NOTICEBOARD
please scroll down for 'vale' notices
please scroll down for 'vale' notices
Free SCE & BFES memorabilia ..... please contact Walter Lewis (our archivist) or Mike Chislett (webmaster)
7 copies of Paul Macardle's 'History of Service Children's Education in Germany, published in 2007 to mark 60 years since the founding of BFES: this book was commission by the Chief Executive at the time (David Wadsworth), Paul being headteacher of John Buchan Middle School in Sennelager.
20 of these limited editio.n stamped envelopes commemorating the BFES Silver Jubilee in 1971. They are "unused" and are all franked 13 Oct 71
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Covid 19 (Coronavirus) -
Your committee hope that all our members are safe and well and minimising social
contact. If anyone is self-isolating and needs help, we hope you have trusted friends and relatives to call upon. If you think of anything your BFES committee can do to make confinement more tolerable, please let us know.
Meanwhile, we have cancelled 27th April's committee meeting and the Winchester Curry Lunch on Saturday 25th April. Our AGM and dinner at Welbeck in October is likely to be cancelled as well - confirmation awaited.
Attendance at the recent Cambridge lunch was understandably reduced, but we hope to include a report shortly.
Your web-master hopes to be adding to these pages shortly, after a winter break. I will try to add some new material for those extra-reading hours. Members will have received our latest newslettter at the end of March.
Thank you, Tom Nielsen-Marsh - editing, printing and dispatching the newsletter is a herculean task.
Good luck in the coming months - please stay safe.
(Mike Chislett 18th April 2020)
Recent departures
Mike Metcalfe
We have heard from Bob Steele of the recent death of Mike Metcalfe. Mike taught at Victoria School, Dortmund in the 1970s. Bob has kindly provided an obituary (click here, to download and open) and a photograph (here - opens in new window).
Margaret Williams
We have recently heard that our only honorary member, Margaret Williams, died earlier in 2020. Your web-master will add more information when it is known.
John Wyatt
I am very sorry to have to record the sudden death of John Wyatt on Tuesday 18th November, 2020, aged 66. John suffered a heart-attack in his garden in Devon. He leaves his wife Carole and three very young grandchildren. John was a mainstay at Akrotiri Primary, Cyprus, where he taught for 26 years, retiring in 2016. Your web-master attended the funeral at Yeovil Crematorium on Tuesday 2nd December. I don't believe John was yet a BFES member, but he would have received a guest membership from me - and I believe he would have taken full advantage of it.
Brian Birkby
BFES Member, Tim Kilbride has passed on news of the death of Brian Birkby on Friday 14th August.
Brian had not been well for quite a long time, suffering from Parkinson's disease, and had been in a home for the past year or so; not an experience he enjoyed. Brian is survived by his son is James; his wife Polly died two years ago.
Walter Lewis (our archivist) remembers Brian well from interviews when applying for headships in the 1980s. He was Area Education Officer for Western Region, based in JHQ. Walter recalls that among Brian's contemporaries in BFES HQ were Nolan Clamp, Ian Duncan, Peter Gaskell, Oswin Hall and Stuart Gill. Brian was a genuine believer in the values of the old BFES and was seen as a very supportive AEO.
Walter recalls a lovely quiet sense of humour and an understanding of the pressures on his teachers and heads. He loved France and initially retired there.
Other members may have more memories to add to the web-site - please let Walter or Mike Chislett know.
Brian’s funeral will take place at Settle Parish Church and cemetery, Friday 28th 1430.
Usual Covid restrictions apply, including limit of 30 in churchyard.
Jonathan (Jon) Pryce
Tom Nielsen-Marsh passes on the sad news that BFES Association Member Jonathan (Jon) Pryce died in May. Jon taught science at Kent School, arriving in 1973. Jon continued his career at Windsor School following the amalgamation of Queens and Kent (see Summer 2020 Newsletter). Jon’s career with BFES etc spanned the years 1973-2001. He is survived by his wife Helen. Tom knew Jon well and has written the testament below for the webite and BFES Newsletter.
