Life At The Schoolhouse 1951 To 1958
A Memory of Dunsfold.
My mother, Betty Cronin, was the head teacher at Dunsfold School from around 1951 to 1958 and I lived in the schoolhouse with her and my sister Susan during this period. Both my sister and I went to school in Guildford which involved a two-bus journey there and back each day. I have many memories of life in the village during this time, too many to mention in detail. However, among those that stand out was the Guy Fawkes bonfire, organised by the Bonfire Boys, which was one of the major events in the life of the village. The bonfire was a magnificent affair, at least 20 feet high and built from brushwood on a tripod of saplings culled from the local woods. None of the wooden pallets that you see on modern bonfires. It took a couple of months to build and involved many hours of work from the men and boys of the village.
The Guy Faukes procession was a very grand affair; it started at Richard Nugent's home where flares were issued out and then proceeded up through the village to the accompionment of much singing of the pop songs of the era to the site of the bonfire. Here the Guy Fawkes prayer was said and the fire was lit. A great night's entertainment and a tradition which, unfortunately, has died out over the years.
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I was born in 1957 in Madras, India. When I was 4-5 yrs my family took an annual leave to the United States. Mrs Amy Pew, my nanny whom I loved, boarded a cruise ship, the Oriana, in Ceylon. We sailed across the Indian Ocean during a rough storm, through the Suez and on around the Mediterranean, to England. We spent a period of time in Dunsfold at the Burningsfold(sp?) Inn or Hotel. It was the last trip and my memories of my baby sister, Robin, who suffered a traumatic fall at 2 1/2 yrs some time after we finally returned home to Calcutta, India. The trip was memorable, but the crystallized memories are only glimmers. My two brothers and I (and probably Robin) adored the gardens. There were first experiences: We were stung with stinging nettle, and visited the very colorful sweet shop in Dunsfold, which was like heaven for children. My parents took a quick trip to Paris, leaving us behind, but brought back baskets of enormous sweet strawberries, my first taste. It was the first time we were introduced to a vacuum cleaner. The hotel maid told us it would suck us up if we got close, and we jumped on the bed. I remember the old Burningsfold house (my brothers and I were in an attic room with dormers). I also remember my dad taking us on a day trip in a rented car, a wagon with wood appointments, stopping at the road side in a meadow full of wild flowers to walk. I was too young to little and tired quickly, so my father took me on his shoulders back to the station wagon. I know my memories are very fragmented, but Surrey was so quaint with all the cottages and town square, and so beautiful to me. My father took many slides and I was so enchanted with Dunsfold that I returned on my own in 1983. Sadly, the hotel was converted into poorly kept flats.