Riverdale

School group 1964.

Wally Marsh, the headmaster, is standing to the left, my mother, Audrey Hotchkiss is standing far right.

Back row, left to right: Gillian Wright, Angela Martin, Sheila Stentiford, Keith Webber, Simon Hingley (me), Carol Webber, David Lee, Steve Kingdon, Dave Webber, Sally Webber and Janet Adams.

Next row forward, left to right: Margaret Pugsley, Phillip Stentiford, Anthony Webber, Michael Wright, unsure of next, Christine Searle, Kenny Brooks, Jane Martin, Valerie Vosper

Next row forward (seated), left to right: Beverley Wright, Shelia Henson, Sonia Legge, Raymond Lee, Rosemary Stentiford, Jane Kenneford, Graham Bolt, David Hartnell, John Ford, Russell Kenneford, Maria Martin.

Front row, left to right: Paul Kingdon, Carol Tonkin, Valarie Parker, Nick Paddon, Carole Hartnell, Johnny Butt, Paul Vosper.

I don't have many memories of the children of Cheriton Fitzpaine school but a few names come to mind; Carol and David Hartnell with whom I spent many hours playing in the barns of Poole Barton. Anthony and Sally Webber; Anthony was my best friend in the village. There's one of those 'small world' coincidences regarding him; in the early 1990s I was looking to buy a property in the West Country and, whilst viewing one property in the Taw valley, I was telling the woman who was showing us around her house about my time in Devon. It transpired that she had been romantically involved with him when she was younger.
Phillip Stentiford, also known as Charles or Churd, was killed in a landmine explosion in Keady, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland whilst serving with the Devon & Dorset Regiment.

School group 1965.

Wally Marsh, the headmaster, is standing to the left, my mother, Audrey Hotchkiss is standing far right. The dinner lady on the left is Mrs Hunt and to the right Mrs Webber.

Back row, left to right: Dave Webber, Nick Webber, Searle (Christian name not known), Carol Tonkin, Janet Adams, Angela Martin, Keith Webber, Johnny Butt.

Next row forward, left to right: Steve Kingdon, not known, not known, Jane Martin, Kenny Brooks, Sheila Stentiford, Carol Webber, Valerie Parker, Carole Hartnell.

Next row forward (seated), left to right: Stella Bolt, Gary Hooper, Russell Kenneford, Beverley Wright, Valerie Searle, John Ford, Andy Searle, Simon Paddon, Sheila Henson, Maria Martin, Ann Yendle, Paul Martin.

Front row, left to right: Jane Kenneford, Gillian Wright, Paul Vosper, Paul Kingdon, Dave Hartnell, Raymond Lee, Graham Bolt, Sonia Legge, Rosemary Stentiford.

Infant class group 1965.

Back row, left to right: Graham Bolt, Raymond Lee, Paul Kingdon, Johnny Butt, Dave Hartnell, Sonia Legge & Audrey Hotchkiss (teacher).

Front row, left to right: Stella Bolt, Gary Hooper, Russell Kenneford, Beverley Wright, Valerie Searle, John Ford, Andy Searle (known as Squirrel) Simon Paddon, Sheila Henson, Maria Martin, Ann Yendle, Paul Martin.

From Russell Kenneford: ... I remember the smell of the stoves in the class rooms and the dining hall at the far end of the school. I also remember how each year we used to have a harvest festival at school where we all brought things in like apples , bread just about any food stuff really ...
... the ploughing match each year when all the pupils at school used to paint pictures or do other things and enter them into the various categories of which I once came 2nd !
I remember the Thrift Club and how we used to get lots of goodies from various people from the village at Christmas, and how we often did our own Christmas play; I once played in one but can't remember what it was but I remember I was drafted in at the last moment when Paul Vosper was ill on the day, happy times indeed.

Sports day.

Shobrooke sports was held every year as a competition between all the schools in the Crediton area. There were three groups of seven or eight schools. Some schools had enough pupils to enter two teams and all the A teams were in group 1. Cheriton Fitzpaine was always in group 2 and all the B teams were in group 3. I remember we won the Shield for our group on a couple of occasions. Quote from Graham Bolt.

From Jane Kenneford: I remember the sports days at Shobrooke and Mr Marsh would buy us all an ice cream from the van that would call at the school every Monday if we won.

From Russell Kenneford: ... the sports days at Shobrooke Park were great, I remember we used to go to the rectory and practice on the rather large lawn there, bean bag races etc , I remember playing football in the school yard mostly with a tennis ball using the kitchen at one end of the yard and the gates at the other as goals ...

School outing to the Dart valley.

I remember going on the river trip down the Dart, we went by bus to the train station, then by train to Dartmouth, then bus down to the boat and vice versa to come back. Carol Webber is the girl on the right in the picture. My father used to work for her father ... Quote from Graham Bolt.

I remember that as a very exciting day - first ever ride on a train and boat!, I think the girl with me in the outing photo is Margaret Pugsley as we would go around together and did so for a few years at secondary school. Quotes from Carol Miller (née Webber).

Re-thatching the school roof was an occasion for extra-curricular studies.

Some children from my mother's class on the road to Stockleigh English. Maybe a nature walk?

From Russell Kenneford: I used to love the nature walks some times as far as Holly Water, on one such trip Brian Legge, Sonia's younger brother, fell in the river! It was on one of those outings that I got my first kiss .......
There was some thing special about that school and that has stayed with me.