In 1982, proposals to merge two local schools in Croxley Green and Mill End met with opposition from more than 6,000 people.

The publication Durrants News chronicled the fight against Hertfordshire County Council’s plans to merge Durrants and William Penn schools.

Inside Durrants News were details of the proposals, a timeline, interviews with headteachers from nearby primary schools and a potted history of Durrants School.

The front page story reads: “All who care about education in the area were shocked when the amalgamation proposals for Durrants School were announced.

“Durrants PTA has spearheaded a campaign to fight the proposal. The support for Durrants in the community helps to make it a popular school in Croxley, Watford, Rickmansworth and the villages.

“The public meeting in November showed how important Durrants and William Penn schools are to their local communities.

“These communities are distinct and far apart. One school cannot serve both of them.

“The suggested amalgamation would be a botched job. It is not good enough for the planners to produce a faulty design and then expect the teachers to make it work.

“Hertfordshire County Council prides itself in satisfying parental choice. But some ‘all-ability’ schools offer an academic curriculum suitable only for a limited number of children.

“Durrants prides itself in providing a curriculum for all children.

“If parental choice is to mean anything there must be differences between schools.

“Many parents put Durrants first because they like its style. Others find the school acceptable as a second choice.

“Durrants makes a distinctive and important contribution to the range of schools on offer in the division.

“The school is well-placed geographically to offer a ‘Durrants education’ to children over a wide area.

“If there is to be an amalgamated school in the area it must be on the site with the larger number of pupils and the history of greater parental preference.”

Despite the campaign, William Penn School was closed in 1986 and Durrants followed it in 1991.

Do you remember the campaign against the merging of Durrants and William Penn?

 

Tony Langley from Hemel Hempstead has written in about the pictures of north Watford which were published in last week’s Nostalgia.

He said: “I am pretty certain the first photograph is of St Albans Road between Balmoral Road and Windsor Road.

“The property shown at the far end is, I believe, where W H Lavers were situated.

“The second picture is of the St Albans Road railway bridge and shows what I think was known as Railway Terrace beyond what appears to be a pub.

“I think this was taken before my time because I cannot remember either Barclays Bank or a public house.

“Having said that, the vehicles shown appear to be of a much later era than the 1930s, which is when I grew up in the area.

“There is an updated photograph of this section of the road on page 345 of The Book of Watford.

“The third photograph is of St Albans Road between the Town Hall and Station Road. While it is some time since I was last in the area, the properties on the left are, to the best of my knowledge, still there.”

 

There have been two responses to the wedding photo of Arthur Frederick Beeston, taken in 1924, which featured in Nostalgia on February 1.

Rosalyn Neale wrote in on behalf of her mother, and said: “In this photo are my mother’s parents and her brother and sister, all of whom are unfortunately no longer with us.

“Arthur Frederick Beeston was born in 1895 in Mill End. He died in 1963 on the Uxbridge Road roundabout in Mill End when he was knocked off his bike by a truck. A cousin of mine in Australia has undertaken a lot of research on the Beeston family.”

David Pope, from Chertsey in Surrey, has also written in.

He said: “I am married to Melody Ann Freeman. I have quite a few of the names on your photograph, as my mother-in-law is the second in from the left of the ladies in the front row.

“She was also Melody Freeman, nee Beeston; the first lady is Agnes Beeston and next to them are their mother and father.

“I do have a marked up photograph I could send with some of the Collins, and I could possibly help with a few other stories as I have been studying the genealogy of this family for some years.”

 

Geraldine Blow has written in about a question posed by Patzi Miltzon in 2011, regarding her brother Charlie and his boxing career.

She said: “My husband Chris Blow was reading the article and noticed his late father, Eddie Blow, hovering like a ghost in the background of the picture.

“Eddie was indeed Charlie’s boxing teacher and promoter. I knew my mother-in-law Jo had some of Eddie’s boxing stuff, photos etc. So while in Herne Bay visiting her, she managed to unearth a couple of photos.

“She cannot remember what Charlie looked like as a child but the photos we do have, the boys are dressed in the same number 14 on their vests, as is on the Nostalgia photo, and they are holding a banner saying ‘Barnfield 1958-9’.

“If Eddie was still with us he would have remembered everything. Patzi Mizon also mentioned a video. Jo remembers this and said they possibly did have a copy but she was unable to locate it. It may have been chucked out or given to the boxing federation.

“Hopefully we could give her a copy of these photos and maybe give her my mother in law’s telephone number so they could reminisce.”

 

Andy Goldie is organising a summer ball for the St Michael’s School class of 1974.

He said: “Myself and a bunch of old school friends are organising a summer ball on the June 22 for all our class of 1974. 

“We will be turning 50 this year and I have been asked to try to track down as many former pupils from that year as possible.

“Being a Catholic school, our catchment area was quite large and covered almost areas you cover.”

Did you attend St Michael’s during 1974? Please let us know.

 

 

This Nostalgia column was first published in the Watford Observer on February 22, 2013. The next Nostalgia column, containing information about Watford's printing past, more about Somme victim George Hinds and a plea from the British Korean Veterans Association, can be found in tomorrow’s Watford Observer (dated March 1, 2013) or read online here from 4pm next Thursday.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford’s history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here abinnie@london.newsquest.co.uk