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1951 Roy Barker R.I.P. — 2 Comments

  1. Hi Roy,
    I well remember you, being in the same class at Mayfield. Our first form-master was Mr Wade and the last in form 4L was Mr Ivey for those of us who were leaving in December 1951. I didn’t do too much work in that form as I seemed to be assisting the school secretary Mr Young most of the time in my capacity of Senior Prefect. I have a photo of you and I in a race on a Sports Day – I was in Wood House – were you in Park?
    Yes I agree with you over Mr Davies and his use of the slipper. I well remember him almost hiding in the corridor watching us marching to the music room ready to pounce on any offender. John Lock was the form comedian and guaranteed to cause a laugh especially in the dining-room. Mr Buckley was our master in form 3 and our class-room overlooked the girls playground where I would peek at every opportunity to try and see my girl-friend Betty Youles. Mr Hicks to me was the epitome of the hard disciplined head-master stern but fair. I saw a different side to him however when he took us on a an excursion to the Festival of Britain in 1951. He was very relaxed and approachable and I really enjoyed the visit.
    I worked in an office in the City when I first left school, did 3 years in the RAF, drove buses and tankers and did a short stint in the Essex Police before emigrating to Ausralia in 1964 and made a career in sales and marketing. Had a year back in UK in 1974 before returning to Melbourne. I live in the glorious Yarra Valley and come home to UK every 2 to 3 years. Was last ‘home’ in Sept/Oct 2010.
    If any of our other class-mates read this would love to hear from them.
    Best regards Peter Clarke

  2. Hi Peter
    Sorry to have left it so long getting back to you, I have only just checked the Mayfield website, after a very long lapse. It was lovely to hear from you, along with all you recollections of those days. I like you, didn’t do too much school work in form 4L, as I was helping to construct an extension to the stage in the hall, to make it deeper.
    Incidentally I was in Field House, unfortunately not the most successful of houses to be in. I remember Mr.Buckley as a rather tall slim man with a rather large ‘Adam’s Apple’. I agree with you about Mr. Hicks, as you say firm but fair, I liked him very much, although I did fall foul of him once, I got the cane once for talking in class, in my early days at the school. Fortunately this did not prohibit me from becoming a Prefect in later years. I met him once after leaving school, in the car park near Bodgers, he was genuinely pleased to see me, and asked me what I was doing with myself, a very sociable man.
    I was an apprentice instrument maker at a company, Kelvin Hughes, in New North Road, Hainault for five years. Then did my National Service in the R.E.M.E.as a vehicle mechanic, working on Centurion Tanks at the end, before returning to K & H, eventually becoming a Planning Engineer.
    In 1970, I left the company and started working for myself and back to my first love, woodwork. I got quite busy so I took on a partner and we worked together until we retired in 2002. At our peak we had 20 employees working for us. Early on in our association we ran a Pet Shop, taking over the staff along with the shop, we ran this alongside our existing business for around 8 years.
    Well I think that’s enough from me for now, I must keep my eye on this website rather more frequently in future.
    My very best regards to you Peter, and thanks for getting in touch.
    Roy Barker

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