Friends recall the best days of their lives at reunion
Classmates meet up again five decades later
Around 40 former pupils of Oldborough Manor gathered at the Malta Inn in Allington to celebrate 50 years since they left school.
Most of them had started at the secndary in Boughton Lane in 1963, though some joined later. Steve Charlton, who organised the event, said: “Many had come to our last reunion at The Bull in Linton 10 years ago, but there were also some new faces who we hadn’t seen for decades.”
They included Alan Lusby, who visited from Australia, where he had emigrated with his family in 1968, a year before the others took their O Levels.
Mr Charlton said: “None of us had seen Alan since, so it was great he was able to come over.” He added: “It was a wonderful gathering. We had two come from Australia, one from Alicante in Spain, one from Pensacola in Florida, as well as from right across the UK, from Barrow-in-Furness and Sunderland to Hay-on-Wye and the Isle of Wight.”
Mr Charlton himself now lives in Cardiff.
He said: “We all felt that we hadn’t changed and it was the others who had got older. It was difficult to place some people at first, but the voices gave it away - as soon as they spoke you knew them.”
Mr Charlton said his classmates were keen to hold another reunion and originally talked about having another get-together after 60 years - but have decided to opt for one after 55 years as being “a bit safer.”
He said: “There’s more chance of our still being here - though we may be in our wheelchairs by then.”
Oldborough Manor School has long since ceased to exist. In 2007, it became an academy and was renamed New Line Learning. The former students recalled how they watched the first moon landing with Neil Armstrong taking his giant leap for mankind at the start of their final week at school.
The head teacher at the time, Arthur John Nelson Fuller, was was made an OBE for his services to education and the old classmates swapped reminiscences about history teacher Brian Scragg, woodwork teacher Bob Coxedge, science teacher Jack Horton and others.
Any former school chums who have not yet been traced by Mr Charlton are invited to contact him by emailing steve.charlton1952@yahoo.co.uk or by phoning 07773 096962.