Drew Family Diaries

Limited Information in Grandad’s Diaries

There is limited information about the schools we attended at this time from grandad’s diaries. This is because issues related to schools and our schooling appeared not to be of primary importance to him.

Mum Was Not Keeping a Diary at that Time

Also, at that time, mum was not keeping a diary so there is no information from that source.

A Wide Range of Other Materials

However, mum did keep a wide variety of material from our school days including reports, school magazines and photographs.  Because of the way I distributed these after mum died, I have more that relates to me than to my siblings.

Tricia and Norwich High School

During this period, Tricia attended Norwich High School for Girls (see Chapter 91).

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Kinsale Avenue School

At the start of this period, I was attending Kinsale Avenue School (see Chapter 82).

Mr J T Sweeney

From my 1970 report, it appears that my class teacher was Mr J T Sweeney who I remember. I loved football but was particularly hopeless at it!! He encouraged me by making me his assistant in managing the school’s B team. Very occasionally I got to play but not often as I was truly hopeless! At that age, I would have happily swapped any academic ability I had to be good at football!!

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Colman Junior

When we moved from Hellesdon to Waverley Road in December 1970, I attended Colman Road Junior School. Apparently, the school opened in 1927 and, in 1977, when it celebrated its 50^th anniversary, was known as Colman Middle School. I also found an article from May 1971, when I was at the school, about the installation of a pedestrian crossing which I vaguely recall.

I think Alan and Liz both went there too although I have a vague recollection of Liz attending a school on the Avenues.

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My Report from Colman Junior

According to my report from Colman Road, the headteacher was Mr E J Redding[1] and my class teacher’s name was Hannah.

Edmond Redding

According to a news report, he was Edmond Redding and he retired in 1983, having been Head of Colman Middle School for 15 years. Apparently, he had been an intelligence officer with the Indian Army in the second world war. During his time as Head, the 11-plus exam was abolished with the transition to comprehensive education. The school also changed from a Junior to a Middle School.

My Recollections of Colman Junior

I do not recall either the Head or my class teacher. This may be because I was there for less than a year.

The Content of the Report

The move may also have been a factor in why this was one of my weakest reports. My wife, Jo, who is a teacher, comments that “schoolmasterish” means bossy which is probably fair although a bit rich in a report from a school teacher! One of the things which frustrated me then was that although we got separate marks for effort and attainment, they tended to mirror each other. I did not feel that was fair in my case. For example, I felt I really tried at PE. I just was not very good at it! I guess that could have been self-reinforcing. The things I was good at (Maths, science, language etc.) I did well at and so I guess I focused on them.

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School Affected by our Move?

I recall the move from Hellesdon (see Chapter 102) potentially having implications for my schooling as, if we had moved somewhere else in Norfolk, they still had grammar schools and I would have needed to have taken the 11-plus (see Chapter 91) to attend one. However, if we moved to Norwich, the system there was comprehensive and they no longer took the 11-plus. I recall that I took (and passed) the 11-plus as a precaution.

Not Many Recollections

I don’t have that many recollections of my time at Colman Road. I recall that there was also an infant school. While you accessed the infant school from Colman Road, the Junior School was accessed from South Park Avenue.

Moving to Hewett School

I attended Colman Junior School for less than a year as, in September 1971, I went to the Hewett School and attended for the remainder of this period. The Hewett School is now known as the Hewett Academy.

Alan Also Started High School During this Period

Alan also started High School during this period, in September 1973. As mentioned in Chapter 102, he, and later Liz, attended a different school from me, Earlham. This closed in 2009 and was replaced by the City Academy Norwich.

A Debate About Where I Went to School

I recall there being quite a debate about where I should go to secondary school.

Did Mum Want Me to Go to King Edward’s?

I think mum wanted me to go to the King Edward Grammar School. This is now the Norwich School. Between 1944 and 1975, it was a direct grant grammar school but reverted to a fully-private school subsequently. Norwich High School for Girls operated in a similar way and this was the basis on which Tricia attended. I don’t think I was keen to go to King Edward’s as I saw the school as “snobby”. I don’t think dad was keen as politically and ideologically he believed in comprehensive education, I think.

Which Comprehensive?

There was also debate about which comprehensive school I might attend if we went down that route.