Jonathan (Jon) Pryce 23 Aug 1949 - 1 May 2020
Jon joined Kent School, near JHQ Rheindahlen, in September 1973 as a Biology teacher. Jon married his lifelong partner Helen, in December 1973, and moved to Windsor School some years later. Jon took early retirement in 2001 and returned to the UK to live in Bromsgrove. Soon afterwards he took a job at King Edward Five Ways School. In 2003 Jon was diagnosed with Parkinson's and gave up teaching a few months later. Jon and Helen have 2 children, Jonny and Caroline, and 3 grandchildren, Romy (5), Matilda (3), and Rafferty (1). Jon was well known for his subtle, dry wit and went about his business in a refreshingly understated and humble manner. He was loved and respected as a friend and colleague to many. Jon is missed enormously by all his family and his friends but will forever inspire happy memories among those who knew him.
Judith Richardson
We have also been informed of the death of BFES Association member Judith Richardson. Judith joined the Association in 1998 and lived in Preston. Judith taught at QE2 Coronation School, Libya, prior to 1968, followed in 1968-70 at Wavell Primary School, Hohne and a period - 1970-74 in Limassol (Cyprus).
Sue Nichols died in June.
Sue Adams (latterly HT of Blankenhagen) writes:
'Sue Nichols passed away after a brave battle with cancer, aged 66 years. Sue joined the Advisory Service based in Minden in 1986 as a Special Needs Advisory teacher. This was followed by teaching in Akrotiri School Cyprus. New regulations following the National Curriculum necessitated a reception class to be set up for British families at BATUS in Alberta, Canada and Sue became the first British teacher for a reception class in the school. Having successfully set this up she then returned to Germany and taught in Blankenhagen School, Gütersloh. On returning to England, she joined the Advisory service in Birmingham and subsequently also in Bournemouth where she eventually retired to be near her family. Many will remember Sue for her energy and enthusiasm not just in school but also in her personal life. She was a great colleague, a tremendous friend and will be very sadly missed by the many who knew her. '
Sue's funeral will take place 9th July - current circumstances mean that this will be a small-gathering family-only event.
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Walter Lewis writes about the recent death of Peter Carmichael, who died on Sunday 28th June. Peter passed away in hospital after being unwell for some time.
'Peter was a grand character: he started teaching in Zambia, along with Charlie Lewis, and then Cheshire Middle School, RAF Bruggen before becoming head of Tower Primary School Dulmen. He returned to Wales where he was headteacher in the Rhondda valley and lived in Pentre with Lyn, his wife of 56 years. They have two sons Huw and Richard.
Peter was one of a relatively large number of SCEA/BFES teachers who had trained in the 60s at the now defunct Teachers' Training College in Barry, South Wales. They included Charlie & Liz Lewis, Richard Whitehouse, Bill Batten, Phil Nash, Pete Jones, Martin Powell and myself, Wally Lewis.'
Walter has very kindly sent a photograph, reproduced below. It shows Peter with Leonard Cheshire VC at Cheshire Middle School, RAF Bruggen in 1975.
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picture above: Peter Carmichael with Leonard Cheshire VC at Cheshire Middle School, RAF Bruggen in 1975.
pictured - Richard Simpson, Sue Chislett and Stuart Rees-Johnson- enjoying empty roads on Bielefeld's 2005 traffic-free day.
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Your web-master regrets to pass on the news that Stuart Rees-Johnson died in November after a short and sudden illness in late 2019.
Stuart was married to former SCE Inspector Adviser, Maria Rees-Johnson, and lived in Bielefeld in 2004-2008 after retiring from teaching history in Cambridge. He was a good friend to many of us based in and around Bielefeld at the time. His relaxed and good natured humour, wide-ranging interests and his leading position in our weekend 'Bielefeld Bicycling Club' have left many good memories. A funeral and wake were held on 16th December in Shrewsbury, and we did our best to honour Stuart's wishes that we sampled as much of his precious collection of rare malts as possible.
Our thoughts and positive energy are now directed to Maria, once an indefatigable force for quality early-years education in SCE. Maria lives in rural Wales and messages can be passed on by your web-master.
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We have been sent a message via Emma Bryson, headteacher of St John's (MoD's secondary school at Episkopi).
