Holy Trinity In The Late 40's And 50's

A Memory of Wallington.

I was baptised by the Rev. Brenn in 1945 and was sent to Sunday School from the age of about 4. I remember being scared to death by the head, the formidable Miss Hoof, who would give a loud blast on her whistle if anyone dared to mess about. My favourite day was the Tuesday after Whitsun when we all went to Bognor Regis for the day. We had to attend a 'short' service, which seemed to last forever, before we all charged out to the waiting convoy of Surrey Motors coaches which whisked us away to the seaside. All too soon, however, we were dragged from the beach to have afternoon tea at the Rex before setting off for home again. I think the vicar in those days would have been Canon Frank Colquohoun (with apologies if I've misspelt that). From about 1950 to 1957 I went to Holy Trinity Primary School where I remember Miss Howarth, Mrs Webber, Mrs Hull, Mr Leech and Miss Coates, amongst others. We had to wear shorts (my legs always got chapped in winter and my knees were permanently grazed), and the headmaster Mr Hood would send any offenders home to change. My friend Brian was too tall for standard school shorts so his mother had to buy long trousers and cut them short, which reminds me of Mr Bean! Mr Hood retired before my final year when Mrs Barty took over. I always enjoyed music lessons with her when we sang songs like, The Fishermen Of England (where did that come from?) And I sang in the choir at Carshalton Public Hall. I recall having my first crush on a girl called Marion Burford, but was much too shy to even talk to her!