Dave Warren
master brummie
Hi Walkscrow Dave Warren here clee dorm back row far end Mr Tebbitt was dorm teacher-carer and didnt i know it, i was in Pinners class maybe he was Malverns dorm teacher-carer next to Tebbitts room
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Birmingham Open Air Schools - Cropwood, Hunter's Hill, Marsh Hill and Skilts (excl. Haseley Hall and Uffculme)
- Thread starter ChrisM
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marketman1956
master brummie
Hi walkscrow,I was at hhoas the same time as u,only I was in Clent.i knew a catherine in cropwood although without a surname it's impossible to tell if it was ur sister?your dorm was called clee house,Mr pinner had the room just off it.mr harris was indeed the caretaker at the time we were there.i thought he was a good man.
Dave Warren
master brummie
Did we have nicknames? I remrmber the mods v rockers episodes, are you mod or rocker, say wrong one get a smacker lol
marketman1956
master brummie
I'm in the middle,I had a pushbike?
Dave Warren
master brummie
Who was your brother in hunters hill Crimble
Dave Warren
master brummie
I know you and Naomi Benton both mates of my sister Christine Warren, i was her younger brother David in Hunters Hill☺
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marketman1956
master brummie
Those names really jogged the memory Dave,so now I can add to the list?(left to right)2nd back row, j burchell.4th from left (i think might be paul moran?5th brian diddidiere.10th charlie tilley.11th Tommy rodgers.middle row,left to right..8th,one of the mc'cluskey brothers.
I know steven rose is there,but I'm not sure which one is him?
This is becoming an obsession now Dave.. i really want to complete the list.so if anybody can help feel free?
Dave Warren
master brummie
bit by bit i also know steve rose is there somewhere but light of dark haired, tall/short i cant remember.
[email protected]
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Dave Warren
master brummie
marketman1956
master brummie
Sorry Dave,I haven't got the book.
I tried the local library,but they said six from various libraries have been nicked?
Dave Warren
master brummie
marketman1956
master brummie
marketman1956
master brummie
Thanks Dave,have received the pages from book(really interesting)brought so many memories back.did it progress for eg,to the late 6os and early 70s?if so will have to make a point to get the book?
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Dave Warren
master brummie
Joe F i was there too remember most of lads, was in Clee dorm and Pinners class
Dave Warren
master brummie
Marketman and Michaelwicks if we was to meet up a few pints would open the subconcious doors in our minds, memories and names etc would probably flood out lol... I live in Colwyn Bay by Llandudno now but I am due visit Hatton in Brum (Flower Gardens) April 26-27 and staying over at The Falcon Inn/hotel before Newcastle Festival.............................this Aston boy says "Bostin"
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marketman1956
master brummie
Let us know wen ur around?
Dave Warren
master brummie
Any Hunters Hill lads from Malvern and Clee dorms on this forum between 1960 to 1968 possible reunion. April 26th The Falcon Inn, Hatton, Bham , Warwickshire, leaving 11am 27th from Falcon Inn going Tulleys Tulip Garden fields, Dark Ln ........get tickets online if like flowers like my mrs does goshhhhhhhhhhhh 500,000 tulips
Also Cropwood girls
Hunters Hill Terrors Updated
Also Cropwood girls
Hunters Hill Terrors Updated
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Dave Warren
master brummie
Why do i get the feeling your'e the lad I smacked with pillow and we both got caught by bighead Alex Kane (Senior Prefect) cum acrobat Angel manouvre, cum Goalie on parents day and both got slipper...... 26th still on wife booked it, shes care manager and loves delinquents like us lol
What she dont have is memories and we win on that subject....... good times
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Dave Warren
master brummie
yes vividly remember the cornflakes What classroom or dorm was you in Pete?
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Dave Warren
master brummie
question was the dorms and classrooms age associated in the 60's
I remember now Abberley youngest to Clee oldest then Prefects in block, but even at age 7 -12 I was always in Clee dorm
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Dave Warren
master brummie
I guess you on about HUnters Hill not Cropwood as there wasnt a Blackwell OAP
Dave Warren
master brummie
Kevin hicks
Dave Warren
master brummie
Absolutely right Pete... More cornflakes pls Crump
Just discovered odd fact about cropwood-the famous Alan Turing used to visit and stay with Christopher Morcombs Mother - after his friend had died- she lived at the Clock House ,just over two miles away- he used to use Cropwoods open air swimming pool now and again. This was when the large hall and grounds belonged to cadburys.
(Mod. comment: additional sentence added from member's further comment on following day).
(Mod. comment: additional sentence added from member's further comment on following day).
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I was left feeling confused reading some of the threads regarding the varied experiences at Cropwood, the threads prompted many memories which I then couldn't get out of my mind, that drove me to write about my time there even though I never put anything online.
