Lacey Green School Reunion 2000

The following people described their time at Lacey Green School in a questionnaire at a school reunion organised by the Local History Group in 2000.

1913-1922 Constance L Gomme  living at Loosley House Cottage. Walked to school. Head Miss Grey with Miss M Janes & Nance Hawes. Vicar Robson.  12 in class. Left aged 14. No new build. Toilets outside.  Punishment- stand on form or in the corner. No uniform. No meals. No free milk. No trips. Playtime--skipped in the road.

Additional information ---

I remember playing at the gates of Grymsdyke on the grass playing 5 stones.

Running across fields near Turnip End to a pond there.

We paddled in Nanny Coopers Pond. Someone told us there were blood suckers in the water, had to run in the fields to get our feet dry. I seem to remember there was a bit of barbed wire across this pond so we had to think.

1 hour & a half for our dinner. When Dr came about once a year I think we had to have our dinner sitting in the girls cloakroom on the stone floor not very comfortable.

Then lady came to look through our hair "lice looker" we called her. If you had lice you had a card to take home. I remember once having a card. My mother really went mad, as she took such care of my hair, what a disgrace!

The boys were horrid. used to tie us girls up in our skipping ropes. I hated the boys then.

The big boys had gardens in the Bit Field and sold their vegs for a few pence. Girls had to stay in and sew but did not get any money - we thought very unfair. By the way, I think the big boys played up a bit with poor Miss Grey (head teacher). I remember seeing them come back to school carrying garden forks spades etc.

One other thing I remember was scripture exam. Always on a cold November morning, the vicar came from Hampden, he always looked so cold and always had a 'dew-drop' on the end of his nose - made us laugh of course.

Those of us who had a bike rode to Hampden to get eating chestnuts. sometimes lucky sometimes not.

By the way, if you went to Methodist church or Baptist at Loosley Row you did not stand much chance of Bishop's Prize - a prayer book! you might get a prize if you went to church!

Happy days, but very long days when in school

For more about the life of Constance Gomme click Fred & Connie Baker. Click Gomme or Baker for more about these families

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1914-1923 Gladys Ing Smalldean Farm Saunderton. Head Miss Palmer & Miss Grey with Miss Janes & Miss Hawes. 35 in class. Left at 14. Walked to school. No new build. Toilets outside.  Punishments standing on form & cane. School meals-no. Free milk-no. Trips no. Nature walks yes. Sports-none. Played hopscotch & skipped.

Additional information.

Remember walking from Smalldean to school & one day per week walking on to Risborough for cookery lesson & in afternoon walking back from Risborough to Smalldean via Lacey Green

Click William and Gladys Luxford for more about Gladys. Click Luxford for others in this family.

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1915-1924 Nell Rixon 1 Warren Row LG now Crown Field Saunderton.  Head Miss Palmer then Miss Grey with Miss Janes & Miss Nancy Hawes. 35 in class. Left at 14. Punishment standing on form for talking. No new build. Toilets outside. School meals-no. Free milk-no. Trips-no. Nature walks-yes. Sports none. Played skipping, hopscotch, dabbers, stand before your playmate.

Additional Information.  Had to walk to Risborough for cookery once a week – remember stopping at Pyrtle Spring to fill a bottle to have a drink.

click Walter & Mary Ann Rixon for more about Nell, their daughter and click Rixon for others in this family

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1918-1928 Daphne Bristow lived at Ye Olde Cottage LG, now The Post Office, Bradenham.  Head Miss Kate Grey with Miss Mabel Janes & Miss Nancy Hawes. Vicar Richard Gee.

Addition Information

Once a week the girls went to Risborough to learn cookery in the British School. The Rev. Gee had been a missionary in India and the children were allowed to try on the costumes which he had brought back.  All the children were in the same school room, but the boys sat on one side and the girls on the other. The girls were taught to sew.  I didn’t like gathering and smocking or making a man’s shirt.  The vicar came every week.  We had a half day holiday on Ash Wednesday.

click Bristow for others in this family and click Daphne Bristow for her life story

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1922-1931 Charlie A J Claydon Kiln Cottages LG.  Head Mr Aldridge. No new build. Toilets outside. Left at 14. Punishmet- the cane. Sport-cricket.

