Author Topic: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End  (Read 20958 times)

Offline denyer_s

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #36 on: Friday 31 December 10 08:02 GMT (UK) »
Dear Don

Pleased to be of help. I am sure that this must have been a traumatic time for you and it could not have been easy seeing your friends return to normal home life while you remained behind waiting to be claimed. No school environment can substitute for a happy home but it is good to see you were finally cared for by the first family you were billeted with.

I will certainly pass on your poem to my mother.

After my Grandmother left Homestead Jean did stay with a family in Bourne end (in order to complete her education) however she did not go to boarding school nor was she schooled in Cookham, her home like yours was Homestead.

After the war the home reverted to private ownership so we do not really know what happened to the unclaimed children at this time. My grandmother did live in Ealing. I mentioned your name to Jean however she does not recollect you or Stanis I am afraid.

Offline McDouall

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #37 on: Friday 31 December 10 12:00 GMT (UK) »
Dear Denyer-s
Strange it is how ones memory plays tricks.
Wonder why I have always  remembered Cookham as where the School was Jean attended?
Cannot ever remember her going to or from school?
We went to the School right in Bourne End itself.the Homestead was not a school 1945-47
a shop that sold buns opposite it.
On Fridays it was woodwork class & the school for this was somewhere the other side of Loudwater.
I detested woodwork  so most times never attended, instead played on chalk hills, got covered in chalk so possibly got a hiding when I returned home.

Its worth noting that corporal punishment was the norm at that time... The cane or ruler at school; The belt & cane in the home.
 I guess it was required to keep a mob of unruly boys inline.

and we were unruly at times...
I remember with others breaking into launches tied up on the river bank & throwing  what was most likely expensive stuff into the river,
Then a common pastime was to try to derail the Marlow Donkey... Thankfully we never succeeded.
Sadly most of us there knew we were unwanted so to speak, so our antics reflected this.

Jean might remember her aunt bred dogs; spaniels I think.She might also remember the small island not far from the back veranda & most likely the smelly cesspit alongside.

On Friday`s I worked in a butchers shop making sausages, Stanis worked in the Chemist shop.

some of the matrons rules were strict...
One was we couldnt put our hands in our trouser pockets, they were sewn up.

Then after church on Sunday we had to drink Cenna pods...So spent very painful moments on the toilet seat the rest of the day.

I wrote a few years back some notes on living at the Homestead.
 If Jean would like them I could send by email... providing of course there is an email address, we could compare notes so to speak.
 For sure some of my memory is distorted, I was just 11 yrs old when I went there and 12 1/2 yrs old when I left..
 I would also like to see some of the photo`s if possible.
I live in WA Australia so there is no chance I could pop over.
I would say Reene was the matrons sister, there was no one else there while I was.
cheers Don McDouall





Offline Baltrino

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #38 on: Tuesday 04 January 11 09:22 GMT (UK) »
Don,
I work for the Maidenhead Advertiser, which covers Bourne End.
I've been reading the thread and it sounds like an interesting story.
Would you be interested in speaking to me and putting together an article on this?
It might help trigger a few memories among locals and get you some more information.
Let me know if you are.
Regards,
John

Offline McDouall

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #39 on: Tuesday 04 January 11 22:50 GMT (UK) »
Hi John
that sounds as if it could be interesting?
Give me an email address , perhaps also outline your ideas
regards Don


Offline Baltrino

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #40 on: Wednesday 05 January 11 08:15 GMT (UK) »
Send me an email to (*) and I'll send you some ideas.
Regards,
John

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Offline happychappyfred

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #41 on: Friday 19 August 11 22:51 BST (UK) »
Hello to everyone
I'm trying to find anyone who lived at Homestead Bourne End ...unsure of when....who may remember my neighbour
His name is Alfred Chaplain
He took a trip to the site last week...but alas it now has private housing on the land !!
He would be so pleased if someone remembered him
Look forward to hearing back

Offline McDouall

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #42 on: Tuesday 25 August 15 09:29 BST (UK) »
Hello to everyone
I'm trying to find anyone who lived at Homestead Bourne End ...unsure of when....who may remember my neighbour
His name is Alfred Chaplain
He took a trip to the site last week...but alas it now has private housing on the land !!
He would be so pleased if someone remembered him
Look forward to hearing back

Offline McDouall

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Re: Boys home,during ww2 Bourne End
« Reply #43 on: Tuesday 25 August 15 09:38 BST (UK) »
Hi  A bit late as they say , but I haven't been back here for a long time...
The house the Homestead was demolished  by the owner about 1953... his son sent me a few photos of the place before it was knocked down I will try to find and  post them here later... I didn't know Alfred Chaplain... Then again I moved there in 1945 and left in early 1947 so most boys by then had gone... I mentioned  much earlier on this site that a good childhood friend  of mine there was a boy Stanis Osterly... Shows how clever this net is!   Stanis`s son contacted me about 2 years back telling me his father lived in Sydney... Well I met up with him  about 1 yr back  when he came to Perth WA ... just shows what a small world this really is ... cheers to all Don McDouall