Were you at Berridge?


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 1.1k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

Through this door...and it's the original, although painted black in my day...I walked with my mum one cold morning early in 1962. I was just 4 years old. The door led to Miss Smith's office and my mu

How many Berridge children have secreted themselves inside this niche situated in the playground which fronts the old infant building, hoping to be left behind when the bell rang at playtime's close?

Sitting on this exact spot, facing the stationery cupboard in Mr Parr's classroom, in spring 1969, I sat my 11+ exam.

Posted Images

Tunnicliffe,my mothers maden name. She has a brother Fred , sisters ivy, olive Eva ,jean , but I never heard a Steven mentioned..maybe related, maybe not,but it's not a common surname.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

#229 Steven would be 60 either this year or next, PP. The Gordon you mention may be related but the age gap is probably too wide for them to be siblings. An uncle, perhaps. Mercury Dancer may be able to shed some light on him.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 months later...
On 4/2/2013 at 7:03 AM, Jill Sparrow said:

Pidge Pie...yes, Terry Hill. I've been trying to remember the name and it wouldn't surface. Poor Neville Eccles, that's horrible. He was a quiet lad, like Winsome. Yes, it makes you think when you see your peers shuffling off and realise that you're probably well over half way through your time here. It's not morbid...it's all part of life's rich tapestry and hopefully it won't put Stephen Ford off his lunch!

Terry Hill was a small lad- quite wiry- but not wiry enough to avoid the train.

I've been looking at the photo of Mrs Price's class and there is Charles Haskey on the back row. I didn't remember the name until I looked.

I went to the Berridge Centenary in 1984. The old place looked very much the same as it did when we were there. My Mum went as well because she was educated at Berridge Road Schools. I hoped to see Mr Baugh but was told he had passed away a few years earlier. Pity, I'd have liked to meet him again.

I did a bit of research re Mr Baugh and discovered that he'd been put on a ship to Canada (on his own) at the age of nine, to go and live with his grandmother. Presumably, he lost his mother when he was a child. I never really knew much about him but he probably didn't have a very easy life either. When you are children and you (probably) don't like your teachers very much, you don't stop to think that they are human too and have experienced their share of highs and lows. That realisation only comes with age and life itself teaches those lessons.

Well...that's enough philosophising for one day.

Keep the memories coming, Pidge Pie.

I stumbled in here.... found it LOL. I knew Terry Hill well... i always tried to talk to him and tell him to stay out of trouble. He tried, but i just think it was the friends he hung out with that kept him on the rough road. I saw the nice side of Terry and he always was very nice to me. I was SHOCKED when I heard he had that accident and died. Sorry to say, but Mr Baugh was a perv. Jean P and I were always called in to his office to sit on his knee then he rubbed our legs. I HATED going near him. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Berridge is still in existence but there have been huge changes. There is an entirely new Berridge Building off Bobbers Mill Road but the old one still remains. I believe the air raid shelters, along with the outside toilets have gone. The old infant playground fronting Brushfield Street is now a car park and the wall with the gate has gone. The wooden huts in the junior playground disappeared decades ago. My last visit was for the centenary in 1983. Internally, the school was little altered but that was more than 30 years ago.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The "new" Berridge was where my mother, sadly now gone, was head cook for many years. I will try and dig out some more when I am next in Nottingham. 

 

Steve Tunnicliffe is nearing 60, (I am too, at 56) Last saw him and his delightful wife* at my Mum's funeral. Steve is shorter than me but I could consider him to be stocky. It would fit. That said I am built like a racing snake. 

 

I cannot remember a Gordon Tunnicliffe. Certainly not my branch of the family. My grandfather was originally from Burton on Trent, and before his death, my Dad talked very much about the family there. He was very interested in his family history and kept many valuable documents. I have yet to get to the bottom of his quest.

 

The bottom playground at Berridge! Yes there were the remnants of air raid shelters when I was there. 

 

Mr Baugh to my recollection, was a lovely man who stunk of cigar smoke. I cannot ever recall him doing anything pervy at all. Now if you mention Mr Eric Anderson, and pervy, then certainly yes. Oh yes. A pity because he was a very good teacher. Tried to touch me in the beer garden of the Wheatsheaf pub one time. I ran to my uncle Tom (ex marine) who was nearest. I understand it was sorted out. Me and my dad were ushered out of the pub so we did not see anything. 

 

*She has helped me in some times of trouble and I owe her a lot.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I know nothing about this school or the teachers but I feel uncomfortable that certain ones are being named.  They may have friends or relations who are on this site and  I would hate Nottstalgia, or certain members, to be accused of libel.

(delete this post if you want)

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Very good point Margie, I suppose when we start bringing these memories back we tend to spill out a lot of stuff to try and clear our own memories of it without thinking of others

 

Rog

  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Steven Tunnicliffe was a nice lad. Quiet, shy and I can well imagine him not growing to be very tall. He was in my class virtually all the way through Berridge.

