Classmates from Hillside and Paulsgrove Infants have had a nostalgic reunion

A group of 25 men met up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of starting at Hillside and Paulsgrove Infants back in 1952, where they all met.

The celebration, which was held at the Indoor Victory Bowls Club, was organised by Robert Rowe and Barry Newman who wanted to ensure that this moment in their history was recognised.

The meet-up consisted of those that attended Hillside Infants and Paulsgrove Infants, where everyone except two of the men went on to Paulsgrove Secondary School.

The men have met up regularly over the years, with many of them speaking a few times a month and coming together for dinner.

As young boys, they were known as the Bench Gang because they would have a regular bench that the group would meet up at.

Robert said: ‘It is brilliant, we have had a few people not able to come because of illness and a few have got long-term illness so couldn’t make it, but I am really happy with the turn-out.’

The men had the opportunity to relive their boisterous youth by looking through photo albums and school images that they have collected over the years, as well as their old crest and a football top from their team that has been kept all of these years.

They even managed to retrieve a brick from each of the schools as they were being demolished so they will always have a piece of history with them.

Barry said: ‘I will always remember walking out of school one day and we were about 15 and some of the lads would have a cheeky smoke and we were walking out and we saw a group of people and it was one of the sports teachers who was the worst because he was so strict. He was walking and saw smoke coming up from our group of boys and he sent one of the first years over to tell us off and one of us said in an impolite way for him to get lost. For weeks after, every time we saw the little first year, we would turn around and hide our faces so he couldn’t identify us to the teacher.’

Peter Board, 74, and Martin Trevett, 74, were the only two boys that passed the 11 plus and went on to the local grammar school, with the rest of them attending the secondary school.

Peter said: ‘I hated it, we should have gone to Paulsgrove, we were Paulsgrove boys through and through. We went to the grammar school.

Peter and Martin recalls being taken to a Welsh Army Camp when they were younger and having to travel all day with the school to get to the Brecon Beacons.

Peter said: ‘It took us all day to get there because we had to go on a steam train through Wales, which is just how it was back then.

‘We had a week there and they put us in the middle of the heather and I remember having to do all of these army drills but there was a lot of sheep and a lot of sheep poo everywhere.’

Adrian Sines, alongside Melvyn Batchelor, 74, were two of Hampshire’s fastest swimmers during their time at school out of 25 people across Hampshire, which is a period of time they will never forget and Michael Ogburn apprenticed at Portsmouth FC, before being signed professionally to Brentford.

Adrian said: ‘On the last night of evening classes with Mr Bowler, he told us he was going to tell us all stories about his time in the war, but ended up telling us all ghost stories which is something I will never forget.’

Donald Ferguson was recalling the difference in punishment across school and how he always managed to find himself getting in trouble for being cheeky.

He said: ‘I used to get the cane a lot. I was walking one day behind one of the teachers and I was pulling faces behind his back and finding it really funny until he saw me in the reflection of the glass and I had to go into the classroom and have four canings. I remember having to go to evening class later on and not being able to sit properly afterwards. It was a very different time.’

Barry said: ‘One day there was a lad who had been heating up an iron rod in a fire and it was boiling, it had gone red it was so hot, so he waited until it had cooled down slightly and asked Don to take it. He grabbed the end of it and fainted.

Donald said: ‘And that’s why they call me a hot rod.’

During the celebration, the group raised a glass to absent friends and listed all of their fellow classmates that are sadly no longer with them.

Barry said: ‘When we turned 70, a lot of us with our partners, went on a two week Caribbean cruise around the islands to celebrate all together and there were maybe 10 of us who went which was really nice.’

A number of the men who attended the celebration, meet regularly at the Golden Lion, based in Bedhampton, which is owned by Adrian and they come together and have a catch-up every few weeks.

The group wants to continue meeting up like they have done for the last 70 years.