My Dad's Memories Of The Boys Garden City (Bgc)

A Memory of Woodford Bridge.

My Dad, Thomas Brisland lived at the BGC for 9 years from around 1924. He was housed in Natal Cottage with 34 other boys and they were cared for by a matron and a house mother. The matron was Mrs. Woollard and Dad described her as strict but fair. Her favourite saying was “The Lord helps those who help themselves, but God help them if I catch them!”

Dad’s entire education at BGC was at the Tin School, He maintained that, unlike his best friend Cecil Silk (Saturday Cottage), he was not clever enough to graduate to the “outside” school in Snakes Lane. He talked about the John Capel Hanbury Hospital in the grounds of BGC and Claybury Asylum, the grounds of which abutted BGC. Apparently the BGC boys were known as Banana Boys by the Claybury patients.

Days began at 5:30 ish with ablutions followed by house cleaning with Ronuk polish and school. If anyone was ill they were given a dose of “Jollop” by matron. On Sunday evenings there was a Magic Lantern Show and each boy had an orange and a piece of fruit cake at Christmas. Dad and Cecil used to stand at the bakery door and shout “Have you got any broken biscuits? When the answer was “Yes” they would reply “Well mend them then” and scarper! When they were a bit older, they would visit the local cinema in George Lane where apparently, one could gain free admission by climbing in through the toilet window! They would deliberately suck oranges very loudly throughout the film until they were thrown out by the cinema manager.

In the 1960s we would go as a family every year to the annual BGC Old Boys reunion. Our coach from Ipswich was organised by Dad’s former After Care Officer, Alan Watts and this was the highlight of my year. I loved the slide on the playing field (it was by far the tallest I had ever seen) and Dad taught me to swim in the wonderful indoor pool. The teas in Canada Hall were sumptuous and the evening was rounded off by dancing to a live band with everyone doing the Conga around the BGC grounds. I never met my paternal grandparents but I always felt that my one day a year at BGC was a great substitute. Despite one particularly difficult and testing time, Dad was always very happy at BGC and felt privileged to have been part of the great Barnardo family.

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