CNS Was the Nearest

CNS was by far the closest being just round the corner from Waverley Road. I think this school has always been known locally as “CNS” based on the name City of Norwich School. However, at the time I would have attended, it was known as Eaton (City of Norwich) School. Since 2014, it has been an academy known by the name City of Norwich School.

Against CNS was that it only turned comprehensive in 1971, the year I would have started there. It had previously been a boys-only school and girls were only admitted gradually from the time it became comprehensive.

Benefits of Choosing Hewett

Although Hewett was further away, it had already been a comprehensive for a year. The school had been formed from the merger of three schools – Lakenham Boys’ Secondary Modern, Lakenham Girls’ Secondary Modern and Hewett Grammar School. It already had a mix of both male and female students.

It Was Decided…

So, it was decided that I would go to Hewett.

Rivalries with CNS

One of the practical consequences of this was that I had to walk past CNS to get to school. As the schools were fierce rivals, this was not hazard-free but I do not recall any major incidents. I mostly passed CNS before their pupils arrived and I arrived home after they had mostly left.

I Had Friends from School Living in the Same Area

In addition, some of my friends, who lived near me, also went to Hewett School.

Simon LeFevre

Simon LeFevre lived at 9 Waverley Road. From memory, Simon was not one of my closest friends although I did go on a youth hostelling holiday with him and Gary Wood in the later 1970s. I am not sure what he went on to do. According to exam results booklets I have, he did his O levels in 1976 but did not do A levels in 1978.

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Walking To and From School

I sometimes walked to or from school with Simon although, from memory, this was by no means always. In discussing our class photo with Joyce Hanton (nee Turner), she reminded me that she and her friend Sandra Cocker, who both lived in Tuckswood, used to walk home sometimes with me and Simon. I confess that I had a bit of a crush on Sandra although I had no idea how to approach girls at that stage so it never came to anything! I recall Sandra worked in what was a supermarket in Tuckswood. It is now  a women’s boutique called Vanilla I went there on a number of occasions but was never brave enough to go in!!

Other Friends

Friends of mine later in my school life also lived on Unthank Road, Eaton Rise and on the Greenways estate.

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Learning Musical Instruments at School

One thing that did interest grandad was the musical instruments that we learned at school. Grandad noted, in December 1971, that Tricia was having violin lessons. A month earlier, grandad had noted that Alan was learning the clarinet. In February 1974, grandad noted that Liz brought a Boehm flute to theirs which she was learning at school.

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My Siblings Were More Musical than Me

I recall my siblings playing these various instruments. Of us all, Tricia was (and is) probably the most musical. She also played piano and organ and still does. For example, she played organ at mum’s funeral in 2020.  

I Did Not Learn an Instrument at School

Grandad did not note me learning an instrument at school and I think this is simply because I didn’t! While we were encouraged to learn an instrument at school, this was not particularly pushed as far as I can recall. I was not especially interested. I recall having piano lessons possibly earlier than this. But, I hated them! Later, I did dabble in teaching myself to play guitar but without much success. This was not arranged through school although I was in school at the time.

High School Carol Services

Grandad also noted school concerts and performances that took place during this period. In December 1972, he noted that mum and grandma attended a carol service put on by the High School at Norwich Cathedral. It seems that a number of schools and colleges held carol services at Norwich Cathedral. For example, on 15 December 1972, there were such services for the City College and Thorpe Grammar School (which became Thorpe St Andrew Comprehensive). There were also other carol services on 20 and 21 December. However, I have not found any mention of the High School carol service which was held on 18 December. But, I did find a news cutting of the service the next year.

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Plays and Concerts

In March 1972, grandad noted that grandma went to see me in a play at school and, in December 1972, mum and grandma went to a concert I was in. The latter was a performance of “1066 and All That” which was organized by Mrs Robinson and Miss Nurse. It was mentioned repeatedly in the 1972 Hewett magazine including by Dr Roy and in the Lower and Middle Schools section where it was  referred to as the Lower/Middle School Christmas Concert.

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A Roman Soldier

Based on my recollections and the play manuscript, I think I was in at least two scenes in this concert. The first was in Scene 2 as one of a group of Roman soldiers who had to sing the song “We’re going home, we’re going home; We’re on the road that leads to Rome”. I vaguely recall this song and feeling stressed about having to sing on stage!

