1960 Michael Mercer
I was in the same class as David Ross Walker and David Stanley Walker and can clearly remember when the decision was made to use their second names to identify them. The name of Paul Cordess also came up in my search through the site and I owe my interest in fishing to him. After I had moved to Wiltshire I was kindly invited back to Paul’s home by his parents so that we could go fishing again. If you read this Paul do you remember the tin of “Hooks” that was considered essential equipment.
I have a confession regarding the article I wrote that found its way into the school magazine. As my interest in fishing had been sparked by Paul I went to the school library and copied out from a book on fish some keywords regarding Pike. The next day we were all asked to write an article for inclusion in the magazine, however, my mind was a total blank until I remembered the paper with the notes that was still in my pocket. I used the notes thinking that no one would ever use the article in the magazine. How wrong I was when I was congratulated on my contribution. So there you have it, a plagiarist to the core. They say that confession is good for the soul!
Does anyone remember what became of the sailing dinghy that some of the seniors made in the woodwork class under Mr Marriot? I was at the lake, (can’t remember the name of the lake) when the dinghy was launched after watching with admiration during the building phase.
As I used to cycle from Chadwell Heath to school I had to have a ‘license’ and was tested by the local police officers in the play ground, that was a bit scary. In those days you used to have a great deal of respect for the local bobby.
I wonder if anyone else remembers being part of an impromptu ‘Judo Club’ that used to operate during the lunch break at the end of the arts and crafts building. I had taken out a book on Judo from the local library and about five of us used to look at the book and practice the moves, over a period of time we became quite proficient. This stood me in good stead when I moved to Wiltshire as the school bully picked on the ‘townie’ and I flattened him in the playground to the dismay of his gang. We became grudging friends after that episode.
A little about myself, I went on to do a five year apprenticeship as a toolmaker at the Plessey Company in Swindon and thereafter went onto do Production Engineering in the electrical and electronic industries before going to South Africa. Over here I went on to get my B.Sc. Honours in Production Management by distance learning from the University of Hertfordshire and also qualified as a professional engineer. Although officially past retirement age I still work full time as a Lead Auditor for the certification of companies to the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System Standard. This takes me all over Southern Africa auditing platinum, gold and coal mines and automotive companies and as part of this job I have had the privilege of going down the deepest gold mine in the world.
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