A Family Thing

By Jennifer Dobson

2014, I am back at Chillingham Road School and I have met up with Clive who was in the same class as me in the Infant and Junior School. He asked me a question “ Did you have relatives in Kent?”

I told him my mothers three sisters had all moved to Kent before the War.

Clive then showed me a small exercise book in which he had written on the 9^th of March 1945

            “ Today Jennifer brought some violets and pussy willow to school. They came from Kent.”

Everyone said, “ were the flowers not dead?” Bur they never were. My Aunty Alice, who by now was the head teacher of a country school I Sutton Valence often sent me beautiful spring flowers which she wrapped lovingly and carefully in damp newspaper. How these were cherished, a small part of the country sent to me a child from the avenues of Heaton far from any countryside. I had never met my aunts in Kent, it was wartime and we didn’t travel. I think this was my aunts way of reminding me I had relatives in Kent.

Mt Story of Chillingham Road School begins many years ago at the turn of the 20^th century with my mother’s family, the Gledson’s, who lived at 4 Sixth Avenue. My Mothers eldest sister Alice Gledson was admitted to Chillingham road Infant School in 1899.

This is a class photograph of around 1900nof the same Alice.   She was clever and won a scholarship to Rutherford Grammar School, before going to Armstrong College, the forerunner of Kings College Newcastle where she gained her teaching qualification. She began her teaching career at West Walker School in 1914 just after the war had been declared, she arrived for the first day of term as the poor head teacher was trying to organise the school to accommodate the soldiers who were to be billeted there.

My story continues with the second Gledson daughter Maude admitted 1903 and then my mother Eleanor admitted 1905, she was registered as Nellie, a name she hated being called. This is a class photograph of about 1905 of my mother and Maude. The teachers called my mother little Gledson, she being the third daughter, needless to say she didn’t like that.

It was now my turn to ci=continue the story, I started at Chillingham Road Infant School. We now lived at 28 Sixth Avenue; I had long been yearning to go to school to join all my friends. If my mother couldn’t find me she knew I would be in Ninth Avenue looking longingly through the railings. I pestered my mother until eventually she went to see Miss Lunn, The Head teacher who agreed to admit me on the 1^st of December 1942, 12 days before my 5^th birthday. That was the beginning of 6 very happy years at Chillingham Road School. I loved my time there and reluctantly left in 1948 to go to North Heaton Secondary Modern School where I sat what was then called the scholarship. I really disliked North Heaton and so was pleased I got a scholarship to Heaton High School which although it had a very strict regime I was happy there and it gave me a good education enabling me to go to college to train as a teacher.

Mt Story of Chillingham Road School continued when I was appointed to a Scale 2 post in Chillingham Road Junior School, I was so pleased to be going back to the place where I had been so happy but alas this wasn’t to be. I didn’t take up the appointment, the Infant and Junior Schools were about to merge and I withdrew to ease the staffing problem.

I have often wondered how things would have been if I had taken up the appointment, but I am sure I would have been very happy at the school with such a lot of good and happy memories of my family.

I must thank Clive for keeping and then showing me his exercise book, which has evoked so many happy memories about the Chillingham Road School for me.