I added a comment some 2-3 years ago. My brothers were Nick and Ron. It was interesting to see that David Carey posted recently .... he was in my form. I have a photo of him in the school cricket team of that year. He might remember other names : David Podd, who's family had a printing works in Whyteleafe (and still do), Roger Ward (I still see his elder brother Mike), David Hills (one of several Hills, David Slater, Donald Day (I used to help his dad on his milk round in Caterham-on-the-Hill, Geoff Harding (who's father was the City of London warden for Caterham Common), Chris Hannel (who was still going strong last Christmas, Alan Clarke and the beautiful Jennifer Longland. Barbara Linfood.
Many of the students were in 1st Whyteleafe Cubs and then Scouts.
I did get the 11 plus and a scholarship to the crap Caterham School. Along with Richard Willmot and David Millborough (son of the chimney cleaning dynasty) but still continued to mix with several of my former school mates at the Scouts and socially. Chris Hannell was a classic example of the 11 plus being a premature assessment; at 13 he transferred to Warlingham School and eventually came a director of Croudace. It sounds like David Carey also did well.
People have mentioned Mr Masani ... he was a kindly teacher but at Caterham I got to know his son Michael and I couldn't help being a bit miffed that he had paid for his son to go there rather than have confidence in the school system.
Its too late for me to ask my brothers about the people they mixed with but I remember Nick's friend Timothy Evans and my eldest brother Ron knew Mike Ward.
In my earlier post I mentioned the motorcycle shop opposite the bottom of Maple Road; there was an ex-government shop next door that sold things like aircraft compasses: the tuck shop, where you could get a frozen squash lolly instead of the 1d bus fare up Whyteleafe Hill (453). A fish and ship shop along the way between Maple Rd and the Whyteleafe Tavern ( useful after scouts). Rickmans which I think must have been a newsagent/confectioner. Opposite the junction with Hillbury Rd was a cobbler (in a wheelchair) and a butchers.
On the east side of Godstone Road was Rivers, a lawnmower sales place and up a side alley a church (United Free???) where Mr Rivers did his thing. He failed!
I will throw in a few other local memories. The scouts outdoor swimming at Warlingham. Standing on the bridge at Upper Warlingham to get a lung-full of steam engine. The adventure playground of Kenley Aerodrome ..... the challenge to sit in every aircraft used in the filming of Reach for the Sky .... the love affair with the Military Police. Playing football on the green at the top of Whyteleafe Hill. Being terrified of Polio, Typhoid, etc, especially when my mother was utterly against vaccinations.
(David Carey .... if you are wondering who the hell I am. I was one of 7 Davids in the class. My father had lost the battle to give me a normal first name but I was always know by my second name, David, at home. My brothers and Chris Hannel called me Tich because I was the youngest. My mother helped the school out by volunteering my first name......and it was truly character building. Thank you mother. That's as much as you are getting.)