Malcolm Corey wrote to Emma to ..... 'let you know of the death on 3 April 2020 of my wife Jean Corey (née MacLucas), a former teacher at St John’s Episkopi. Jean was Head of History at your school from 1962 to 1964.
This was a particularly significant teaching role for Jean as it was when we met - I was working for Consulting Engineers mainly on the design of projects in the Sovereign Base Area. We married in England in 1964.
You may have or know of a newsletter which would be appropriate to record part of the history of St John’s.
Your committee are not aware of a newsletter or history site specifically for St John's - but there may be members who can advise. Let us know if you do!
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Peter Bentley was headteacher of Krefeld School in 1980s, being succeeded by Martin Powell. Peter died in Bristol in March this year, aged 72. Your web-master arrived in Germany after Peter had returned to UK, where he became head of a school in Westbury-on-Trym. Lynn Eckersley (deputy at Krefeld with Martin Powell) remembers:
I am so sorry to hear about Peter. I worked with Alice at Hampshire School on Ayrshire Barracks when I first went out to Germany. She and Peter were really good to me and really helped me with the settling in process. Peter was a real live wire and always good fun to be with. We lost contact when they returned to UK. Martin Powell and Peter were very good friends. Peter was the HT of Krefeld School and I remember him saying that he would walk around the school in the evening switching off the lights and thinking what a wonderful place to work.
Members may have more they would like to add - please let me know.
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Unfortunately over!
The British in Nord-Rhein Westphalia - Exhibition in the Landtag, Düsseldorf 4th May - 2nd June 2019
see poster by clicking here
Unfortunately for one month only - this exhibition was an enlargement, literally and geographically, of ''Briten in Westphalen' that some of us enjoyed in Gutersloh's museum in June 2018. Your web-master has uploaded pictures from this precurser exhibition to 'gallery'. I wonder if we can find a way of hosting the exhibition in UK sometime?
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Other news....
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BFES Member is awarded MBE!
Barbara Arrandale was awarded an MBE in the 2019 New Year's Honours list for "services to the community in Hasland Derbyshire".
Your web-master has no more information at present, but meanwhile .... congratulations! Barbara and Phil Arrandale were the principal staff at Toucan School, Belize, for many years - where Phil was HT, retiring early in the 2000s. Your web-master has very fond memories of visiting in 1998 and 1999 and of Barbara's indefatigable energy and enthusiasm for the school and Belize. If Hasland benefits from only a fraction of that, then the MBE is richly deserved!
That's Barbara, on right of photo below! Philip with yellow halo.
11th January 2019
To place messages on the noticeboard, please send them to Mike Chislett, the Website Manager for inclusion.
(go to home/contact us for website contact forms)
Scroll down for request from Bristol University for help with oral history project on BAOR 1945-2000
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Membership form and General Data Protection Important reminder to all members - if you have not yet done so - please complete the form found here - and wing it off ASAP to Hugh and Christine Ritchie, our joint membership secretaries. We need your positive GDPR consent in order to comply with 2018's data Protection regulations. Hugh and Christine have written to members who have not replied (by 18 July) .... 'On the 25th May the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) became law across Europe, and we, as an organisation, are required to abide by the law. What this means is that we require your explicit permission to hold information about you in our secure database. A proforma was sent out on the 24th May, but to date we do not seem to have received a response to this important document from you. I have attached the document to this e-mail for ease of reference. Should you not have access to a printer, all is not lost! Please just send a reply e-mail to bfes.scememb@gmail.com, copying the wording giving permission from the bottom of the document, and also including the information requested on the form' Thanks! 
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Children from military families can move schools frequently ......
Tom Nielsen-Marsh spotted this BBC item (27June 2018), reporting on the Children's Commissioner's recent observations on children from military families ....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44613922
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Children from military families can move schools frequently ......
Tom Nielsen-Marsh spotted this BBC item (27June 2018), reporting on the Children's Commissioner's recent observations on children from military families ....
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44613922
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Special Notices - Vale
Please advise the web-master of the passing of any members or other former colleagues that should be recorded.
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Posted!
