Wartime At The Grammar School

A Memory of Chippenham.

I was in the first intake of the newly built Chippenham Grammar School. When we arrived for our first day there were no chairs, as war had just been declared and all transport had been commandeered for the movement of troops. So we spent our day perched uncomfortably on the desks and were then told to go home until further notice.
I remember spending time sheltering from air raids in the cellar of Hardenhuish House, and, as a six-former using the little room up the back stairs for studying. We used to give our English master,"Jumbo" Ellis a hard time. Miss Morgan was deputy head and a great recounter of anecdotes. Joy Badham was a close friend, and we were all very proud of her when she won a state scholarship to Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. It would be good to hear from any pupils of my years 1939 to 1946. Joyce Slocombe.