William the Conqueror

The second was Scene 6 which features William the Conqueror and Queen Matilda in 1066. The scene opens with William repeating the words, “William the Conqueror, ten-sixty-six” which I recall. A baron brings in a prisoner who is accused of killing a rabbit in the New Forest. The baron holds up the rabbit for William and Matilda to see. This is the scene in the photograph below.

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School Trips and Exchanges

Grandad also noted school trips and foreign exchange visits in which  we were involved.

Tricia’s Exchange with Novi Sad in Yugoslavia

In July 1972, grandad noted that we brought a girl visitor from Yugoslavia to theirs for tea and that she was staying with us for two weeks. A week later, he noted that Tricia had gone with her by air to Yugoslavia. Plans for this visit were described in the local press in February 1972. I recall this visit although I do not recall the girl’s name. I do recall that she was from Novi Sad which is now in Serbia and which continues to have a twinning arrangement with Norwich.

Tricia Goes to Lille in France

In August 1972, grandad noted that a French girl, who was on holiday with us, went for tea at grandma and grandad’s with mum, Tricia, Alan and Liz. She went to grandma and grandad’s again for tea at the beginning of the following month. In April 1973, Tricia went by air with some girls from her school to Lille in France. I am not sure if this was another exchange visit. As far as I am aware, Norwich’s twinning relationship is with Rouen in France and not with Lille.

My School Trip to Rouen

In April 1973, grandad noted that I went on a school trip to Rouen by boat and rail.

My Exchange with Koblenz in Germany

In March 1974, grandma noted that a German boy who was staying with us came to them for tea. In May 1974, grandma noted that I got back from Germany at 9.40am. I recall that this trip was to Koblenz another city with which Norwich is twinned.

Grandad Mostly Did Not Note Our Academic Performance

Grandad did not note much about how we were doing at school or our academic performance.

Tricia’s O Level Results in 1974

However, in August 1974, grandad noted that grandma collected Tricia’s O level results and phoned us with them. We were on holiday in Colwyn Bay (see Chapter 106). Grandad noted that Tricia passed in all seven subjects, achieving two grade 1s, four grade 2s and one grade 4.

O Levels

In the UK, GCE ordinary or O levels were replaced with GCSEs in the 1980s although advanced or A levels remain. When Tricia took her O levels, a numerical system was used for grading where 1 was the highest and 9 was the lowest which is the opposite of how GCSEs are graded now! Tricia may have been in the last year that used this system as an A-E system was introduced in 1975 and that is the system that I went through when I took my O levels between 1975 and 1977.

Reports

Mum kept most, if not all, of our school reports. I found nine of my reports from Hewett for this period among her papers.

Hewett School Report Formats

My reports at Hewett were in a variety of formats including one page sheets and report booklets, which later became the main format.

First Year Reports

For my first year (1R), I have printed sheet reports for January 1972 and July 1972 with a booklet-style report for summer term 1972. The content of this booklet-style report is identical to the sheet report for the same period.

Second Year Reports

For my second year (2R), I have two booklet-style reports for Spring and Summer term with sheet reports for both. I think the booklet-style reports replaced sheet reports from Summer 1972 but there continued to be typed one page summaries at least to 1973.

I Think Mum Typed Copies of My Reports from 1972 to 1973

However, I wonder if mum typed these sheets as teachers’ names are not always correct and I think they would have been if these had come from school.

Advantages of the Booklet Style

I think teachers and parents preferred the booklet-style reports because they allowed more detailed comments and changes could be made to a single report rather than having to change everything. The same format was retained at least into the 1990s. I recall that some students liked them because they could “lose” reports they did not like. However, some of the booklets at least contained a leaf which noted how many reports there were (although that could be “lost” also)!

Mum Made Her Own Notes

I also found some handwritten notes that mum made about my report, presumably at a parent’s evening, but I don’t know which school or year this relates to. 

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Memories of My Teachers

Reading through these reports brought back memories of some of my teachers and these are briefly recalled here:

Dr Walter Roy

Dr Roy was headmaster of the Hewett School from its formation in 1970 to 1990. He died in July 2012 in Graz in Austria from where he originated. He returned to Austria in 2007. At the age of 13, fleeing the Nazi regime, he came to England. He worked for British Intelligence during the second world war before training as a teacher.

