Shoreditch College --- Lost Touch? ... Coopers Hill Emergency Training College and Shoreditch Technical Institute

If you would like to try to contact a former member of staff or student of Shoreditch, please e-mail the following information to jill.sandwell@rogers.com I will include the request in the next revision of this page.

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I would be interested in hearing from anyone who was at Coopers Hill Training College in 1947 and who remembers the production of Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, performed on the steps of the college.

My inquiry is on behalf of Sybil Ewbank (niece of Dame Sybil Thorndike) who played Joan in that production. She would be delighted to hear from anyone who was there, or perhaps took part in the play. I would also be interested in their memories, as I am writing her biography.

Megan Jones
meganandjoyce1882@googlemail.com

Hi Jill

Could you please note that I have had to change my E Mail address, I can now be reached at fredcon@hotmail.com .

Very pleased to say that I have had a very good response from Ray Peak in New Zealand, following seeing his entry in your Web Site. This was in connection with Shoreditch Tech Ins. at Hamond Sqare, Hoxton in and after 1946, and in particular about T G Page who was said to be Headmaster there. This followed his time as head of the Shoreditch Tech Senior School. The other contact that was given in Page 3, that of Francis J Redditch, E Mail fros@woosh.co.nz has not replied. I have noted another reference to F J Redditch stating that his E Mail Address could not be found.

C F Connington fredcon@hotmail.com

January 2011

Hi Jill

Have had an E mail from someone related to George Page, My Senior School Head whilst I was evacuated to High Wycombe during the early part of the war. I believe that George Page became Head of Hamond Square Technical School London N1, in about 1946. I wonder whether any of your subscribers can throw any light on what happened to Shoreditch Technical Institute at the end of the war and any info on George Page at that time.

Thank you
C F Connington (Fred)

June 2008

Hi Jill

I went to the Shoreditch Technical Institute Cabinet making school in Pitfield Street, from Tooting in 1936, having gained an Exhibition Scholarship which earned me a 3 year tuition in Cabinet making. The first year tutor was a Mr Behets, (nicknamed Bodger and he appears in one of the Photos on this web site at a re-union.) The headmaster was Alfred Purcell. In 1938 we had to get ready for evacuation following the Munich crisis. but this was cancelled. I took and passed the Intermediate County Scholarship, this gave me a further 2 years tuition in the Senior school, which was evacuated to the High Wycombe Technical College in 1939. Head of the senior school was Geoffrey Page. I shall always be indebted to both Alfred Purcell and Geoffrey Page for the concern they showed for their pupils and their families and for the excellent tuition they gave. In spite of wartime restrictions every effort was made to give as full a teaching programme as possible. Visits to places of interest in the High Wycombe area were the norm as were visits to the furniture factories, for which High Wycombe was a centre.

On a visit to Gomme's factory (G Plan fame) in 1941 I saw two large shaped sections being made up on the factory floor. These were the shells for the wooden fuselage of a Mosquito Fighter plane. I was called up for the RAF at the end of 1941 and spent most of my 5 yr service as a Carpenter 1. 3 1/2 years of which were actually on Mosquitos.

I am now coming up to my 86th year, but would be interested for any feed back on those earlier years. Photo of some of the school leavers with Geoffery Page, taken in August 1941 at The Rye, High Wycombe, oppsite the High Wycombe Tecnical College annexe. Writer 3rd from left Back Row.

C F Connington (Fred)

01622 892 126

email: ~~Fredc@connington5183.fsworld.co.uk~~ fredcon2011@hotmail.com (updated Jan.2011)

Hello,

My name is Doreen (Vail) White. I attended Shoreditch Tech on the Curtain Road from 1952-1953. I resided on Ash Grove in Hackney during that time and in 1954 moved with my parents to Witham, Essex. I have been married for 47 years and have lived in the United States since 1960. I presently split my time between the US and Essex. I would really enjoy hearing from anyone who was at the school during that time.

I can be reached via email at the following address regardless of me being in the US or UK: iiissgroup@ieee.org.

Cheers - Doreen White

My father went to Shoreditch Technical College between 1938-1941 to study woodwork, and then had to take maths prior to entering the RAF in 1941.

He is now 80 years old, and we are curious to know if there are any old students still of this era that you are in contact with.
My father's name is Frank William Cull.

He returned to the college in 1947 to teach woodwork and craft for 2 and a half years. There may be some old lecturers that may also remember this period.

Many thanks

Derek Cull
email: Derek Cull <derek@icetea.demon.co.uk>

Dear Jill,

Carl Peter WEBSTER attended Shoreditch College for the garment trade c.1956-8, and would like to make contact with any other surviving students from that period.

I have been unable to find Coopers Hill Emergency Training College 1950 in Friends Reunited so tried Google and was surprised it was once Shoreditch College.

Have you ever had any other contacts from the above year ? I know I was in the "younger set" and I am 76 now and so realise it is unlikely I will be able to contact many I know from that year.

I have a photo of the complete group, most people were from the Services..after demob.

It was good to get your email and my apologies for not replying sooner - my sister, Jill, forwarded it to me as I have a little more information here about Coopers Hill than she does.

We don't seem to have had any contacts so far from people who were at the Coopers Hill Emergency Training College, so it was particularly nice for us to receive your email. Are there specific people that you were hoping to contact? If so we could perhaps include their names and your name on the appropriate page on the website - after all if you are searching the Web there may well be someone else from your year who is doing the same. We were also thinking that it might be good to include a special web page for the Emergency College. If you would like and are able to send us a copy of your group photo (and the names if you have them), we could perhaps put that on the website as well. At the moment most of the information that I have is in boxes which I have not had time to go through yet, but I do have by me a copy of one of the Coopers Hill Magazines complete with crest and motto: 'Animo non astutia', and a picture of the then principal, John Daniel - this was for Spring 1948 though, so probably before your time there.

Thanks again for writing
Best wishes
John

Here is a request relating to the clothing industry side, back in the days of the Shoreditch Technical Institute. For more information on this check out the following link http://www.ilrt.bris.ac.uk/jidi/col_fashion.html

Dear Jill,

I attended 'ditch 1948. My name is Mildred Leigh nee FARBY. My son found your site for me. What a wonderful idea. Hope to link up with some of the 'girls" I went to school with sooo long ago.

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