this was where my father worked from 1961 until 1970. It was the R&D site for Van Leer, developing fibre drums; To test durability they built a "Fibre-Henge" - a scale model of the better known megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain - the weighted down trilithions were left outside for a couple of years. I remember Xmas parties and bonfire nights and my dad getting censured for some, rather right wing, views expressed in the centre newsletter ("Drumbeat") - eugenics I think - but remember the Swedes were doing this until 1975 On the access road is a small birch forest - where I remember assisting with "sap tapping" - though I did not get to sample the (eventually) alcoholic product
Later in the day we stopped off at Bramshott Junior Boys School - now converted to a rather nice set of houses - though at £600K for a three bedroomed property - it should be nice! The school building was originally a pub - close to the main London-Portsmouth road. About 500 years old we were told. I was there in the school year 1969-70 - which meant I missed Boris Karloff by just a couple of months - yes really!
The owner was working in the yard - formerly the playground and we had a nice long chat about:
The garage - the former outside loos - where I got snowed on at Xmas 1969
The playground where the entire school engaged in monstrously violent games of "British Bulldogs"
The now living room was my first classroom - a Victorian extension to the original building and where I was banned from using ink and forced back to pencil after an unfortunate blotting paper and inkwell incident
The sheds - where the older boys sold out-grown football boots to new oiks
The bomb-craters - probably lime or marl pits on reflection
There were photos of the semi derelict school post closure (mid 70's) and photos of boys with long hair and short shorts - sadly not of my year though.
1 comment:
Many thanks for posting. I attended this school from 1961 until 1966. The headmaster at that time was a Mr Wallace, if I recall correctly. I can attest to the rough playground games. We used to play one called "Kingy" which involved trying to avoid being hit on the legs by a tennis ball. One winter we had a huge ice slide down the centre of the playground. I used to walk to school from Liphook along a pathway we called "The Hangars" which started just off the A3 London to Portsmouth road as it then was.
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