Posted! is Ark School's 2013 sculpture that now graces a corner of woodland at The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. A small and very informal dedication, ribbon cutting and naming ceremony took place on Sunday 8th April, 2018. Four ex-Ark students and their families joined in, along with Mike and Sue Chislett and Jimmy Caldwell.
Click here Posted! for more information on the sculpture.
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Posted!
Posted! is Ark School's 2013 sculpture that now graces a corner of woodland at The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. A small and very informal dedication, ribbon cutting and naming ceremony took place on Sunday 8th April, 2018. Four ex-Ark students and their families joined in, along with Mike and Sue Chislett and Jimmy Caldwell.
Click here Posted! for more information on the sculpture.
Association Newsletter
We are always looking for newsworthy items to include in the Association's Newsletter. If you have any photos, articles, memories, news of forthcoming mini re-unions or reports of re-unions that have taken place, or of any other items of news, and you think it would be of interest to other Association members, please send them to Tom Nielson-Marsh our Association Newsletter Editor at the following address:-
bfes_scea_newsletter@yahoo.co.uk
bfes_scea_newsletter@yahoo.co.uk
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Bristol University research .... 'Oral History of BAOR 1945-2000'
Dr Grace Huxford, lecturer in British History at the University of Bristol has contacted us (February 2018) ....
(Grace writes) ....I hope you don’t mind me getting in touch, but I wanted to tell you about an exciting new research project I’m running and ask if anyone from the BFES-SCEA-Association might like to be involved.
I am currently running a project called ‘Living on a Cold War Frontier: An Oral History of the British Army of the Rhine (1945-2000)’ and would like to speak to people who lived and worked on British military bases in Germany.
Given the importance of teachers and support staff on bases in Germany and their perhaps slightly different experiences to service personnel, I would really like to speak to anyone who has memories of living and working on military bases in Germany from your membership. I think educationalists’ experiences are a very important part of the social history of base communities and would really like to include this aspect of base life in my research.
If any of your members are willing and would have the time to speak with me, then I would conduct one-on-one or group interviews at a time and place to suit them or via Skype if they prefer. The interviews would be recorded (audio only) and transcribed, and would be used as the basis of my academic research. I would provide each interviewee with a fuller information sheet on the project as well as a ‘consent form’ where they can specify any conditions e.g. anonymity. I would also send out a list of questions in advance of the interviews, outlining the sorts of questions that I would ask. Interviews are completely voluntary and participants may share as much as they wish.
All aspects of the project have been approved by the Research Ethics Committee here at the University of Bristol and the project is funded by the British Academy.
If you are interested, I’m very happy for this email either to be circulated to your membership as you see fit or to provide you with an advertisement for circulation. I’m also more than happy to discuss this over the telephone if you prefer. There’s more information about me and my project on my staff page here. If you would like any other information or to discuss further, please feel free to email or ring me on the number below. I’d be very grateful for any time any of your members can spare to share their stories with me.
Many thanks and all best wishes Grace Dr Grace Huxford Lecturer in 19th/20th Century British History Historical Studies Department University of Bristol B46, 13 Woodland Road Bristol, BS8 1TB Telephone: +44 117 3317 079
Email
grace.huxford@bristol.ac.uk
Bristol University research .... 'Oral History of BAOR 1945-2000'
Dr Grace Huxford, lecturer in British History at the University of Bristol has contacted us (February 2018) ....
(Grace writes) ....I hope you don’t mind me getting in touch, but I wanted to tell you about an exciting new research project I’m running and ask if anyone from the BFES-SCEA-Association might like to be involved.
I am currently running a project called ‘Living on a Cold War Frontier: An Oral History of the British Army of the Rhine (1945-2000)’ and would like to speak to people who lived and worked on British military bases in Germany.
Given the importance of teachers and support staff on bases in Germany and their perhaps slightly different experiences to service personnel, I would really like to speak to anyone who has memories of living and working on military bases in Germany from your membership. I think educationalists’ experiences are a very important part of the social history of base communities and would really like to include this aspect of base life in my research.
