13 June 2024
This is my first message via Facebook. I hope it works. My IT skills are at troglodyte level.
When I left Caldecott in 1968, Leila Rendel was largely in charge with Ethel Davies, although a relatively young James King was in the ascendant. Most of the older staff had left or were about to do so. I visited for some years, including when my brother was in the Colt House. Hence I saw the start of family-type groups at Hatch, quite a change from my days. I had sometimes visited the Paddocks, and I occasionally visited Lacton Hall.
When I was working as a solicitor in central London, I confined nostalgia to coming to reunions at Hatch every two years, later most years at Caldecott Association reunions etc (but 2020 was written off to Covid). I avoided social media etc, not wanting to lose working time. In recent years I have become involved more with the Caldecott Association - newsletters, reunions, archive, website.
I enjoyed exchanging e-mails and discussing old photos with Chris Howell who has written detailed memories for the Caldecott Aassociation website [see those here]. We welcome even short written pieces, also old photos or other items for the website / archive.
Although a relative novice at it, I have (from snippets of conversations) tried to remember, not always successfully, which ex-Caldecotts are still alive and kicking, which name / gender is current and so on, also to recover (via the archive) photos etc that were on the old website until it was hacked, including some posted here by Chris Howell.
Some may suppose that the Caldecott Association is only interested in olden times back to 1911, but at the archive I recently scanned (with help) a presentation album on retirement of James King with photos and greetings from those then at Caldecott - which seems to include some members of the Facebook Group, who may still read posts (or I might find out how to message them if I get adventurous).
As indicated by Tony Inwood's book "Flying Under the Radar", life at and just after Caldecott had difficult moments, but most of us remember some good things (I know some that best recall playing football, others recall riding ponies or involvement in music). I ought to have been better at keeping in touch with others, but we are never too old to learn.