I came to realise that attending during the 1960s was probably the worst period of time. I remember lots of girls running away and being returned and although I wanted to run, I had no idea which direction was home or how to get there. There was a heavy atmosphere of fear during my stay at Cropwood. There was no warmth or displays of comfort when you were sick or injured it was a cold emotionally neglectful environment . I don't remember any visiting days for relatives, but we did go home periodically during some of the half terms.
I attended around the early/mid 1960s when I was roughly 7 - 8 years old due to Asthma and like many hated the place, I was permanently homesick I can't remember the names of any of my friends from that time, my name was Dawn Morris
.
My first memories were of Miss Urquhart who was a Scottish women with dark rings round her eyes her face seemed to wear a permanent scowl, she had a dog which I think may have been a Scottish terrier. I remember the main hub was a room with wooden benches down either side and and a row of double sinks down the centre. Miss Urquhart would run the tap on the front sink, her dog would jump up onto the wooden bench at the front sink and drink from it. I remember the pink carbolic soap everywhere.
On my first day I was greeted by the nurse whose name I cannot remember, she wasn't warm and welcoming in any way and had really prominent eyes that bulged. She led me to an area covered in oak panelling and led me up the winding oak staircase with her hand round my wrist. She said to me "you are very thin, we will soon fatten you up" this remark reminded me of the witch in the Hansel and Gretel story, I was worried and wondered where she was taking me. To my relief there was a seamstress upstairs who issued me with the school uniform which was vest, pants long woollen socks, that fell down all the time, a pale yellow airtex short sleeve blouse a grey tunic and cardigan we had brown leather lace up shoes for outdoors and leather buckled sandals for indoor use.
The older girls would often supervise us and would wash our hair and help us in all sorts of other ways they were a really lovely bunch really kind. The teachers referred to us by name in class. At other times we were referred to by our number.
The routine was harsh we would sleep in a long dormitory with floor to ceiling concertina doors which remained open in the summer. We slept on metal framed beds with sheets a blanket and bedspread, I remember the winter months being freezing cold and I would curl up into a ball to try to keep warm in bed. In the morning we were woken and would stand by our beds to await the wet beds check, then we would strip the bedding and place it on the wooden chair at the end of the bed. We would get washed and clean our teeth in cold water. We were taught to wash our own underpants and place them on a radiator, we would collect them in the morning and return to the dormitory. We would then remake the beds using a box fold method which we were taught to do. The beds were inspected before we were allowed to go.
We would then take our outdoor shoes and stand outside whatever the weather and polish and clean both outdoor and indoor shoes, one of the older girls would supervise us younger ones and I remember once our supervisor telling me to avoid getting my shoes so muddy because they would be easier to clean and polish. I took her advice and if my shoes were muddy I would clean them up with dock leaves or scrape the mud off any way I could, once our shoes passed inspection, we were then allowed to go to breakfast.
Breakfast was lumpy porridge - kippers "god I hated the kippers" they made me heave. Miss Urquhart would sit at a large table to one side of the canteen, you were not allowed to leave the table until all food was eaten. I remember the cod liver oil capsules daily were the first thing that greeted us. We never went hungry, the food was ok generally speaking although sometimes tasteless. I remember having a difficult time eating a very sour orange once, it made me repeatedly heave, but I knew I had no choice. No one talked we sat in silence at mealtimes.
I remember the swimming pool but never swam in it, we were taught to swim at a local swimming pool and I became a good swimmer. There was a sand pit in the grounds which I only remember playing in once. We were happy to play out making dens, catching butterflies and caterpillars, frog hunting, French skipping, hide and seek and skipping with ropes. The surrounding gardens were a hive of nature and I once found a dead mole which was fascinating although another animal had made a bit of a mess of him.
I also remember being really confused regarding break times. We were told to go straight out at play times but we were not allowed back indoors until the bell. I spent a lot of time worrying about how and when I could use the toilet so would repeatedly wet myself. The toilet was situated next to the Nurses room so I would hang around the door outside waiting for my opportunity to go without being seen. I remember one girl who had the worst case of eczema. She was bathed every morning and nurse would be creaming her body as she stood in her pants. Occasionally I got chance to go in and use the loo but on every occasion I would always take a minute of privacy to have a cry and pray to god that I could go home soon. The older girls were tasked to check our pants on a regular basis, I was often in trouble and told off but never got the slipper for wetting myself.
We would spend the morning in school I did well to begin with and remember being given a fuzzy felt farmyard set for doing well. I remember writing my first letter home begging my parents to come and take me home. The letters were collected up and I was kept back and made to rewrite the letter with the complete opposite of what I had said in my initial letter. I was made to write that I had made a lot of new friends and was happy etc etc. I considered stealing some paper and an envelope and writing a letter which I could post on one of the walks as we past a post box, but decided that I would get into a lot of trouble if I got caught. Rumour had it you were spanked with the slipper if you were naughty so I tried to keep a low profile. Often I would hear rumours of girls being given the slipper which was actually a spanking with a leather sandal with a buckle. It was a regular occurrence for the bed wetter's and other behaviour which was regarded as naughty. It was never done in view of us girls you just heard about it on the grape vine.