If any of your members are willing and would have the time to speak with me, then I would conduct one-on-one or group interviews at a time and place to suit them or via Skype if they prefer. The interviews would be recorded (audio only) and transcribed, and would be used as the basis of my academic research. I would provide each interviewee with a fuller information sheet on the project as well as a ‘consent form’ where they can specify any conditions e.g. anonymity. I would also send out a list of questions in advance of the interviews, outlining the sorts of questions that I would ask. Interviews are completely voluntary and participants may share as much as they wish.
All aspects of the project have been approved by the Research Ethics Committee here at the University of Bristol and the project is funded by the British Academy.
If you are interested, I’m very happy for this email either to be circulated to your membership as you see fit or to provide you with an advertisement for circulation. I’m also more than happy to discuss this over the telephone if you prefer. There’s more information about me and my project on my staff page here. If you would like any other information or to discuss further, please feel free to email or ring me on the number below. I’d be very grateful for any time any of your members can spare to share their stories with me.
Many thanks and all best wishes Grace Dr Grace Huxford Lecturer in 19th/20th Century British History Historical Studies Department University of Bristol B46, 13 Woodland Road Bristol, BS8 1TB Telephone: +44 117 3317 079
grace.huxford@bristol.ac.uk
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Mick Cully
Queens/Windsor School: Team, I attended Queens School from 1971 to 1974 and it left a massive mark on me to the point of despair at the recent closing of both Windsor and JHQ. In my time of Queens and Kent rivalry, three nearby RAF bases and thousands on JHQ, did we ever see this coming? Anyway, through your website, an open 'Thank you' to all the staff that endured my lack of attention; including Miss Gooch who 20 years later taught my daughter and my careers master Mr Lord who steered me from being a roadie for Led Zeppelin to becoming a Major in the Australian Army. Thank you all and good luck with all your futures.
Mick Cully Email mick.cully@defence.gov.au
Queens/Windsor School: Team, I attended Queens School from 1971 to 1974 and it left a massive mark on me to the point of despair at the recent closing of both Windsor and JHQ. In my time of Queens and Kent rivalry, three nearby RAF bases and thousands on JHQ, did we ever see this coming? Anyway, through your website, an open 'Thank you' to all the staff that endured my lack of attention; including Miss Gooch who 20 years later taught my daughter and my careers master Mr Lord who steered me from being a roadie for Led Zeppelin to becoming a Major in the Australian Army. Thank you all and good luck with all your futures.
Mick Cully Email mick.cully@defence.gov.au
Can you help?
We have some photographs that have been donated to our archives which are held in the London University Institute of Education archive department. Unfortunately we do not have all the names to identify the staff in the photos. Do you recognise anybody whose name is missing? If so would you supply the information to Walter Lewis or Mike Chislett using the contact form below. Thanking you in anticipation! There are more incomplete namings elsewhere on this web-site - please add or correct anything you can.
We have some photographs that have been donated to our archives which are held in the London University Institute of Education archive department. Unfortunately we do not have all the names to identify the staff in the photos. Do you recognise anybody whose name is missing? If so would you supply the information to Walter Lewis or Mike Chislett using the contact form below. Thanking you in anticipation! There are more incomplete namings elsewhere on this web-site - please add or correct anything you can.
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Staff of Barnes Wallis First School, RAF Bruggen; 1977 Back Row: ?; Geoff Pittaway, Wally lewis, Mike Galloway, Bob Barber, The Middle: ?; ?; Jayne Pittaway; ?, ?, Sheila?; Carol Codd; Front Row: Martin Peacock (Deputy Head); Donny Warren (Head); Sheila ? (Deputy Head) |
Staff at Victoria Primary School , Dortmund 1983
Staff at Victoria Primary School 1983
Back Row: ?,?,Sandie Hall, Beryl Metcalf,?, Anne Berresford (Head of Infants);
2nd Row: Fran .., Jan Pierson, Sheila Robinson, Marsh Utal, Susan Lee, Monica Jakamovitc;
Front Row: (L to R) Barbara..,(School Secretary), Tony Wilkins (Head), Jan Young, Walter Lewis (Wally) Deputy Head, ?