He was the overall head of the school and, to be honest, throughout most of my school life, he was quite a remote figure with whom I had little if any contact. However, I did get to know him a little in the sixth form. I recall specifically being called to see him at that time when I, and some other pupils, had been distributing Anti-Nazi League materials in school! One teacher[1], in particular, a Conservative councillor had complained. I recall this being an English teacher called Mrs Wheatley. As far as I recall she never taught me. However, I recall Dr Roy being very supportive. He recalled his own background fleeing Nazi oppression in Austria and appeared to encourage us to express our concerns.

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H H Smith

H H Smith was Deputy Head, presumably of the whole school. There was a report from him/her in my end-of-third year report but I do not recall him/her. Initially, I missed it but they also signed my end-of-year report in 1972. Perhaps the overall head or deputy needed to comment on each report.

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Mr John Bawler

Mr John Bawler was Head of Lower School in 1972 when I first started there but I do not recall him. Apparently, he retired in 1987 having been Head of the Lower School for 17 years. He had been a teacher for 31 years initially at Lakenham Boys’ Secondary Modern School.

Mr D H Riches

Mr D H Riches was my Year Tutor in years one and two. I recall him as he also taught me Maths in my first year. Also, I think he was the teacher who gave me my first detention for talking in assembly. I was somewhat indignant about this then as I recall that I was telling someone else to be quiet! I remember him being very supportive when my parents split up although, to be honest, I confess I sometimes played the “broken home” card as I found that I then got a more sympathetic hearing!

Mrs J Robinson

Mrs J Robinson was my form tutor and also taught me English in my first two years. I do not recall her well but I do remember that she visited me in hospital when I had appendicitis in 1973 (see Chapter 100).

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V J Allen

VJ Allen was my form tutor in my third year. I do not recall him/her at all.

Mr G A Wren

I had forgotten but, in my third year, Mr G A Wren was our year tutor. I was completely terrified of him as were many others. He was a PE teacher and, as far as I recall, never taught me PE. I think he coached the basketball team which I was involved in.

Howard Norton

Howard Norton was Middle School Head. He countersigned my end-of-year report in my third year but I do not recall him. Apparently, he was at Hewett for 11 years before becoming Head of Costessey High School.

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Jane Dixon

Jane Dixon taught me History in my first and second years. I don’t recall her specifically. But, I do recall one History teacher, and it may have been her, telling me that she never gave As as it meant students would have something to aim for. I can’t remember if I told her, but I certainly thought this, that this made no sense as a B from her was equivalent to an A from anyone else! Maybe I did say something as she gave me an A+ for my exam at the end of second year!

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Mrs McClure

Mrs McClure taught me Geography throughout years 1-3. I do not recall her but she is mentioned in a list of teachers pupils recalled from the sixties and early seventies.

J W Banner

J W Banner taught me Religious Education in my first year and I believe she was a woman but I do not recall her clearly.

D R Williams

D R Williams taught me Biology in my first year but I do not recall him/her.

Mr R D Simpson

Mr R D Simpson taught me Chemistry in my first year, in at least part of my third year and also later in sixth form I believe. He was one of my favourite teachers and, as sixth formers, he also went out with us socially. I loved Chemistry and was thinking of going on to study it at University but he discouraged me, encouraging me with the grades I was getting to go for Medicine or some form of Engineering.

Mr Garrod

Mr Garrod taught me French in my first year and I recall him clearly as do many former pupils. Sadly, those recollections are not that positive and they are well-summarized on the Hewett Facebook page. In his report at the end of my first year, he noted that “his exam result, while among the better ones in the class, is not as good as some of his classwork”. I found a news article from 1982 which showed that Trevor Garrod was still teaching at Hewett School and he was also the East Anglian branch secretary for the Rail Development Society. He left teaching in 1987 and went to work at what is now the Department for Work and Pensions. He retired in 2011 but has maintained an interest in railways throughout that time.

Mr Beverley Fisher

Mr Fisher taught me Metalwork in my first year. I do recall him but mainly because I was surprised to find a man with the name Beverley.  

