This first photograph from the Website’s Markhouse School pages may well bring back a few ‘examination time’ memories from those 5th year days which, as it has proved, was particularly so for the two former MDC members it features – Iris West (Nee Sangster) and Dorothy (Dolly) Tinnams (Nee Austin) sitting their 5x GCE Examination in Summer 1966
The answer to ‘how’ it stirred those particular memeories lies in the two photographs below which were taken in 2023 – just a mere matter of some 57 years later!
These were of them together somewhat more recently; albeit this time with an obvious great sense of fun and nostalgia – plus somewhat different surroundings and a level of ‘concentration’ looking significantly more relaxed than in the one under real ‘exam conditions’ in 1966 – albeit that in the first one they are clearly trying to make it look as if they were serious about the task in hand
And the 358 miles bit?
Well, that’s the distance Dorothy travelled from her Essex home before stopping off on her holiday trip to meet up again with Iris in Cornwall – via, by the sound of it, a few unplanned but very scenic detours!
It was really good to get sight of this photograph and, of course, to ‘hear how it went’ – thanks to Dolly’s comments that ‘it was a lovely day talking about old times. We remembered Mr Griffiths, Mr Jones and Mr Smith the Headmaster. The deputy head * who taught English (I can’t remember her name) was a wonderful teacher and I am sure everyone in our class was very competent on the subject.
We both enjoyed school very much and chatted about classmates – in particular Gareth Richardson who was exceptional at art’ – and sadly some who are no longer with us – but we still have our memories’.
It was also good to get some update on the earlier ‘exam’ photo and, in particular, that it is Iris on the left – not Judith Riches as was mistakenly named in the ‘original’ website caption.
They were also able to name the classmate sitting directly behind them as Jennifer Gosling and, given that they were sitting their GCE’s, pinning the date to around May/June 1966 – so they were among the last group of Mark House pupils to do so before its closure!
And clearly a final photograph of the task duly completed – both obviously confident of an A+ pass!
What a super idea to replicate the ‘original 1966 pose’ during what was clearly a wonderful day which, no doubt, felt like it was yesterday when they last spoke!
* The Deputy Head at this time was Agnes Townsend.