I came to realise that attending during the 1960s was probably the worst period of time. I remember lots of girls running away and being returned and although I wanted to run, I had no idea which direction was home or how to get there. There was a heavy atmosphere of fear during my stay at Cropwood. There was no warmth or displays of comfort when you were sick or injured it was a cold emotionally neglectful environment . I don't remember any visiting days for relatives, but we did go home periodically during some of the half terms.
I attended around the early/mid 1960s when I was roughly 7 - 8 years old due to Asthma and like many hated the place, I was permanently homesick I can't remember the names of any of my friends from that time, my name was Dawn Morris
.
My first memories were of Miss Urquhart who was a Scottish women with dark rings round her eyes her face seemed to wear a permanent scowl, she had a dog which I think may have been a Scottish terrier. I remember the main hub was a room with wooden benches down either side and and a row of double sinks down the centre. Miss Urquhart would run the tap on the front sink, her dog would jump up onto the wooden bench at the front sink and drink from it. I remember the pink carbolic soap everywhere.
On my first day I was greeted by the nurse whose name I cannot remember, she wasn't warm and welcoming in any way and had really prominent eyes that bulged. She led me to an area covered in oak panelling and led me up the winding oak staircase with her hand round my wrist. She said to me "you are very thin, we will soon fatten you up" this remark reminded me of the witch in the Hansel and Gretel story, I was worried and wondered where she was taking me. To my relief there was a seamstress upstairs who issued me with the school uniform which was vest, pants long woollen socks, that fell down all the time, a pale yellow airtex short sleeve blouse a grey tunic and cardigan we had brown leather lace up shoes for outdoors and leather buckled sandals for indoor use.
The older girls would often supervise us and would wash our hair and help us in all sorts of other ways they were a really lovely bunch really kind. The teachers referred to us by name in class. At other times we were referred to by our number.
The routine was harsh we would sleep in a long dormitory with floor to ceiling concertina doors which remained open in the summer. We slept on metal framed beds with sheets a blanket and bedspread, I remember the winter months being freezing cold and I would curl up into a ball to try to keep warm in bed. In the morning we were woken and would stand by our beds to await the wet beds check, then we would strip the bedding and place it on the wooden chair at the end of the bed. We would get washed and clean our teeth in cold water. We were taught to wash our own underpants and place them on a radiator, we would collect them in the morning and return to the dormitory. We would then remake the beds using a box fold method which we were taught to do. The beds were inspected before we were allowed to go.
We would then take our outdoor shoes and stand outside whatever the weather and polish and clean both outdoor and indoor shoes, one of the older girls would supervise us younger ones and I remember once our supervisor telling me to avoid getting my shoes so muddy because they would be easier to clean and polish. I took her advice and if my shoes were muddy I would clean them up with dock leaves or scrape the mud off any way I could, once our shoes passed inspection, we were then allowed to go to breakfast.
Breakfast was lumpy porridge - kippers "god I hated the kippers" they made me heave. Miss Urquhart would sit at a large table to one side of the canteen, you were not allowed to leave the table until all food was eaten. I remember the cod liver oil capsules daily were the first thing that greeted us. We never went hungry, the food was ok generally speaking although sometimes tasteless. I remember having a difficult time eating a very sour orange once, it made me repeatedly heave, but I knew I had no choice. No one talked we sat in silence at mealtimes.
I remember the swimming pool but never swam in it, we were taught to swim at a local swimming pool and I became a good swimmer. There was a sand pit in the grounds which I only remember playing in once. We were happy to play out making dens, catching butterflies and caterpillars, frog hunting, French skipping, hide and seek and skipping with ropes. The surrounding gardens were a hive of nature and I once found a dead mole which was fascinating although another animal had made a bit of a mess of him.
I also remember being really confused regarding break times. We were told to go straight out at play times but we were not allowed back indoors until the bell. I spent a lot of time worrying about how and when I could use the toilet so would repeatedly wet myself. The toilet was situated next to the Nurses room so I would hang around the door outside waiting for my opportunity to go without being seen. I remember one girl who had the worst case of eczema. She was bathed every morning and nurse would be creaming her body as she stood in her pants. Occasionally I got chance to go in and use the loo but on every occasion I would always take a minute of privacy to have a cry and pray to god that I could go home soon. The older girls were tasked to check our pants on a regular basis, I was often in trouble and told off but never got the slipper for wetting myself.
