Downlands Nursery Old Coulsdon

A Memory of Old Coulsdon.

My father was killed in the early part of the war, therefore my mum had to go to work and find a nursery placement for me. We lived in Caterham-on-the-Hill and the nearest nursery was Downlands, at Old Coulsdon. I was just over l year old when I started, and was heartbroken when my mum left me, I cried all day, and the next. With the kindness and patience of Matron and her staff, I got used to the routine, and within a few weeks had settled in.
My mum worked in Croydon, we would get the 7.30am bus in the morning and I would have breakfast at nursery, dinner and tea. My mum would pick me up at.6.00pm to take me home.
As I got older it became a pattern of life, and I enjoyed all the activities and Miss Ford singing and playing the piano.There was always a lovely warm welcoming smell on cold mornings as you entered the door, and I looked forward to the time when my mum collected me and I would kiss her and smell her lovely scenty powder. So much of childhood relates to smells, all mine are nice, thank goodness.
I had a special friend, his name was Robin Adams, he lived in Old Coulsdon, and we would play in the sandpit and on the slide and get the seats sorted for Miss Ford when it was story time. As I got older, I would help the nurses feed the 'tweenies', life was idyllic as far as I was concerned.
After our lunch, we would have a lie down for a while. I remember in the summer, the little beds would be outside in the sun and Robin and I would help, I suppose others did too, but I can't remember them.
We caught all the childhood illnesses from one another, from measles to whooping cough, and I had the lot - it was passed through like a dose of salts.
Life just moved at a steady pace until one day a bomb exploded on the field in front of the nursery, it might have been a doodlebug. Whatever it was, it really upset my mum and she took me out of nursery and we went to Northumberland to stay with her relatives for a while. I can't remember going back to nursery after that. I started proper school at Caterham in January 1946, and it felt rather tame after my years with my friends at Downlands. Many years later, I was about 15, I was in Old Coulsdon with my young cousin, when a lady approached me and said "Hello Valerie". I must have looked puzzled as she went on "you don't recognise me, do you?"' It turned out to be that lovely matron, who did so much for me and others in our formative years - who if they were here today - I would like to thank them all from the bottom of my heart for their kindness,love and support to children like me in the wartime years

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