Barling Magna School Reunions
Article by Richard Kirton - 8th May 2020
I was talking to my neighbour, Betty Dobson [née Deadman] only today and we discussed the Old Barling School. I did not realise that Betty, along with Den Winch and one or two others, was an initiator of the reunions. With regard to ‘Small Beginnings’, credit has to go to Geoff Bell, who started it, albeit from 8000+ miles away, with Paul Abercrombie and even supplied it with its modest title. The first edition reflects some of this. Betty kindly shared the following newspaper cuttings, photograph and snippets with me:
The First Barling Magna School Reunion was held on Monday 26th August 1996 at the Methodist Church Hall in Great Wakering High Street. The local newspaper headline read:
School reunion
PAST pupils of the old Barling School are being invited to a reunion.
The former school in Little Wakering Road is now used as the base for a dancing school.
The gathering will be held on August 31 at the Methodist church in Great Wakering High Street and is being jointly organised by old school friends Dennis Winch and Betty Dobson.
Mr Winch, of Olivers Crescent, Great Wakering, said: “Anybody who went to the school is invited to come along.
“We want as many people there as possible and if anyone has got any old photographs it would be great to see them.”
The party starts at 6.30pm.
The Second Barling Magna School Reunion was held on Monday 31st August 1998 at the Methodist Church Hall in Great Wakering High Street. The local newspaper headline read:
Second school reunion
IT WAS a trip down memory lane for former pupils of the old Barling school, near Southend, when they met for their second reunion.
Former pupils gathered at the Methodist Church Hall in Great Wakering High Street to discuss days in the classroom.
Den Winch co-organised the reunion with Betty Dobson (nee Deadman), said it had gone very well.
He said: “People like me had been out of the village a few years and hadn’t seen anybody, so everyone had name tags on the front of them to reveal who they were.”
Among the former pupils aged between 50 and 85 were sisters Sheelagh Aranha and Doris Bracci (née Chapman), who were thrilled to see an old school photo.
Recipes and Hints
[Booklet from 1929]
I
f you Are looking for Recipes or some Hints, look no further, since back in 1929 you could have bought this book for 6d and the proceeds went in aid of the New School Building Fund.
Left-click on the page to the right and you will be able to look at some wonderful old Recipes such as:
- Apple Charlotte
- Butter Sponge
- Green Apple Chutney
- Cocoanut Ice
- Cheese Fingers
- Ginger Pudding
The section on Hints covers such things as:
- A Good Floor Polish
- Home-made Embrocation
- Preventing large cakes from burning
- The Love Larder.
This photograph of Barling School Pupils was taken in the Summer of 1940