We would spend the morning in school I did well to begin with and remember being given a fuzzy felt farmyard set for doing well. I remember writing my first letter home begging my parents to come and take me home. The letters were collected up and I was kept back and made to rewrite the letter with the complete opposite of what I had said in my initial letter. I was made to write that I had made a lot of new friends and was happy etc etc. I considered stealing some paper and an envelope and writing a letter which I could post on one of the walks as we past a post box, but decided that I would get into a lot of trouble if I got caught. Rumour had it you were spanked with the slipper if you were naughty so I tried to keep a low profile. Often I would hear rumours of girls being given the slipper which was actually a spanking with a leather sandal with a buckle. It was a regular occurrence for the bed wetter's and other behaviour which was regarded as naughty. It was never done in view of us girls you just heard about it on the grape vine.
We all looked forward to the sweet parcels that would arrive from time to time, these parcels were shared out at break times. I have no recollections of any sort of toys/games or television.
After dinner we would go on long walks round the countryside, we had long macs with hoods and went out whatever the weather. I remember one day on a walk, my friend was leaning on my shoulder with her elbow to walk, she did this quite often, I stepped out of line and the teacher came alongside and slapped my legs.
During the winter months the tunics would rub and chaff the front of your thighs which would often bleed. I learned to walk holding my tunic away from my thighs as often as possible to reduce the rub. At bedtime a teacher or older girl would bring us a pot of cold cream which we were allowed to rub on the sore areas of our thighs. I remember a Welsh teacher one evening teaching us goodnight in Welsh "nos da".
At tea time we would wash up in the sinks that ran down the middle of the hub and return to our wooden bench seat that ran down either side and we would sing songs until we went into tea. After tea we would go to the dormitory and and get undressed. We would wash our pants and put them on the radiator ready for the next day. We would have a strip wash in cold water and clean our teeth.
The bathroom was a place inhabited by all sorts of different moths, small ones, medium sized ones, big ones and then there were some huge moths. I soon learned that they were harmless, and not to disturb them, but to this day its a predominant memory. We would get into bed and we were told to face the wall. We did what we were told, there was never any pillow fights or mucking around type behaviour at bed times, girls remained facing the wall and went to sleep.
Once a week we would have a bath with warm water. The older girls would wash our hair in warm water.
I remember the medicals when a doctor would come in and examine us all. We would strip down to our underpants and sit in our dressing gowns awaiting the check. This was a day you could be told you would be going home, the excitement was overwhelming. On one occasion I remember sitting waiting whilst some excited girls were mucking around and and there was an arm torn out of a dressing gown which was thrown into the air and landed in my lap. The nurse turned the corner and immediately grabbed my arm, she took me into the treatment room where the doctor was waiting. She pulled out a chair threw me across it and spanked me with my sandal several times. The doctor carried on and did all his checks whilst I sobbed. I don't know what upset me the most that day , being told I wouldn't be going home or the spanking.
After dinner we would go on long walks round the countryside, we had long macs with hoods and went out whatever the weather. I remember one day on a walk, my friend was leaning on my shoulder with her elbow to walk, she did this quite often, I stepped out of line and the teacher came alongside and slapped my legs.
During the winter months the tunics would rub and chaff the front of your thighs which would often bleed. I learned to walk holding my tunic away from my thighs as often as possible to reduce the rub. At bedtime a teacher or older girl would bring us a pot of cold cream which we were allowed to rub on the sore areas of our thighs. I remember a Welsh teacher one evening teaching us goodnight in Welsh "nos da".
At tea time we would wash up in the sinks that ran down the middle of the hub and return to our wooden bench seat that ran down either side and we would sing songs until we went into tea. After tea we would go to the dormitory and and get undressed. We would wash our pants and put them on the radiator ready for the next day. We would have a strip wash in cold water and clean our teeth.
The bathroom was a place inhabited by all sorts of different moths, small ones, medium sized ones, big ones and then there were some huge moths. I soon learned that they were harmless, and not to disturb them, but to this day its a predominant memory. We would get into bed and we were told to face the wall. We did what we were told, there was never any pillow fights or mucking around type behaviour at bed times, girls remained facing the wall and went to sleep.
Once a week we would have a bath with warm water. The older girls would wash our hair in warm water.
I remember the medicals when a doctor would come in and examine us all. We would strip down to our underpants and sit in our dressing gowns awaiting the check. This was a day you could be told you would be going home, the excitement was overwhelming. On one occasion I remember sitting waiting whilst some excited girls were mucking around and and there was an arm torn out of a dressing gown which was thrown into the air and landed in my lap. The nurse turned the corner and immediately grabbed my arm, she took me into the treatment room where the doctor was waiting. She pulled out a chair threw me across it and spanked me with my sandal several times. The doctor carried on and did all his checks whilst I sobbed. I don't know what upset me the most that day , being told I wouldn't be going home or the spanking.