Back Row: ?,?,Sandie Hall, Beryl Metcalf,?, Anne Berresford (Head of Infants);
2nd Row: Fran .., Jan Pierson, Sheila Robinson, Marsh Utal, Susan Lee, Monica Jakamovitc;
Front Row: (L to R) Barbara..,(School Secretary), Tony Wilkins (Head), Jan Young, Walter Lewis (Wally) Deputy Head, ?
Memories!
I wonder if you might be interested in this article for your newsletter/website? Another perspective… This year, we travelled to Malvern to spend Christmas with my parents, Bill and Janet Bowen. One of the rituals is for me to read all the newsletters they receive, from friends and family I knew in my youth but no longer keep in touch with myself. A copy of the bfes-sce-assocation newsletter is usually included in the pile of letters and this year, I got to thinking about my memories as a child growing up in BFG. I attended Cornwall School, Dortmund from 1984-1988 and Windsor School, Rheindahlen from 1988-1990. Among those teachers who left their mark on me (in a good way!) are Mr Griffiths, my first form and music teacher whose wise words “never take a painkiller unless you know the cause of the pain” I find myself repeating to my own children now. Mrs Marshall (maths) who tortured my 12 year-old brain with formulas for finding how many paving slabs of different shapes would be needed to surround a pool. Little did she know how useful that would prove to be – we now own a campsite and often have to re-tile pools, terrasses and washblocks! Mrs Taylor who courageously took it upon herself to explain to a group of mildly embarrassed third formers just why this newly-discovered disease AIDS was such a threat and why gay men were particularly at risk. The inspirational Mr Gibson who taught us to look up and question everything. And Miss Moreton, Food and Nutrition, who seemed to hate me and put me down in class, but that only inspired me to work hard and prove her wrong. Of all the subjects I studied at school, I think this is the one which has been the most useful – in our every day family life, and also in running a busy campsite restaurant! We were the first year to take the newly-introduced GCSE exam and even then, we were aware that the BFES was doing everything possible to make sure we were as prepared as our UK counterparts. But it’s only now, looking back, that I really appreciate the experiences and opportunities of those SCS days. The excellent music weekends organised by Bob Steele. Ski-trips. Sports Day at Rote Erde, Dortmund, and even in our own school, the bewildering array of sports equipment and teaching on offer. The old crates of buses which nonetheless got us to school, whatever the weather. So different from today when our kids buses seem to be cancelled at the slightest threat of frost! And then to Windsor school where I was to spend 2 years happily growing up within a safe environment with strict rules in place, but one step away from parental authority. A good compromise – we’d like to find a similar set up for our own teenagers! And what memories!! Coming home from school and piling into the Naafi next door for a Dairy Milk and bar of soap. Even today, the smell of Palmolive transports me back instantly. Sneaking into the dining room after USOC discos for chocolate spread and butter on toast – a whole tub of Nutella devoured in an evening. Imagine the calories... Watching the Berlin wall coming down, eating kiwis at roll call. My first serious romance and heartbreak when it all ended. Hockey tournaments and in particular, playing against an army team who had a dustbin of Harvey Wallbanger as their mascot … and feeling the consequences the next morning. A toe in the water playing keyboards with a ‘rock’ band, writing a Christmas panto for the boarding house … a tradition I continue today, producing the Christmas show for our village in France. Painting bookcases in a local school, participating in a youth parliament .. so many diverse experiences! But at 18, the world was mine to discover and I essentially left home, taking a gap year in France before heading to Southampton and a degree in French, without giving a second thought to the life I was leaving behind. Now, over 20 years later, I find I miss so many aspects of that lifestyle. Spotting black and white number plates in the queues for the ferry on the first day of the school holidays. The Naafi. Popping into Roemond for a spot of shopping. The Christmas markets. The Salvation Army and Military Bands – such fabulous concerts. BFBS radio (it’s so nice to hear Richard Allinson sitting in for various presenters on Radio 2). Dad’s school fete. Garden Parties. New Year’s Eve in the Officer’s mess. Curry lunches… I recently watched a programme about Gareth Malone and the Military Wives and it dawned on me that I can’t actually be a military wife. That spirit of togetherness and belonging which so marked my adolescence still goes on, but without me being part of it. I was surprised to realise how sad I was. Growing up in Germany was a wonderful opportunity and I’m grateful to have been able to experience it.
