Wartime Lower Feltham & Junior Scool

A Memory of Feltham.

I lived in 123 Rochester ave.,from about 1934 until I joined the RAF in 1948 having moved from Hayes where I was born in '31. I went to Feltham Hill School to around 1942.The cemetery opposite received a bomb in 1941 I think and blew the windows out and the roof off and we had no schooling for a month or two (Hooray!).We kids got to see the bones in the graveyard!. Another bomb fell just the other side of the Three Horseshoes Pub just missing a beautiful edible walnut tree which we used to eat the nuts from. Going towards Feltham Hi St.and before Lower Feltham shops on the left another bomb demolished the centre two houses of a block of 4. I don't recall anybody getting hurt. The same night another bomb demolished 2 houses on the road from St Dunstans to Bedfont that goes past what was the Borstal. All those bombs dropped in one night. I saw my first doodlebug from the top of the bridge opposite the borstal, where there was a small orchard. Me and my pal Mick were scrumping at the time! We watched the doodlebug from the hill explode in Staines are somewhere. In 1942 I started at Longford secondry modern as it was called. Headmaster was MrBryant who used to wait for us on the entrance steps with a cane if we were late for school. Late for school 1 day 1 whack 2 days 2 whacks and so on. I was late for 3 days once and I was never late again ! I am Reginald Coker now aged nearly 84 yrs. If you remember me please get in touch with me in Poole Dorset where I now live. Reginald.coker@ntlworld.com

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