their scholarship. I went to St. Martins and Streatham but A Stitch didn’t like them so eventually I went on to Welham Road School which was a County Secondary School. Even then I was in Time determined to be a dress-maker and I remember the Head teacher expressing her disgust at me not being interested in This school started me off well the more academic studies at the College. She said to me, because it was here that I started “Now I’ve arranged your future.” And I replied “No. I’m going sewing and knitting. This led to me to be a dress-maker. I was so keen on this that I even once becoming a theatrical costumier, dressed Snooty, my cat, as you can see in the photo. which involved me working for In the very early days at the school, I was a little school- films and stage. I used to dress my phobic because there was a horrible boy who used to wait dolls, making all of the clothes for for me inside the gate and try to steal my halfpenny which them. I was interested in anything I we used to pay for the bottle of milk each morning. When did with my hands and this actually we had the milk, we would then lie down on little beds in ran in the family as I remember the nursery. my mum, Jennie West, was always I used to try to sit at the back of the class because I knitting and crotcheting and my lacked confidence. This one boy used to tease me and call me ‘fatty four-eyes’ but I suppose dad, Harry Kingsland-West, would that’s what boys are like. I had friends and we just carried on and played marbles. I still have do complicated lacquer-work. my bag of marbles – over seventy years later. My dad worked as a manager I had a friend from Churchmore Road. One was Victor who lived two doors down and I for Courtaulds so I must have got remember when I was about nine teaching him how to read. Dad made us a sun house at my love of materials through this. the bottom of the garden and that is where Victor used to say “Please Joan”. And I would say When I was eleven, I was one of the “No. You’re not going until you learn.” He came back years later to thank me for what I did Woodmansterne children who got for him. I was delighted when we were Later in the War, a Doodle-bug landed by the Graveney evacuated in 1940. There was real near to Woodmansterne Road. When it fell, I was sitting danger. My dad was one of the by the window at home. You could hear it coming and fire wardens for the area and I suddenly it stopped. I got hold of my mother, pushed her remember one night when he went into the cupboard under the stairs and felt the blast hitting out after a stray bomb had dropped me and knocking me out under a pile of falling plaster nearby. All he was allowed was a from the ceiling. torch and there were no other lights. When dad got back, my mother was found by the crater. He actually fell down the crater but He found me out cold under the ceiling in the hall and was uninjured. He then went into mother wandering around. This happened on the day of the damaged house on Churchmore the French language examination which I was actually not Road and realised it was the home of very good at. But because of the bombing, they allowed a close friend who was at work. The me to pass the matriculation. friend’s wife and baby daughter had Things were different in those days. For example, been killed but miraculously their even when the bombing was taking place, they made us son had managed to jump out of the continue with the examinations in the basement of the upstairs window and avoid injury. secondary school. I passed with flying colours. We had an Anderson Shelter in the I’ve lived in the same house all of my life and my garden of 55. I used to wait for my own two daughters, Jacqueline and Stephanie, came to parents to go off to sleep and then Woodmansterne in the late 1950s. So I have always kept in I would creep out of the shelter and touch with what has been going on. slide back into my comfy bed inside the house. Joan Leslie I almost drowned scared no more The first time I went swimming with the school in Year 3, there was a test to sort out which group we were going to I started this school in the nursery. When I came, I felt scared be in. I was asked if I had been swimming before and I told because I didn’t know what to do and didn’t have any friends. them I had been swimming at Brixton pool. When I went into On the first day my mum stayed with me but on the next day the water, I jumped up and then began to sink deep into she left. I wanted to cry, but didn’t. In the nursery I used to the water. This made me feel really embarrassed because dress up and I really enjoyed playing with water. Now I am in most people could swim across and I couldn’t. Then I was Year 2, I am a peer mediator. When some of the children are told that I would be in the bottom group. I felt sad. having an argument or fight, they come to the peer mediators. Later on, I became the first one to learn how to swim We help them to sort out their problems. I enjoy this role in the bottom group. This made me feel very happy. I was because I meet new people. I think I got picked to do this job because I am very sensible. My mum sent into the middle group and I got better and better. went to school in Somalia. She was the cleverest in the class. The other children were jealous of her. When I started in Year 4, the strongest swimmers got to go They told her to do their work for them or they would beat her up. They would scribble in her book. into the deep Olympic pool. We had to jump into the water When my grandmother looked at her work, she would tell mum that her writing was not nice. This and swim to the side. I jumped in but all of my friends made her feel scared and upset. Sometimes an older girl said to her “Let me eat your food with you” were too scared to do it! The thing that got me scared and then she would eat all of it. One day my mum told her mum about it. She went to school and told was I had to sink down to the bottom and come back up. the teachers. After that, the bad girl didn’t come to school again. My mum thinks that the schools here I almost drowned in there – kicking my legs and splashing are very different. She likes them because there are lots of teachers here so the children can get on with my hands. Nobody knew I was having problems. well and not get bullied Luckily, I came back up and felt relieved. Hana Iman (Y2) Baggio Smith (Y4) I have two older sisters who attended this school - Gemma who is 20 and Rosanna who is 15. They both came to Woodmansterne School when they were my age and they say that they enjoyed it very much. But that is not all - my family have more connections with the school because my dad and his sisters (three of my aunties), and my mum’s brother were also pupils here! My dad is called Ian and he is the oldest and he was here from 1965 - 1970. He remembers lots of things from being here such as playing in goal on the football pitches and he was very proud because he was a fan of Chelsea and liked their goalkeeper. So for his birthday his dad (my Granddad) bought him a Chelsea goalkeeper kit. It was all green and the goalkeeper was called Peter Bonetti. But dad says the goals were too big so he couldn’t catch the ball! My aunty Sally is the youngest and she remembers that Mr McCartney gave them pieces of Toblerone when they learnt all of their maths times tables. She says they all did it in one week to get the chocolate. Maybe all teachers should try this technique! Here is a piece of Aunt Sally’s school work from the 1960s. My Aunts Sue and Jane and Uncle Mark were in the choir and they sang on a record called, ‘Jonah Man Jazz’. It was before CDs were invented and they don’t have it now. I wonder if anyone reading this knows of a recording so we can hear them once again after all these years? Also Aunty Sue was the Queen of Hearts in the school play and only had one line but she had to shout it lots of times: “Off with his head!” Chris Coffin was Aunty Jane’s teacher. He gave all the children little presents when they left school.