Addition information

Once selected to represent Lacey Green School at a cricket match against Bledlow Ridge School.  The team travelled on foot to and from Bledlow Ridge. Lacey Green lost the match, my being the highest scorer with 3 runs! The reason for this crushing defeat I thought was because the fact that Bledlow Ridge fielded a team of older boys!

click Claydon for others in this family. Click Charlie Claydon for more about Charlie.

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1923-1931 Douglas William Brett Well Cottage Church Lane LG Left aged 14. Walked when living LG then bike last 18 months from Naphill. Head Miss Gray then Mr Aldridge with Miss Janes & Miss Jarvis. Vicar Rev Richard Gee then Rev Rev Moreton.    Punishments kept in after school & given lines to write. No uniform, every boy wore short trousers. School trip to Southampon to go over the liner “Berengania”.   Sports mainly football. Played marbles, conkers, collecting cigarette cards. Also see 1931 Douglas Brett in Lacey Green

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1923- 1932 Winifred Harvey Steep Hill Cottage, LR now Attridge, 2 Greenlands LG.   Head Miss Grey & Mr Aldridge with Miss Janes, Miss Jarvis & Miss Young. Left at 14. Vicar Rev Moreton. No new build. Toilets outside. School meals-no. Free milk-no. Trips – Day trip by train to Southampton to see the Berengaria liner and to North Bucks to see the churches. Sports Rounders & running races. Played skipping & spinning tops.

Additional information –

Remember buying halfpenny worth of sweets at Mrs Lacey’s shop. click Arthur (Toey) & Louisa Lacey

The sewing class made red blazers to wear to school

The church fete days. We played living whist – dressed as playing cards, we then played the game.  Fancy dress – two lady gardeners at Gracefield made mine & my sister Kathleen’s dresses.

We once had a school pageant & I was Britannia.  I had to sit up high & wear a helmet while everyone sang Rule Britannia. The teacher made me take off my glasses - Britannia didn’t wear glasses!

I used to take Miss Jarvis’s class for an hour on Friday afternoons while she was away. I was nearly 14 then.

When Miss Grey was at the school we had annual concerts in the Village Hall, we practised long & hard, at school & at home.  Mr Fred Floyd & Mr Harold Hickman ran a taxi service for the old people & anyone who was unable to walk. They paid 1 shilling & sixpence between them for a car. click Harold & Emily Hickman for more about Harold Hickman

I loved my school days & cried when I had to leave.  I went to call for Phyllis Rutland to go for a walk & Mrs Rutland said she saw me come home from school & she had never seen anybody look so miserable.

click Harvey for others in this family    Also click William & Winifred Attridge for more about Winifred.

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1928-1937 Phyllis Stallwood lived at Lane Cottage, Loosley Row Head Mr Aldridge with Mrs Guerney, Miss Janes & Miss Jarvis, Miss Harding. Vicar Rev Clarke. Left at 14. Walked to School. No new build. Toilets outside. No uniform. School meals-no, free milk-yes. Trips-no. Sport netball. Played hopscotch, skipping.

Additional Information

Remember school concerts organised by Mrs Guerney at the Village Hall. Fetes in the Vicarage garden. Dancing round the maypole. A pupil about to receive the cane from Miss Harding took the cane from her hand, broke it across his knee and remarked that she would do no more damage with that today.

click Stallwood for others in this family

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1933-1939 John Harris. Head Mrs Guerney with Miss Janes & Miss Jarvis.  No new build. Toilets Outside.  Own clothes, never wore long trousers.  No school trips. Sports football.

Additional Information

Our father, (Reginald Harris) was one of the Village Policemen from about 1930 until we moved in Jan. 1939. In Lacey Green we lived in Graham Cottages, the "top side" was rented from Mrs Dell for a Police House. (click William Saunders & Bethia Janes for more of Mrs Dell) There are now new houses on the site. My twin sister Margaret & I were born in Princes Risborough, & our younger brother (Dick) at Lacey Green.

Miss Jarvis called me out to the front of the class to help demonstrate the tensile strength of paper & she nearly lost balance. Mrs Guerney was known to go to buy some cherries to help us with our arithmetic.

I remember walking to Great Hampden through the woods to play Gt. Hampden School at football - in a field on the corner where Mr Brown had his blacksmith's shop.

I remember Maurice Saunder's father building new outside toilets and Maurice & I getting in his way.   click William John & Florence Saunders for the father of Maurice.