I started school at Lady Bankes in 1938 and my lasting memories of my first days are identical twin girls who dressed alike and fooled everyone including the teachers as to their identity, and the frieze over the blackboard in the classroom showing letters of the alphabet with pictures, in particular the letter S with a picture of steam coming out of a kettle.
After the outbreak of war in 1939 we did not attend the school building until the air raid shelters had been built. Instead we were taught in groups of 6 or 8 in our own homes by a teacher who would spend the morning in one house and the afternoon in another. I was lucky as lessons were always held in my house in Beverley Road.
I remember Miss Polden as a very severe looking lady, but Miss Pearce as my first teacher was very kind. Later Miss Christian as Headmistress of the junior school was very fair although I twice had to visit her office to receive the cane. Miss Buck was the music teacher and she had caught me and my friend Teddy Whittaker singing inappropriate words to "The Ashgrove". Miss Kenworthy was a good teacher but my favourite teacher was Miss Dilys Evans. I suffered from asthma and was absent from school for long periods. Miss Evans would come to my home and keep me up to date with homework. I still have several books that she gave me. I can't imagine any present day teachers looking after their pupils in this way.
I was a milk monitor and an ink monitor at various times and was also vice-captain of Scott House during one term when I proudly wore the blue badge of office. There were four houses, Scott House, Livingstone House, Shacklestone House and I think the fourth was Amundsen House - all named after famous explorers.
Other pupils I remember are Jean Neville who gave me a Ceylon coin which I still have, Valerie Delabertouche, Mary King, 'Chippy' Pendrey, Derek Redrup, Joan Bonsor.
We used to have gas mask drill when we delighted in blowing hard into the masks and making raspberry noises. During air raids we used to sit in the air raid shelter while the teachers read Enid Blyton stories to us by the light of an emergency lantern.
My memories of Lady Bankes school are happy ones and the excellent standard of teaching laid the foundation of my education enabling me to achieve my ambition of becoming a lawyer.
