every child in the local area joined. We went away on camps to places such as Phasels Wood (Hertfordshire) which was the first time any of us had stayed away from home. We were all taught to swim and even barbeque sausages etc. The Clares gave a tremendous amount of their time to the village and we all thought the world of them. My mum became School Caretaker and babysat for the Clares' son, Phillip.

Ron Clare and Cliff Lee also began the HSM Under 16 football team. We were called the 'half-pints' by the local press as we were aged 11 to 13 and much smaller than the opposition. Little Johnny Durant, aged 11, reputedly ran through an opponents legs. After extensive team coaching, we lost our first match 7-0 to none other than timeless arch-rivals, Gedney Drove End. During the first year losing by a single figure number was considered a great achievement. Our first victory came the following year, when we beat a Spalding team 2-1. I scored the first goal and Derek Bingham scored the winner. We were ecstatic!

During my childhood, Holbeach St Marks was fairly self-sufficient. Near the chapel, Mr Bingham ran a taxi business, opposite was one of two pubs, the New Inn, that still exists, and the Wheatsheaf, which closed down around 1961. The front of the Wheatsheaf was a shop, and a further shop close by was run by Mr Sutherill, with the post office, run by Mrs Pearl, next door. Past the school was Ron Johnson's the butcher, a few yards further on was Mr Foster, the cartwright/carpenter, then Tom Harris, the basketmaker/cobbler. Next was Kath Garrick's village shop (after moving from Lapwater Lane) and next was Mr Kent, the blacksmith.

In about 1955 we moved to Holly House, on the road heading west from the village. We took the house over from my friend Graham Johnson's father Hubert, who moved to Crown Avenue. Almost opposite lived Bernard and Joyce Croker. Bernard was the foreman/manager of Caulton's Farm. Bernard was a real old-fashioned countryman whose pursuits included pheasant and wildfowl shooting, fishing and riding his Norton motorbike plus playing the mouth-organ and piano-accordion. I was fascinated by all these activities and I was virtually adopted by the couple. I spent most of my time out on adventures with Bernard. My favourite activity was 'butt-dragging' ie catching flounder by dragging a contraption with large hooks on a bar, across marsh creeks repeatedly. We even transferred thousands of elvers from the Holbeach Creek to the pond (pit) on his farm. We travelled everywhere on the Norton. Bernard taught me to drive a tractor and to shoot with his many shotguns, my favourite being the small 410 as this didn't almost dislocate my shoulder when it went off.

We went to school at Holbeach by Cropley's coach (driven by 'Johnny' - who would suddenly brake, drag you out by the scruff of your neck, smack your ear and kick you off if you misbehaved). You then usually had a 3 or 4 mile walk home. If we wanted to stay after school for sporting or other activities, such as chess club etc. we had to bike the 6 miles to Holbeach. I played football for the school and every Saturday morning, myself and friends Chris Chapman, Graham Johnson, John Faulkner, Mick Lee, Deggie and Alan Bingham, would cycle the 6 miles to Holbeach, play football for the school, cycle back to HSM and then appear for HSM Under 16s in the afternoon - there was little or no obesity in those days.

Just some HSM memories.