Chippenham Grammar School

A Memory of Chippenham.

Chippenham Grammar School in wartime, way up on the Malmesbury Road, was a great place to be, despite inevitable privations. Textbooks were in short supply, exercise books were rationed, and some of the teachers were away in the armed forces, but it was a happy place, with 400 pupils and a splendid Head, Sidney Farrar, supported by an excellent staff, some of whom were university teachers on loan. One, Morgan Perkins, was a wartime commando, while another, Walter ('Billy') Gee, became Mayor of Chippenham. 1940-47 pupils who went on to do great things included W.J.Harvey the poet and TUC President Ken Gill... We had 48 acres to enjoy. Apart from the old manor house loaned by one of Churchill's Air Marshals, (Charles Portal) all the buildings were brand new, it being the last grammar school to be finished just before war broke out in 1939. It was also co-ed, a novelty in those days, which meant, apart from anything else, that school plays could be performed 'properly'. We did 'Emma', 'Berkeley Square', 'The Farmer's Wife' and a fair amount of Shakespeare and Bernard Shaw. Any who wish to share memories are welcome to get in touch with Professor Brian Thomas (Head Prefect, 1947, Rowden House)...