More gaps filled: Second-year pupils at Donnington School in 1952. Back row, left to right: ?, Dave Saunders, Maureen Murphy, ?, Ian Campbell, Pauline Scammell, Richard Warnock, Margaret Alder, Dave Hickman, Christine Faulkner, ?. Middle row: Mick Laverty, John Piper, ?, ?, Helen Powell, ?, Miss Murray, ?, ?, ?, ?, Ruth Helm, ?. Front row: Brenda Martin, Richard Charles, ?, Brian Turnbull, ?, Trevor Jones, Beryl Barry, ?, ?, Kenny Guy, ?

I have just been sent the photograph of the class of 1952 at Donnington School in Oxford by a cousin (Memory Lane, January 19).

The unnamed girl next to me is Margaret Alder. I believe that other members of the form included Bruce Owen, Lilian Clarence, Ruth Helm and Michael Beadsley.

For accuracy’s sake, I think that there are two spelling errors – Kenny Goy should be Guy (I remember him as a very fast runner) and Pauline Scammell should have a second ‘l’ (she married Ian Moffatt, a well known local rugby player and cricketer who went to Southfield School).

One memory I have is of some of us being taught French, very advanced for a junior school in those days, and giving a concert for parents in which introductions and songs were given in French.

Somewhat sadly, I can still recite the words that I had to speak! I also recall, at the age of seven or eight, asking the head for permission to leave school early to go home to watch the University rugby match on television! To my great surprise, my request was refused!

Junior boys and girls played together, but in the seniors, there were separate playgrounds.

Among the games boys played were two with cigarette cards, one where cards were placed against the corridor wall and the boy who knocked the last one down won them all.

In the other game, one had to land a card on top of another to win it.

Another memory is one that I imagine all junior school pupils from that time shared – the compulsory bottle of milk drunk at break time and the eagerness of pupils to be milk monitor as they might get an extra one.

Richard Warnock
Melton
Suffolk