A class at Silver Street School on 5th December 1923. Photo courtesy of Eric Preedy who has no further information, as he bought the photo in a sale.

A class at Silver Street School in 1925, courtesy of Chris Whitaker. His father, Herbert Whittaker, born 1912, is in it somewhere. Looking at it carefully, I believe that my uncle, Cyril Clarke, born 1912, is also in it, second row from the back, third from the right.

It is interesting to note how smart many of the boys look, wearing jackets and ties, although the ties were all different, so not school uniform. Clearly the boys dressed up for their photo.

The enlarged photo (seen by clicking this one) shows that the name of the class was written on an old-fashioned slate:

SILVER ST SCHOOL
STD. VIIB.
1925

I have no idea what the STD meant. Do you?

If there is anyone still alive who can put names to faces from the enlarged photo, I would be pleased to hear from them.

The following two photos were taken in a corner of the 2nd floor main hall of Silver Street School in 1936.

Notice the parquet flooring, gas lamps and the radiator for heating. All floors were similar with classrooms running along one side.

Left to right:

Back Row: George Pocock, - Jack Nesbitt, Francis Hawes, - - Wilmott,- - - Atack (teacher)

Third Row: - Gardiner, Reg Wheatley, - - - - - Les Ratty, Leslie Dobson, Such

Second Row: - Dick Morley - - Alec Mattingly - - Freddie Gibbons, Hugh McIntyre, - -

Front Row:- Dennis Duffield, - Field, Barnes, - Reg Calvert, Brian Rabin, Bill Harper, Peter Downie
   

Photo courtesy of Reginald Calvert

Photo courtesy of Desmond Dyer who is seated far right second row. Geoffrey Poole is at the far left at the back and Kenny Bridges also at the back second to the right of the master.

Photographer R. W. Crane, Bounds Green Studios, New Southgate N11.

Andrew Dickson, who supplied the photo, originally dated it as 1938 on the basis of the children looking about seven years old and his sister Jean Dixon (immediately in front of the teacher, wearing a dark blazer) having been born in 1931. However Desmond Dyer has pointed out that the above
two photos and this one were probably taken at the same time by the same photographer. In fact the children do look nearer
five than seven. So the revised date is 1936.

Can you name anyone?

A 1937 photograph of a class at Silver Street School, courtesy of Peter Fletcher. His elder brother, Sidney, is in the middle of the front row.

The raked or tiered style classroom was probably modernised into a flat room later that year because Anne Cole, whose class photo of the following year is directly below, never knew tiered classrooms.

My mother's recollections about schools in the early 1900s particularly mention the tiered classrooms.

Can you name anyone?

My aunt, Ena Cole, who was a former school teacher, responded to the call for women to help with the evacuation. She is third from the left (not counting the policeman). The whole school was evacuated on the same day and Ena's group (and possibly all the groups) went to Clacton. According to the Clacton at war website 421 infants and juniors from Silver Street School, Edmonton started lessons at the Great Clacton Primary School off London Road on the 18th September 1939. Older children went to either the Clacton County High School, or Pathfields School (Colbaynes). When no attacks occurred initially on London, some evacuees returned home.

Note that the meaning of 'infants' and 'juniors' changed since the school was built to Victorian specifications - see the labelling over the school entrance doors.

The man on the left with glasses and his mac over his arm is teacher J H I Berriman. Mr Berriman had a long career at the school from 1934 to 1973. The teacher on the right hand side is probably Mr Parry.