Initials and Illegible Signatures

I am not sure who taught me Woodwork. In the report, his initials were just given as BJL. There is the same issue with my first year Art report which is just signed DWD and my first year Music report which has an illegible signature. Similarly, my second year January report for Maths is signed RC and both my second year reports for RE are signed ECM. My third year reports for English was signed ER and, in my reports that year for History and Music, the signatures were illegible.

Mr M Stevenson

Mr M Stevenson taught me PE in my first and second years. I recall him well as he completely terrified me like Mr Wren. It appears I was not the only one to be scared of and by our PE teachers.

L T Hall

LT Hall taught me Biology in my second year. I do not recall him/her.

J Y Spicer

J Y Spicer taught me Chemistry in my second year and Biology in my third year. While the name is familiar and I think she was a woman, I do not remember her clearly.

R H Taylor

R H Taylor taught me French in my second year and German in my third year. From others, I understand he was a man but I do not recall him.

Mr Williams(on)

In my second year, my Woodwork and Metalwork teacher was F or J A Williams according to the typed sheet although the signature looks more like Williamson to me. The latter is a name I think I might recall.

P M Hindes

P M Hindes taught me Art/Craft for at least part of the second year. I do not recall him/her.

D W Johnson

D W Johnson taught me Music in my second year and RE in my third year. I do not recall him/her.

S McKeown

S McKeown taught me Maths in at least part of my second year. I do not recall him/her but their comment is one of my favourites, “despite his apparent dislike of this subject, he is very capable of maintaining this high standard”!!

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D J Mills

D J Mills taught me Physics for at least part of the second year. I do not recall him/her.

S M Taylor

S M Taylor taught me Art and Craft for at least part of the second year. I do not recall him/her.

A Catt

A Catt taught me Maths in my third year. I vaguely recall him. I think it was Mr Catt but I am not completely sure. He is also remembered by other former pupils.

H Poyner

I think my Physics teacher in third year was H Poyner but the signature in my report is not completely clear. I think I recall a Mr Poyner but not clearly.

Mr G Cheeseman

Mr G Cheeseman taught me French in my third year and is one of the teachers I remember most clearly from school. I was scared of him initially but less so as I got to know him and progressed through the school. He took us on various trips to France including a boys’ camping trip later than this period. In the sixth form, I and other students helped him run bars for school events. I also remember groups of us visiting his house on one or more occasions. He was remembered by other students as was his wife who also taught at the school. However, I believe they divorced in the late seventies.

Mrs Barker

Mrs Barker taught me Art in the first part of my third year. I recall her as I believe she was our Form Tutor in my fifth year. In my mid-year report, she noted “Roger’s work is interesting though he is rather slow in producing it”.

Mr H English

My end-of-year report for Art and Craft in my third year was produced by M H English who noted, that I was “A very slow worker. Roger prefers to discuss his ideas instead of really putting them to the test”.

Mr Benbow

Mr Benbow taught me Woodwork in my third year. In my mid-year report, he noted, “Roger has a good standard of practical work but must realise that the theory is equally important”, a point he reiterated in my end-of-year report. I confess I never understood what Woodwork theory is and still don’t! I also confess that I don’t remember him.

Mr M A Burgess

Mr M A Burgess taught me metalwork in my third year. I vaguely recall him. The 1975 school magazine identified a Mr Tom Burgess as retiring in 1973 but he taught Science so I don’t think it is him.

Mr Jack Adams

Mr Jack Adams taught me PE in my third year. I do not recall him although others do.

More Academic than Practical

It is clear from my reports that I was stronger at academic subjects, such as Maths, sciences and languages, than at practical subjects, such as Metalwork, Woodwork and PE. In some ways, my lack of aptitude for Metalwork and Woodwork is perhaps surprising given that these were areas in which grandad excelled. Anyway, despite this, I did occasionally make things that I brought home. Mum kept two of the things I made in Metalwork, a copper tea/coffee spoon and a folding metal stool.

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Hewett Magazine 1972

Also, among mum’s papers was the Hewett magazine for 1972. It was the school’s second magazine and followed the design of the previous year’s “Omnibus”. I confess that much that was included seems very distant from my own experience and I don’t recognize many of the names. But, Hewett was a huge school and I was a lowly first year at this point!

