Help with Photographs 1

Help with Photographs

Old group photograph from Newsletter Spring 2017

We stirred up quite a bit of interest or more controversy with this mystery photograph!

Joy Davis (Durrant 1944-49) writes “the girl in the centre of the middle row is Mary Holmes - a very accomplished athlete”.

Maureen Golding thought it was the Upper Vth and gave the following names numbered from the left: back row, No 4 Maureen Hall; Row 2 No 2 ?Ruth Lyndsey, No 5 Daphne Fielden; front row No 5 Joan Clibbon.

Susan Kerr (Everitt 1939-53): "What a very interesting newsletter for Spring 2017! Well done all contributors and a 'mystery photo', too!

"I have looked long, and hard, at the group photograph, even with a magnifying lens, and although the faces seem familiar, I cannot put a name to any except perhaps the 3rd from right in the front row. This might be one of the Clibbon sisters, perhaps Ann. Mary Clibbon was my contemporary, who went on to Durham University. Their father was Rector of Stoke-by-Nayland church. I used to cycle from Wivenhoe to Stoke-by-Nayland in the summer holidays, to visit.

"My fellow Wivenovian and old CCHS girl, Joyce Blackwood, has also studied the photo and consulted her friend Margaret Howard (Sparkes) but the carpet and background are unfamiliar. I do hope the puzzle is solved!

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Margaret Howard writes “I am pretty certain that it is of the CCHS VIth form of 1948. I recognise Margaret Rose who is sitting in the front row, third from the right. I knew Margaret well as she lived in Rowhedge, as I did. We were both in the church choir, although she was 6 years older than me so she was in the VIth form when I started at CCHS. Her father was Headmaster of Rowhedge school. She went on to study at Colchester School of Art and then went for teacher training, later teaching in Coventry. She was married to George Watts but I have not heard from her since 2001.

Another person on the photo must be Joan Clibbon but I am not sure if she on the right or left of Margaret Rose. Joan’s father was the Rev Canon Clibbon who had a parish in the Colchester area, maybe Wivenhoe. I also think the head girl was Rosemary Palmer.

"During my school days at CCHS, certainly during the late 1940s and early 1950, the 6th Form was always at North Hill, in the room marked (left) with an arrow. It was different in that we sat at a large table in the middle of this classroom, rather than at desks. We went to other specialist rooms for, eg, Art, or Science subjects.

I was one of only four students taking ‘A’ level Biology, Ann Bailey and Gwyneth Best being two of my classmates. Occasionally the science lab, a rather gloomy semi-basement at the back of the main building was not available, and we had our lesson sitting in Miss Roper’s car, parked behind the school!"