Southlands School, Harrow On The Hill

A Memory of Harrow on the Hill.

While sorting through some old photographs from the 1950s when I was in England and Europe with two girlfriends from Western Australia, some of the Southlands school were among them. So we did an internet search, and found the reminiscences on this website. This inspired me to write to tell you about the happy times I had as a relief physical education teacher at the school in the summer term of 1953.

This is my story. We arrived in England by ship, the PO Orion, in February 1953, intending to spend three months travelling in Europe before returning to London for the coronation.

We purchased a 1934 London Taxi for one hundred pounds sterling with the kind help of a male member of the staff of the WA Agent-General.

We had a marvellous tour of Europe practically trouble-free with the taxi and arrived back in London for the coronation, which was thrilling. My friends then moved on to their separate arrangements and handed me the taxi to use and sell.

I had secured a relief teaching position at Southlands with accommodation at the school.
What to do with the taxi? So I parked it in the laneway near the school. The local police contacted the headmistress Miss Towers about the parked taxi, and she happily told them that it belonged to me. The police politely told me it could not continue to be parked in the lane. Miss Tower sweetly suggested I bring it into the school grounds, under the rose arbour, where it happily remained while I was at Southlands. During my time at the school, it was used to transport the girls to their swimming and other activities. It was a huge hit with the girls. At the school Speech Day, Miss Tower declared “that the school had fallen in love with Miss Cornish and her taxi”.

After my time at the school, I went to Norway to see friends we had made in Carnarvon Western Australia when they were there with a whaling venture. From there, across to Scotland by ferry to visit other Carnarvon friends, with attending the Braemar Games being a highlight.

When I left London, the staff member at the WA Agent-General Office (who assisted with the initial purchase) agreed to sell the taxi for us. He succeeded in selling it for seventy-five pounds sterling. This was a wonderful result; we travelled many miles and had lots of memories for the twenty-five pounds capital loss.

Lynette Cornish


Added 21 May 2022

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