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Dr Roy’s Opening Letter

One thing that Dr Roy noted in his opening letter was that the swimming pool had been heated and “covered” at a cost of more than £2,500 and the cover had also been “damaged” in a gale. I recall the pool “cover”. Rather than the pool being inside a building, it was covered by a large plastic “blister”. While I imagine it was much cheaper than a building, it was also much more susceptible to damage in bad weather. The magazine also had a full page article dedicated to the pool.

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Other Articles

Other articles covered the resignation of Alderman Harry Perry as Chair of the School Governors; the departure of Mr D L Butterworth, the Head of Upper School; the appointment of Mr E Jones as Head of Upper School; a feature on the school nurse, Maureen Boyd; a story on community service (some of the language in this article is “of its time” and would be offensive today, e.g. references to the “mentally subnormal”); a report on the school play “The Skin of Our Teeth”; a report on the drama workshop run by Mrs Robinson[3]; a report on a televised debate, called “On Camera”, in which two Hewett girls participated; and an advice column. The piece on the school play mentioned that it was directed by Mrs Wheatley. But, the most interesting thing to me was that its performance was delayed by power cuts. Very 1970s! Both “1066” and “The Skin of Our Teeth” were mentioned again in the piece on the drama workshop. In addition, there was some art work, e.g. on p36 and p39, but this was not always clearly labelled, some photographs (pp49-51) and a prizewinning poster (p56).

Sections From Each School

There were sections for the different schools – lower, middle and upper.

Lower School Section

The Lower School section was introduced by JB who I assume was the Head, Mr Bawler. He noted that the Lower School intake had been nearly 400 pupils and referred to the role of form representatives, a role that I was involved in. There was also an article about language assistants at the school and one about an archery champion at the school called Fiona Grant. There were also poems from Lower School pupils including Roger Boothby, Everard Mascarenhas (who had two poems in the magazine), Christopher Stapley, Tessa Waite and Robert Warns.

Tessa Waite, Roger Boothby and Everard Mascarenhas

Tessa’s name is familiar. By 1975, she had become a member of the Hewett magazine committee and her name is listed in the magazine of that year as such. I became friendly with both Roger and Everard later in school. Everard lived near me in the Park Lane area. Roger, as well as sharing a name (!), was also on the basketball team although he was our star player and I most definitely was not!! I also recall much later going on a double date with him to a cinema on Prince of Wales Road but that is another story! The other two I do not recall although I understand from others that Robert Warns was in my class.

Lower School Poems in Other Sections

In addition, there were poems by Edward Cross and Andrew Fulcher in the sports section although they had nothing to do with sports! I recall Edward Cross and became friendly with him later in my school life through a shared interest in motorbikes. I think he also had a Friday night/Saturday job at Sainsburys in Anglia Square where I also worked.

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Middle School Section

The Middle School section was introduced by GH. I do not know who this was as the Head was Howard Norton. This noted that the school leaving age was being raised in September 1972 to 16 from 15. The section also contained contributions from students including a rather odd piece on “The Automatic Pancake Flipper” by Ian Paul. There were also a variety of poems. While most of these were from third and fourth years, there was one from Edward Percival who was a first year. I do not recall him although the name is familiar.

Upper School Section

The Upper School section was introduced by JN. Again, I am not sure who this was.  It was possibly Mr J Norris. I believe he was based in Upper School. He later taught me Latin and he edited the school magazine. This noted an expansion in the sixth form from 80 to 230. Other items in this section included a report on a survey of the over-75s; an article on brass rubbing; a piece about the debating society; and articles about careers’ advice and the Hewett School Association. There were also contributions from students including more poems. I confess I thought that brass rubbing was now largely banned because of damage causes but this may not be the case although many individual sites may not allow it.

Sports Section

The magazine contained a long sports section somewhat bafflingly called “on the track” when most of the sports covered, e.g. netball, hockey, swimming, badminton, tennis, cross-country running, sailing, road cycling, judo, football and rugby don’t take place on a track! This section covered the combined achievements of Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. It also featured the achievements of a number of sporting champions from the school. Dad had an issue with this because he thought it hypocritical not to give academic positions when it was done all the time in relation to sports.

