Egham Reminisces 1945 2011

A Memory of Egham.

I was born at home, like most babies those days, in Sept 1945 at 8 Hummer Road next door to Mr Heather's wood sawing yard with all the rats that it contained in the stored wood. My grandfather/mother lived in Park Road and he was a blacksmith who was supposed to have made the main gates at Royal Holloway University in the 1890s. My aunt was the till lady at the Savoy Cinema in High Street where used to go to Saturday morning cinema club with Roy Roger's films and fake cowboys there. My other grandmother who lived in Egham Hythe was piano player for silent movies at Majestic cinema in Staines. Remember Drake and Mounts stock yard where we used to play in the hay and got told off for doing so! Remember tuck shop opposite St. John's church open 7-10 every day. I went to Egham Primary Junior School at 4-5 years old and at 7 going to Junior School next door where I was taught by Mrs Woods, Miss Grey, Mr. Slade and Head Master was a pipe smoking Mr. Golding who lived in the school house on premises which then were 100 years old. I got the cane for being naughty three times! Then went to Egham County Secondary School in 1958
after failing 11+ which was under nasty Mr. Glyn Price who loved to rule with heavy hand and smoked heavily. First teacher was the nice/encouraging Mrs Taylor who got me up from C2 to B1 in 1960, the class to be in to do GCE exams where the snobby Miss Lister ruled in school library with her unofficial boyfriend - Mr. Parrott, with a parrot like birthmark on the back of his head - he was excellent geography teacher who liked to rule the roost so to speak next to the headmaster but much of what he taught us then still I remember today. Mr Foster was maths teacher and a great friend after I left school - I bought his old Ford Popular car. Mr Gravelle - art teacher and ladies man, had an affair with a girl pupil and later married her?! Mr Smith - history teacher, another ethusiastic teacher who used to run history club after school and took us on history trips. Mr Amon - cross eyed maths/technical drawing teacher and the heavy smoking Mr Coleman - he did did not tolerate fools easily. Then there was the disorganised science teacher Mr. Beer who was caught out by my freind who undid the door latch so when went to open the door it came away in his hand, much to our amusement! He never did found who did it! We had the sadistic Welsh rugby player - Mr Jones, who thought football was a nancy boy's game - so we suffered at his hands with tortutous gym lessons and cross country runs through cow pat dung fields. But later on I did come to enjoy these runs, it was the only thing I was good at - 7th in school 1961! Class mates were Peter Curd (Ginger), Robert Stillwell, later to become policeman who married class mate Carol Challenger, Robert Tomlins who I beat at music exam in 1961 much to his annoyance!, Michael Jowett, John O'Conner who I am still friends with after 53 years, Michael Thomas, Brian Oddy, Michael Owen (Titch), John Lacey, Carol Packer, Christine Searle, the lovely Thalia Currie, the brainbox who showed us boys up, Ruth Dobson - the superb English person - Carol Lockington. Other memories of Egham - Adam Gibbs's record shop top of Station Road, where the Scientology church is now - I worked for him in Chertsey 1968-69, Macfisheries nearly opposite St. John's church, the farm at back of it now Egham Manor Players home (if they still exist?). Kar Sales on site of old Gem cinema next to Drake and Mount, Post Office building in Station Road - hair dressers in Station Road next door to Sleeps the bicycle shop where I got my first bike in 1959 - the ice cream/tea room at bottom of Egham Hill.
Heads the furniture store in front of St. John's and the bottom of Egham Hill over which my mother and father lived when they first got married in 1937. I attended Sunday School in 1950s at old Methodist church (now United Reformed) around the back next door to Red Lion pub, where David Coleman taught me and later became teacher at Egham County Sec. School and David Pollington - nice bloke - and Mr.Greenslade who later became heavily involved with Syd Oliver in creating much of Egham's history archives at Literary Instiute. On that note I will finish. If anyone who reads this in future and who knows me or wishes to contact me - I will be happy to hear from you
Vic Stroud