Neville Chamberlain - "Peace in our time" Michael Plenderleith was a pupil at Five Ways when the school was evacuated, he now lives in Gloucestershire and was inspired by Colin Spencer's editorial in the FWOEA Newsletter 64 to send us a few short memories, describing his email, "...a few memories from one who stayed the pace". Michael has promised to expand, but here are a few recollections to begin with:
"It all started 12 months earlier when Dobinson had us all assembled in the School Hall for evacuation to Evenlode, but Chamberlain came back waving his paper 'Peace in our Time', a great disappointment to us all!
Why on 1st September did we all have to walk to Snow Hill Station, singing 'With a 100 Pipers' and other Gaudeamus tunes, to our own words, when George Dixon's were taken by bus to Five Ways Station?
Then our paper bag of emergency rations - chocolate was greedily consumed on the train journey to Monmouth, and the GWR brown carriages turned white from the tins of condensed milk, pierced and held out of the train windows.
On arrival the streets to Rolls Hall lined with Girl Guides as a girls school was expected. The problem of getting the townsfolk to accept boys! Four of us were billeted in the house immediately below Monmouth Girls School - owned by a maiden aunt, with her maid, and during term time two nieces from Amersham who attended that school.
Our luck was in, two twin bedded rooms on the third floor - I believe the house is now the home of Monmouth Boys School headmaster.
Sadly it didn't last, the next day all four of us were up in front of Dobinson for getting chocolate on the sheets and crumbs in our beds! Two of us survived for a year until School Houses were set up when we moved down the road to 'Sanroyd House' so named by two mothers - Mrs Sandey & Mrs Ackroyd - who didn't realise what they were taking on!"
Aha Michael! So you were the source of that story in Mr Watkins' book!
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