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Early &
Relaxed Days
One of our earliest photos
comes from Sue Pidford (New Zealand) and it shows pupils in the
school grounds in the relaxed days of the early 1950s....
| Seated
(L to R): |
Jackie
Mitchell, Philippa Lee, Susan Godfrey. |
| Kneeling: |
Kathleen
Allen, Marian Proctor |
It also provides some evidence of a summer
uniform for the girls. So, if someone can send a full
description, we will add it to our "Badges and
Uniform" page.
A First
Year Class Photo
By the late
1950s, the uniform had undergone some
changes as can be seen of this photo of Class 1-B-1 kindly
supplied by John Mcgillivray.
| Back
Row: |
????,
Linda Gambrill, Pat Foad, Carol West, ???? |
| 3rd
Row: |
Geoff
Hook, John Shepherd, Paul Newman, David Rigden, Len Foad,
Mcgillivray, Graham Eldar, ????, Chris Janes, ???? |
| 2nd
Row: |
Paul
Taylor, Jock Harnett, Sharly Fuller, Denise Harman,
Dorothy ???, ????, Derek Castle, Peter Anderson |
| Front
Row: |
Chris
& Mike Hudnot, Chris Hall, Lindon Hudder. |
The photo was taken in 1959. The boys now sport navy
jackets rather than the original royal blue. The girls are
wearing winter outfits and there is quite a variety of shades of
jumper.
A Fifth
Year Class Photo
The message and photo below were kindly forwarded by Margarett
Emery (née Darby)....
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Hi
Dave,
I have just been looking at the site and
noticed that Cliff Cuttelle told you that I had a 5th year photo
from the Sir William Nottidge. I have enclosed it
below....
Here goes at the names!....
Back Row
(Left to Right):
??????,
Peter Champion, Roger ?????, Peter Hadlow, John Sharp,
Trevor Watson, Rodney Trotter, Derek Weatherall: Jimmy
Keam.
Second Row
(Left to Right):
Susan
Collins, Phyllis Harnett, Linda Martin, Ann ????, Lorna
Bryce, Beatrice Slater, Margaret Anderson, Allison
Farrance, Kathleen Franklin, Audrey French, Linda
Sargeant.
Third Row (Left
to Right):
William
Eldridge, ??????, Baden Jones,
June Collar, Rosemary Chambers, Ann Dyason, Elizabeth
Wildey, Janice Laker, Margarett Darby (me).
Fourth Row
(Left to Right):
Peter
Kirk, Mick Gambie, Paul ?????, Colin Brunger, ?????,
Annette Marsh, Janet Mears, Diane Bartlett, Christine
de la Hoyde.
Sadly, John Sharp and Lorna Bryce
are no longer with us.
Margarett
Emery
Whitstable |
Metalwork
& Woodwork
The school directed
pupils along paths to many different types of occupations. Along
the way, it produced many fine craftsmen
via its workshops and technical drawing classes . However, inevitably, there were varying degrees of
enthusiam for subjects as Cliff Cuttelle explains....
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The
Choice...
Recently,
there have been some memories on the web site of Nobby Clark
- the
woodwork teacher.
During
the first 2 years at the Sir William Nottidge, we could
do both metalwork and woodwork. However,
at the end of the 2nd year, we had to choose
one or other. Well, I (and those in this group photo of
form 4A and B above) all opted out of woodwork.
The
main reason was that Nobby did not like those who could
not handle woodwork tools.... and who used hammers
with chisels!!!! He was a dead aim with chalk, off cuts
and the occasional black board rubber..... Hence, the
grin on our faces in metal work!!!
I
remember that some of the guys in metal work were
skilled, and at least 2 good cups were made and kept in
the main hall.
Those
in the photo included 2 of the tallest in the school -
Dave Waterford and Terry Hoddinott. The rest of us were
a grim lot.... although, sorry to say, not all of us are
around now.
Incidentally,
I have looked at the form reports for woodwork in my
second year. Nobby wrote "D + C" and "D +
D".... and added the comment "rather
careless and his interests lay elsewhere". How
very true. Copy of the reports are available for
verification!
