I've just come across this site and I've really enjoyed reading everyone's reminiscences.
My name is Bill Kitcher, and I left Hawes Down in May 1964 to move to Canada with my family. I was just turning 7 when I moved so I have selective memories of my time at Hawes Down. I remember the path to the school along the railway track, and that still seems exotic to me...
I think my teacher's name, in my final year of Infants' School, was Mrs. Woodrow, and I remember a teacher named Miss Turner, who taught Music among other things. In Class 1, we had Sewing, and I was terrible at that, so I got to go to another class and do Music, which was more my style...
I remember the names of a lot of classmates. I lived at 170 Langley Way and I believe these other classmates lived on Langley Way as well: Roger Figg, Norman Froment, Stephen Bryant, Andrew Buckley. Gregory Hanley also lived on Langley, but I think he went to a Catholic school.
Other classmates I remember: Judith Harris, Julia Mallet (who may have been a year younger), Peter Jeffs (who lived on The Avenue or The Drive), Andrew Morris (who lived somewhere on the opposite side of the school from me), Stephen Dillane (who went on to become a famous actor!), Stuart Anderson (?), and there was a boy named Nigel who wore glasses (although I suspect that every class in England in 1964 had a boy named Nigel who wore glasses). I remember a girl named Elaine, who moved to Scotland shortly before I moved to Canada.
I still have 2 photos of plays we performed, from 1963 and possibly 1962. In one of them, Norman Froment is dressed as a Christmas tree. I played First Fir Tree, and Roger Figg and Andrew Morris were 2 of the other fir trees. Stephen Bryant, Andrew Buckley, and Stuart Anderson appear to be woodsmen.
I don't know what the other play was about, but Norman is dressed as a cat (and the only cat at that so he must have been the Best Actor in those days. Take that, Stephen Dillane!). Other children appear to be mice. There's a boy wearing a weathervane on his head; my dad made that weathervane. (We had two groups of children performing the same play.)
I also still have a letter that Judith Harris wrote to me in July 1964 after my family was in Canada. My memory is that the whole class wrote letters to me but I have only this one, and don't know what happened to the other letters. I'm glad I still have this one. Judith told me about a trip to a museum (possibly Hartman's?), and she also said that Stephen Dillane was now sitting in my old seat...
If anyone remembers me (and even if you don't), you can find short stories I've had published on the internet. If you search under "Bill Kitcher" and "William Kitcher", you'll find some of my short fiction. I have a lot more on the internet but they don't come up on a search for some reason.
If any of my old classmates want to contact me, please e-mail me at billkitcher3000@outlook.com.
Ah, memories!