Staying power: bow-tying skills perfected on corsets at Portsmouth school

One of the names was John Vaughan and, lo and behold, within hours I received a lovely e-mail from him recounting his time at the Derby Road, North End, school in the early 1950s.

He even sent me the picture on the right of him and his sister Cecilia in the paddling pool at Hilsea Lido.

She features in the picture immediately below (the girl with what John describes as ‘very fuzzy hair’ in a swimsuit on the chaplain’s left) of a St Anne’s day out on the beach.

John says: ‘Two other of the named pupils, Sarah and Caroline Pepys, were the daughters of the Rev G Pepys, the then vicar of St Mark’s, and we used to hold our summer ‘‘sports days’’ in the vicarage back garden.’

I also asked if anyone could pinpoint the location of the picture (inset, right). Victoria Park was the original suggestion, but John says it was defintiely Alexandra Park.

‘We would walk hand in hand in twos in a little crocodile down Cardiff Road and Nelson Avenue as it was less busy than using Gladys Avenue,’ says John.

He also remembers all the children being taken to the Essoldo in Kingston Road to see the colour film of the 1952 coronation.

He adds: ‘Another of my personal recollections is of learning how to tie bows using corsets of the type that could be seen in the windows of Vollers or Etams.

‘Rather than one continuous thread there was one in each set of eyelets so you could tie about 20 bows working your way down!’