Thanks BFES-SCE! You did a good job!
Sarah Scarratt
I wonder if you might be interested in this article for your newsletter/website? Another perspective… This year, we travelled to Malvern to spend Christmas with my parents, Bill and Janet Bowen. One of the rituals is for me to read all the newsletters they receive, from friends and family I knew in my youth but no longer keep in touch with myself. A copy of the bfes-sce-assocation newsletter is usually included in the pile of letters and this year, I got to thinking about my memories as a child growing up in BFG. I attended Cornwall School, Dortmund from 1984-1988 and Windsor School, Rheindahlen from 1988-1990. Among those teachers who left their mark on me (in a good way!) are Mr Griffiths, my first form and music teacher whose wise words “never take a painkiller unless you know the cause of the pain” I find myself repeating to my own children now. Mrs Marshall (maths) who tortured my 12 year-old brain with formulas for finding how many paving slabs of different shapes would be needed to surround a pool. Little did she know how useful that would prove to be – we now own a campsite and often have to re-tile pools, terrasses and washblocks! Mrs Taylor who courageously took it upon herself to explain to a group of mildly embarrassed third formers just why this newly-discovered disease AIDS was such a threat and why gay men were particularly at risk. The inspirational Mr Gibson who taught us to look up and question everything. And Miss Moreton, Food and Nutrition, who seemed to hate me and put me down in class, but that only inspired me to work hard and prove her wrong. Of all the subjects I studied at school, I think this is the one which has been the most useful – in our every day family life, and also in running a busy campsite restaurant! We were the first year to take the newly-introduced GCSE exam and even then, we were aware that the BFES was doing everything possible to make sure we were as prepared as our UK counterparts. But it’s only now, looking back, that I really appreciate the experiences and opportunities of those SCS days. The excellent music weekends organised by Bob Steele. Ski-trips. Sports Day at Rote Erde, Dortmund, and even in our own school, the bewildering array of sports equipment and teaching on offer. The old crates of buses which nonetheless got us to school, whatever the weather. So different from today when our kids buses seem to be cancelled at the slightest threat of frost! And then to Windsor school where I was to spend 2 years happily growing up within a safe environment with strict rules in place, but one step away from parental authority. A good compromise – we’d like to find a similar set up for our own teenagers! And what memories!! Coming home from school and piling into the Naafi next door for a Dairy Milk and bar of soap. Even today, the smell of Palmolive transports me back instantly. Sneaking into the dining room after USOC discos for chocolate spread and butter on toast – a whole tub of Nutella devoured in an evening. Imagine the calories... Watching the Berlin wall coming down, eating kiwis at roll call. My first serious romance and heartbreak when it all ended. Hockey tournaments and in particular, playing against an army team who had a dustbin of Harvey Wallbanger as their mascot … and feeling the consequences the next morning. A toe in the water playing keyboards with a ‘rock’ band, writing a Christmas panto for the boarding house … a tradition I continue today, producing the Christmas show for our village in France. Painting bookcases in a local school, participating in a youth parliament .. so many diverse experiences! But at 18, the world was mine to discover and I essentially left home, taking a gap year in France before heading to Southampton and a degree in French, without giving a second thought to the life I was leaving behind. Now, over 20 years later, I find I miss so many aspects of that lifestyle. Spotting black and white number plates in the queues for the ferry on the first day of the school holidays. The Naafi. Popping into Roemond for a spot of shopping. The Christmas markets. The Salvation Army and Military Bands – such fabulous concerts. BFBS radio (it’s so nice to hear Richard Allinson sitting in for various presenters on Radio 2). Dad’s school fete. Garden Parties. New Year’s Eve in the Officer’s mess. Curry lunches… I recently watched a programme about Gareth Malone and the Military Wives and it dawned on me that I can’t actually be a military wife. That spirit of togetherness and belonging which so marked my adolescence still goes on, but without me being part of it. I was surprised to realise how sad I was. Growing up in Germany was a wonderful opportunity and I’m grateful to have been able to experience it.
Thanks BFES-SCE! You did a good job!
Sarah Scarratt