Moving from school was big culture shock

“I am front row, fifth from the right, and the only other name I can remember is Denise Candler who is first right on the front row.

“My two sisters and I, Audrey, Barbara and Rita Baker (as we were then) all attended Highwood School.

“As it was built post-war, Audrey joined as soon as it opened, having attended Knutsford School up until then. She was a pre-war baby, we other two were post-war.

“For some reason, possibly because of the move, Audrey had to repeat her last year in primary school and confesses that she was rather bored.

“She did spend a lot of time collecting the numbers for lunch attendance for each class and killing a lot of time in the reception class, which she loved.

“We remember a long zig-zag corridor, with classes off-set either side. There were painted murals on the walls as you walked along to the top of the school. One of them included a big cockerel.

“When we visited recently this memory was marred by the addition of extra rooms and the obligatory fire doors.

“We remember the school as bright and airy with lots of playing fields outside. As it was set on a slope one of our favourite past times was rolling down the hill, in the nice weather at break times.

“Audrey’s proud memory is of one lunch time cricket match, bowling a ball to deputy head Mr Cablon and catching him out for a duck.

“He was reknowned for his strictness, as we saw on our recent visit, his name featured in the punishment book a lot.

“I remember Miss Dodge, who played the flute. Other teacher names were Miss Wood and Miss Forest or Forester.

“It was a real culture shock when I had to move to the old Chater School in 1959, which was so big and the windows seemed so high in contrast to Highwood.

“Though Chater was in fact only 50 years old and had no playing fields. Highwood equals happy memories.”

John Sutherland has written in response to a letter from Gordon Stewart about Watford Technical School featured recently in Nostalgia.

He said: “During the early part of February I was looking up some pubs that I had visited in Hertfordshire, not for any particular reason, just to spend an hour or so that I had spare.

“Purely by chance I came across an article in the Watford Observer.

“I was at the Watford Technical School during 1945-1947, and at this time I was living at Letchmore Heath which is near Radlett.

“Although I was in the building department we both seem to have remembered some of the same people.

“The girls I remember were June Weir and Vivienne Wiles, they were always together. I think I may have visited Vivienne on one occasion, I was rather keen on her.

“I feel sure she lived at Croxley Green. I also visited a girl at Kings Langley but I can't remember who she was now.

“I had the pleasure of being invited to Teresa Juetts 16th birthday party. Teresa lived at Borehamwood and used the nickname Trixie.

“Another girl I knew from Borehamwood was June Hawkins in the commerce department, and a girl from Watford, Vera Cummings.

“Vera used to help me with ballroom dancing. Like you I also remember Peggy Warwick and Pamela Manning, but not really sure whether they were in art or commerce?

“I remember Norman Mole very well. We became good mates we both had a mutual interest in cycling. His father had a plumbing business. They lived at Garston, quite near to the roundabout where St Albans Road crosses the A41.

“I remember one boy from the engineering department, he was known to me as Taffy Hanlon. A couple of years after leaving school we both enlisted in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve at HMS President in London.

“The form teachers in the building department were FS Bardell for B1, and F Bradley for B2.

“Duffin used to take us for science and during any tests would walk up and down the aisles between the desks.

“I remember him walking towards me from behind, and for no apparent reason gave me a clip round my right ear. I never forgot that. I think Mr Wilks used to take us for plumbing? Would that be right?

“One of the post war luxuries I remember was a visit to Grillo’s ice cream shop for a fourpenny cornet. They had a shop behind the original market.

“When I left school I took up an apprenticeship with George Wiggs, rebuilding the bombed houses at 297-299 St Albans Road.”

John Lander has sent in these pictures of a Wellingtonia tree. He said: “I have been shown your feature in the Watford Observer for February 17. I thought you might like a scan of the photographs I have kept of the Wellingtonia that my family owned until last year.

"The shot from across the fields shows how the tree dwarfs Waterdale House.”

This Nostalgia column was first published in the Watford Observer on March 23, 2012. Some of the questions posed here may have been answered by our readers in subsequent weeks so keep an eye on this website. All will be revealed as subsequent columns are added over the coming weeks.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford's history – you can email Nostalgia, by clicking here abinnie@london.newsquest.co.uk