1939 David Marsters R.I.P.
Thank you for your recent email. It is with great sadness I have to tell you that my husband, David Marsters, passed away at home on 21St March 2013. He always enjoyed the information about Mayfield, and his only regret was that he was never able to contact any of those people who knew from those very early days.
– Chris Marsters
1939 Harry Verlander R.I.P.
In 1938 I won a fishing rod, which I still possess, in a Roller Skating race on the playground tarmac. In December of that year, on my 13th birthday, I inherited my father’s fixed wheel racing cycle. They became my two prize possessions. The 1939 summer holidays ended with being evacuated to Beccles in Suffolk with my younger sister Lily May, then still at the junior school in Chadwell Heath. Continue reading →
1940 Derrick Mumford
I am now living in a very beautiful part of Australia with my wife of 62 years, my daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. After serving with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan I was demobbed in 1947. I married Diana in 1948 and, in 1951, we decided to take our chance and come to Australia. It was a very big step to take but one that was filled with hope and trust in ones judgement. We are still here after 59 years and happily living in the Gold Coast hinterland, up in the mountains of Queensland. Continue reading →
1943 John Mumford R.I.P.
I regret to report that my brother John Mumford died of cancer on the 4th April 2009. He was very highly regarded locally for his work in the community and the church was full for a service of thanksgiving.
– Robert Mumford
1944 Kenny Ball R.I.P.
Kenny was born in 1930 in Ilford, Essex. He began his career as a sideman in bands before forming his own in 1958. Moving away from the overworked traditional repertoire, the band sought out tuneful songs from all sources, gave them the ‘Kenny Ball’ treatment, gained hit after hit, and took the band to worldwide renown during the heyday of the traditional jazz boom of the 1960’s. Kenny was at Mayfield from 1941 to 1944. During his time there he was Captain of the Cricket and Athletic Teams. He also started a band while at the school. Continue reading →
1946 George Buckle
After leaving Mayfield in 1946 I served my apprenticeship as a Pattern Maker, then it was two years National Service in the RAF. When I left the RAF I changed direction and retrained as a draughtsman in the aircraft industry, where I became Chief Layout Draughtsman at Aviation Traders. We designed the Carvair Car Transporter, one of which was eventually used to fly beer around in Australia. My claim to fame was working on Concord. Eventually I got bored with aircraft and had a interesting 15 years at The Ford Motor Company, before starting my own product design company. This was very successful until I retired at 68. My wife and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary in 2008.
1946 Ronald Osborne R.I.P.
My mother had a cafe in Green Lane, a few shops down from the Lord Napier Pub. On occasions I would get a lift to school from the local Undertaker in a Rolls Royce, or the coal merchant on his horse and cart. This background, plus a great desire to travel was probably the reason I went to sea. I joined the original Queen Mary when she was still in trooping colours (grey) and was to get a taste of fame by getting my name and photo in the Ilford Recorder. I stayed at sea for ten years and then moved to New Zealand where I lived for thirty years before retiring, and moving to the Gold Coast in Australia. Continue reading →
1947 Norman Drane R.I.P.
Norman Drane, my husband, was at Mayfield when I was there. In fact one of the first times I saw him was on the 63 bus from The Hawbush, which we all used to catch from Chadwell Heath to Mayfield. We were married in 1955 and had 46 very happy years together, having three children. Sadly he died on the 2000 New Year’s Eve. He, like me, was very happy at Mayfield and often used to speak fondly of his school days there. His best friend Alan Dyer was also a pupil at Mayfield and we were very close to him, and his wife and family, all our married life.
– Norma Beasley
1948 Alan Cherry R.I.P.
The founder of Countryside Properties and Bairstow Eves, Alan Cherry died on 23 January, 2010, following a six-month battle with cancer.
Alan grew up in Dagenham and left Mayfield Boys School aged 15 in 1948. He studied part-time and qualified as a chartered surveyor before doing his National Service in the Royal Engineers. Together with his friend, John Bairstow he founded the estate agency, Bairstow Eves, and for some years was its Managing Director. Their first shop was in Brentwood.
John Bairstow later went into the hotel business and Alan Cherry formed Countryside Properties in 1958. The company would become one of the UK’s leading and most respected housing and property development companies, specialising in the creation of sustainable communities and urban regeneration. He was passionate in his belief in design and environmental quality and was therefore particularly proud when Accordia in Cambridge was the first housing scheme to receive the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2008. Alan was awarded an MBE in 1984 and a CBE in 2003 for services to housing and regeneration.
1949 Brian Moore
