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Once back in England we moved around a couple of times usually staying with relatives as my Father had not received his latest posting details yet. He worked on a couple of Stations whilst we lived reasonably close by. This meant that I sampled more schools. Not being at either of them particularly long and only being about 6 or 7 at the time there is not much to say other
than it was always good to be the centre of attention as the new boy, especially as these schools were not populated by Station Brats (occasionally called Runway Brats) so my lifestyle was something very different. Having a deep tan, blonde hair and (to them) a strange accent all added to the fun. I attended several different state primary schools. I started at a state secondaty, but was not very happ there so my parents transferred me to a day prep school and then I began to board.
We lived in several different places in England. We never got up to Scotland. We also never lived in the London area. We were always quite in awe of anyone from London as the capital to us was some sort of mystical place weheard about but never visited. i have a rather hazy memory of a New years party at one of my parents friends friends, Scots holding a hogmany party, and one of their sons cousins was wearing a waistcoat and I remember thinking it very smart and wanting one like it. I'd have been 10 at the time.
Once back in England we moved around a couple of times usually staying with relatives as my Father had not received his latest posting details yet. He worked on a couple of Stations whilst we lived reasonably close by. The schools I attended did not have formal uniforms and the conventions varied from school to school. Thus there was some overlap between what I wore at home and at school. Several topics occur to me here. One interesting topic is the play clothes that my brother and I wore as wll as our mates. We also had dress-up outfits. I recall in some detail our bed-time and bath routien at home.
Dad had several shorttime postings when we first returned to Britain. This
meant that I sampled more schools. Not being at either of them particularly
long and only being about 6 or 7 at the time there is not much to say other
than it was always good to be the centre of attention as the new boy,
especially as these schools were not populated by Station Brats
(occasionally called Runway Brats) so my lifestyle was something very
different. Having a deep tan, blonde hair and (to them) a strange accent
all added to the fun. I attended several different state primary schools. My early memories are a liitle vague, but as I began to set them down on paper, more came to me than I expected. For some reason I seem to recall PE more than classroom activities. I started at a state secondary, but was not very happ there so my parents transferred me to a day prep school and then I began to board. My brother and I often were in the same schools, but he began to board at a prep school before I did, so we were separated for a few years.
I had a friend who was a Cub Scout and I remember seeing him in his uniform and being a bit envious wanting to have one just like it with all the badges, cap, garter tabs. This was when Cubs and Boy Scouts wore proper uniforms. I had no idea what you did at Cubs but being a member of a club was a big thing then but before I could join we were posted North and by the
time we had moved I had forgotten about Cubs again. I never got to be a Cub, but when I began boarding, my indepdent (privat) school had a troop which I joined.
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