 

Mr Baugh, in my experience, was a lovely man. Strict, yes. A heavy smoker, yes. Unpopular with some of the parents, yes...He had favourites, by which I mean nothing more than that he encouraged bright children and cracked down hard (literally) on disruptives but that was the ethos of the era and both legal and acceptable. It is becoming quite common now for people to speak out about historical abuse in all its varying forms. It is something I have increasingly had dealings with in my working life and I do feel very sorry for those involved in the cases I come across. Berridge, like most other schools,was probably not immune.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I read in one of these posts about an "air raid" shelter at Berridge school,in a book I am reading at the moment "Britannia Calls" by David Nunn. I found this picture

 

P1060153.jpg

 

Might not be of any use to anyone but is relevent to the topic I think

 

Rog

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Every so often, a fuel delivery lorry would arrive and park outside the caretaker's house on Berridge Road. A large, corrugated pipe was fed into some kind of delivery hatch and, presumably, some type of fuel was passed through it.

 

The caretaker when I was at Berridge was called David. Probably in his 30s, Brylcreamed dark hair, bit sarcastic but I've always appreciated sarcasm! He lived in the house and found plenty to do around the school. One day, some lad had thrown up in the classroom and the teacher sent me to find David who kept a bucket of sawdust and dustpan in readiness for such occasions. He was lurking in the infant playground when I located him and he said he was just about to feed the furnace. Did I want to come and watch? Anything was better than sitting in a vomit scented classroom, so I tagged along. It was quite dark and the heat was phenomenal. He'd be in trouble for that today but it was all perfectly innocent.

  • Like 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Thing I didn't like, NBL were those oil fired Robin Hood boilers found in a lot of schools.  Usually there was quite a bit of electrical equipment in those boiler rooms.  When one of those boilers started up the motor often started with a loud clunk then there was an almighty whooooof!  As the oil vapor ignited.  I'm sure you know what I mean.  Needed me undies washed at night. ;)

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Know exactly what you mean Loppy if the spark generator was going down or the electrodes hadn't be cleaned correctly the thing would half fill with vapour and go off like a bomb, good job those old Beeston's could take it.

 

At that time most were conversions from coke to oil or gas, I much preferred the gas conversions they worked on about 6" water gauge so around 1/4 psi, still a lot of gas but much gentler.

  • Like 1
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

I was looking at the Berridge website recently. The school is now split over two sites but I was astounded by the sheer number of staff employed there. There are between 8-12 teaching assistants for each year! This is in addition to teachers.

 

How on earth did we manage in the 60s with just one class teacher per classroom?

 

It would be interesting to gather the thoughts of the head master from those days, Mr Baugh. I imagine he'd shake his head in disbelief. There is probably a higher number of pupils nowadays but, even so, it seems like an awful lot of staff.

  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

A job creation scheme no doubt. I certainly think the staff were better organised in our day, and could think for themselves.

Nowadays, everything is controlled by the hierarchy who have no concept or experience of teaching whatsoever !

  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

 

38 minutes ago, Jill Sparrow said:

I was looking at the Berridge website recently. The school is now split over two sites but I was astounded by the sheer number of staff employed there. There are between 8-12 teaching assistants for each year! This is in addition to teachers.

 

How on earth did we manage in the 60s with just one class teacher per classroom?

 

It would be interesting to gather the thoughts of the head master from those days, Mr Baugh. I imagine he'd shake his head in disbelief. There is probably a higher number of pupils nowadays but, even so, it seems like an awful lot of staff.

 

Teaching assistants are invaluable as they can do all those time consuming jobs such as preparing and clearing up after painting and craft activities in the infant school particularly, so that the teacher can get on with teaching!  The assistants can also listen to the children read as individuals or in small groups and, of course, there are some special needs children who need a named assistant to help them in the classroom and sometimes the playground situation.

  In the distant past, certain children, for example those with Down Syndrome or those who are hearing impaired, weren't educated in mainstream schools as is now the case.  These children definitely need a teaching assistant to support them.

 

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

As Jill says though Margie, 'How did we manage in the 60's ? '

I'll tell you ! Kids were far more resilient, resourceful, inventive, constructive, self sufficient, thoughtful, alert and  wise.

By wise, I don't mean Street Wise as they are today, I mean wise in the context of being knowledgeable.

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Could it be that young people today aren't so well behaved as in years past,what I mean by that is different typ of discipline today,and parents attitude towards that discipline,teacher no longer seem to hold that authority figure like they used to,years ago parents had a lot of respect for the teachers because that's how they were bought up but a lot (not all) of parents today want to rebel against authority (try to get one over on the teacher or try to prove they know best) teachers today are highly trained people and only seem interested in meeting curriculum targets in order to progress through their career but the basic skill of tailoring the educational needs to the individual is lost and that is left to the assistants, I think

 

Rog

  • Like 2
  • Upvote 2
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...