Purfleet Primary School

A Memory of Purfleet.

I started at Purfleet Infants & Primary School aged 4, I put my head on the desk and cried for ages, but there was a lovely elderly lady teacher (I can't remember her name?), she blew my nose and washed my face, I'd arrived with my older sister Kitty, that was ok, but she went off to her classroom across the playground...

We used to have a sleep mid-morning after milk, Mr Walker was the Headmaster and Mrs Paige was a teacher. I remember after the first day I loved it. We had a large grassy area to play on and if you found a knot-hole in the wooden fence you could peep through at the soldiers marching up and down and being shouted out, some had white feathers on their caps, just a bit further on from the school was the rifle range, now a nature reserve I believe. I had this friend Cynthia Rodwell who was hysterical to be with, she used to play Benny Hill records (very funny). Linda McLennan, Freddy Tubby, Caroline Draper, Peter Bright (he was a lovely) and very quiet, Laurence?. We used to play inside the large brick built water tower just outside the school gates while waiting for the school bus, Most times my nan picked me up and we went back to hers along Tank Lane.

When we lived in The Botany in Purfleet my dad told us that Purfleet got its name when Queen Elizabeth I went to the top to watch the English Fleet sail down the Thames on their way to fight off the Spanish Armada and at the sight she said "Oh my poor fleet" hence the name. I've also heard she said "Oh my poor feet" - it was quite a climb!


Added 18 September 2011

#233449

Comments & Feedback

I was at Purfleet Primary School between 1952 and 1958. I was taught by Mrs Paige (she played the piano and I was dead interested in music and I loved singing the hymns) and Willie Walker who was extremely fierce and had two ginger haired sons the younger of which was Peter.The name Cynthia Rodwell definitely rings in my ears. Also Linda McLennan.

I got on the school bus near Thames Board Mills in Purfleet along with Marilyn and Helen Arthey, Stephen and Mary Jarvis. My dad worked at Thames Board Mills as an engineer. Margaret Bond lived at the shops near the Post Office. Barbara Coleman was my best friend and lived on the way to school. She still lives round about in the Uplands and is now Barbara Harris.

Barbara and I passed the 11 plus and went to Palmers. I have spent my working life as a teacher of music, as a classroom teacher and as a violin peripatetic and my first taste of what music was to offer me was gained in Purfleet Primary. My name is Jane Clinkard and my younger brother is Howard. It was his violin school violin that I taught myself to play on. My memories of the Botany are great, by the way!
I for got to say that I spent my eye to a knot hole in the fence by the infant block too! Can't remember what I was looking at!

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