Cliff Cuttelle
Hua Hin
Thailand
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Apart from a skilled local workforce, the school
showered a legacy of trinkets and more practical items into the
local community. One of the first
"metal" items produced by new entrants was the....
wait for it... wait for it.... metal toasting fork! Most
houses in Whitstable had a Sir William Nottidge toasting fork
and the implement was used on open coal fires. Toast, dripping with a
sprinkling of salt! Doesn't that just bring back the memories. When my mother died a few
years ago, we cleared her shed and discovered a SWNS gardening
trowel. It was in perfect working order and considerably
stronger than the versions that cost real money at modern DIY
superstores. A favourite early production of the
woodwork room was the oak table lamp and many are still lovingly
polished by Natives around the globe. However, as students
grew older and gained expertise, more elaborate productions
flowed down Downs Avenue and through All Saints churchyard. A
superb 5 ft lamp standard and impressive oak coffee table
adorned my parents home for nearly half a century. They now
reside in my brother's house in North Wales and remain highly
polished.... and fully functional. School
Dinners.... Unlike
many schools, the Sir William Nottidge had a separate dining
room in addition to a school hall. Outside of lunch hours, it
was sometimes used for other purposes and I seem to recall dance
demonstrations taking place there. What I didn't know until
recently was that the "dining" block had two
kitchens.... presumably to cope with a student population that
topped 1200 at one stage. Throughout the state
education system of the 1950s, school dinners were largely
derided. However, I have heard Sir William Nottidge pupils
singing the praises of three main courses..... the liver... the
roast beef.... and the sausages. A Nottidge friend actually made
further enquiries about those sausages and discovered that they
originated from the small Baxters factory at Thanet! Gipsy
Tart However,
one dish transcended all others and the memories remain to this
day. In fact, it has been the subject of more emails to Simply
Whitstable than almost any other subject related to the
school. It is, of course, the much lamented Gypsy Tart. Providing
a recipe is something of a problem as we have been sent a number
of versions from as far afield as Perth (Western Australia)...
and we understand that regular visitor, Bob Court (Queensland),
even reproduced the delicacy at Cliff Cuttelle's birthday
celebration in the oriental seaside paradise of Hua Hin
(Thailand). Well, I had to plump for one version
here and, so, I have combined recipes sent to Simply
Whitstable by Chris and Roselyn Siminson and Sue Hardy....
on the grounds that Ros and Sue's mums were professionals
employed to produce gipsy tarts in schools!
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GYPSY
TART
INGREDIENTS
For a reasonably thick filling in a 10" pastry
case...
- 10 fl ozs evaporated milk
- 10 ozs dark brown sugar
- 10 inch pastry case.
- lemon juice (optional)
Tips...
- It must be evaporated milk - NOT condensed
- It must be dark soft brown sugar - NOT demerarra
- If you place the evaporated milk in the fridge
overnight, it will help the mixture set
CONSTRUCTION....
- Beat together the evaporated milk and brown sugar
until the mixture is creamy and light brown in
colour (Tip:
Do not overwhip as this will cause it to separate).
- If you don't like it too sweet, add a touch of
lemon juice
- Cook in a cool oven (gas mark 2 or electric 150 )
for approx 10-15 mins (Tip:
You can test by giving the tin a
shake to see if the mixture has set)
- Allow to cool in a fridge
SERVING
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Of course, if like me, you
find that it all degenerates into a "separated mess",
pick one up from Asda, Tesco or Champs Bakery (High Street,
Whitstable) and claim that you made it. No-one will know. Sir
William Nottidge wasn't the only school to produce gypsy tart.
In fact it was on the menu of most schools in North East Kent.
However, I have received no evidence that it was produced by
dinner ladies outside the county. Maybe it was a Kent
delicacy... but, in the light of modern concerns about obesity,
it has (perhaps) quite rightly disappeared from those menus. Drafting
Note: Can
you add to our photos and stories at Sir William Nottidge? Do
you have photos of work that came from the workshops and art
rooms? If you still have gipsy tart... throw it out. The sell by
date is considerably less than 40 years.
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