Sports Day

The sports section also had details of Sports Day. This noted that the format had switched from inter-house competition to inter-form competition. Interestingly, 1R, 2R and 4R all won their year groups. I was in 1R but I know I contributed nothing to this! I hated Sports Day. From memory, everyone had to take part in something so if you had not qualified for any event you had to take part in the 1500m steeplechase. I remember it being a long way round, having to climb over the barriers and being lapped by any half decent athlete!

Music Section

The magazine also contained a section on music including a piece on what it was like to be in the army as a musician. There were also more poems which seemed unrelated to music. There was a supposedly humorous piece about musical terms and composers and there was an article about a recording the choir made.

Adverts

There were also quite a lot of adverts in the magazine including for the following companies.

Norwich Fur Company

I have not found much detail of this company except that it was based at St Stephen’s Gates. I found one of its fur coats for sale on eBay.

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Bonds

For details of Bonds, see Chapter 91.

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Norwich Corporation Bonds

For details of Norwich Corporation Bonds, see Chapter 91.

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The Army

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National Westminster Bank

National Westminster (NatWest) Bank is a well-known high street bank.

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Norwich Sports

Sports shop that was based at 16 St Augustine’s. I have not found many details.

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Willson and Ramshaw

Music shop based in Bridewell Alley.

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R G Carter

For details of R G Carter, see Chapter 76. I also found an advert of theirs in the Royal Norfolk Show catalogue in 1970.

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East Anglian Trustees Savings Bank

For details of East Anglian Trustees Savings Bank, see Chapter 91.

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Norwich County Borough Council

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Ken’s Corn Stores

Business that advertised in the Hewett School magazine in 1972. It was based at 2 Reepham Road. This shop continues to function but is now based in Taverham.

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The Milk Marketing Board

For details of the Milk Marketing Board, see Chapter 90.

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W E Willson’s (Music) Ltd

Willson’s was a music shop based at 24 White Lion Street Norwich.

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John Adak

John Adak was an electrical appliances shop that was based at 63 St Augustine’s. It appears that the business went bankrupt circa 1980.

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Jewsons

Jewsons are a well-known supplier of building materials. They continue to operate.

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Norwich Building Society

Norwich Building Society was established in 1852. It merged with the Peterborough Building Society in 1986 to become the Norwich and Peterborough. It was taken over by Yorkshire Building Society in 2018 although the brand has been retained.

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Tom Stevenson (Sports) Limited

Tom Stevenson provided school uniforms for the Hewett School. They were based in Swan Lane. Apparently, the company is dissolved.

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Loose’s

In 1972, Loose’s was a retailer of china and glassware . They were based in Magdalen Street. It still operates as Loose’s Emporium and appears to focus on antiques.

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A W Cooke and Son

For details of A W Cooke and Son see Chapter 92.

Lloyds Bank

Lloyds Bank is a well-known high street bank.

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HLH Commercial Vehicles Ltd

This company now operates as Holden Limited, based at 23 Heigham Street, but it traded as HLH Commercial Vehicles Ltd from 1969 to 1996. In 1972, they were based in Whiffler Road.

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Midland Bank

[Midland was one of the big four High Street banks that was taken over by HSBC in 1992.

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A Massive School

Of course, I have a lot more personal recollections of Hewett School as I attended there from when I was 11 to 18. First, it was a massive school having been formed from three schools previously. There were 1,800 pupils spread across three schools lower (years 1&2) , middle (Years 3&4) and upper (year 5 and sixth form). I think this may have changed over time when primary schools retained their pupils for a further year. I think this meant that pupils then started in Year 2 (which I think is now equivalent to Year 8).

300 Pupils in My Year

There were over 300 pupils in my year which consisted of 13 form groups. The lower and middle schools were the former Secondary Modern Schools. From memory, the two Secondary Modern Schools were in different parts of the same building. The two halls linked together in a common stage area. The upper school was the former Hewett Grammar School. Although the Hewett School is said to be located on Hall Road, the lower and middle schools were accessed from entrances on Cecil Road. The dining hall was located adjacent to the Upper School.

R for Random

My first form teacher was Mrs Robinson who I believe taught English. I thought we got our class name (1R) from her name but it seems this is not the case. The letters were applied randomly. We kept the letter R throughout the first four years of my school life.

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