Summer 2024 Update

When I last posted on this website back in January I explained that Eddie Ross and I had published all of the Gilberd material we were aware of. I made the point that future updates were likely to come as a result of visitors to our site discovering old photos, bulletins or magazines and kindly sharing them with us.

And sure enough, that is exactly what has happened. We have Neil Goodman to thank for, as he describes it, 'having a bit of a Marie Kondo moment'. 

Neil explains: I have recently uncovered in my loft, a copy of Venture II, Spectrum and an Autumn 1978 Bulletin and was wondering if you would like them as a donation for the website. With exception of the bulletin, the others are undated but as I attended North Hill during 1972-1979, and I recognise some names of those in my year/class that had work published in Spectrum, this likely dates from 1978. Venture II is older as it has submissions from class numbering such as 2H and 3T which pre-dates the numbering system (A to D) that was in place when I enrolled.

We are very grateful to Neil as his find enables us to publish a 'summer update' with one or two other items that have turned up in the last few months. You can view or download all of the documents discussed in this article HERE but I'm going to cover a few highlights.

Let's start with that Autumn 1978 bulletin as there are some lovely items to draw your attention to. Firstly, the bulletin contains tributes to Mr Dobson and Mrs Hockney, who had both retired at the end of the previous term.

The autumn 1978 term was my first term at the school, so I was fascinated to see the staff list which brought back a lot of memories. (If you click on the image below you can view a higher quality version.)

Richard Parker, who had left the school at the end of the previous term, received the Springett Award in 1978 and was singled out for praise by Mr McAleavy (below). Richard has been kind enough to share a lot of his photos and Gilberd memorabilia with us.

I particularly enjoyed this amusing account of a trip to Stratford...

There is also another account in the bulletin about a trip to France (led by Mr Smith) that is well worth your time. You'll find more bulletins and letters from the 1970s HERE.

On now to one of Eddie's finds - a piece of 73 year old school history!

There seems to be very little paperwork surviving from the early 1950s, so this programme of the 'Presentation of Prizes and Certificates' from 1951 is a real find. You can view a few more programmes and some photos from these events in the late 50s and early 60s HERE. 

Eddie also discovered another class photo from the 1970s - do you recognise yourself or anyone in the photo below? If so, drop us a line at eddiesphotos@icloud.com (You'll find plenty more of Eddie's photos from the 1970s HERE.)

Lastly, Eddie found a small curiosity tucked at the back of his desk - a label used to glue inside the cover of books donated to the school.

That leads us on to three school magazines. As Neil Goodman explained earlier, both Spectrum and Venture II were published during the 1970s. I've also been holding on to a copy of a 1980 school magazine called Phases, which Liz McLean sent me a while back. This seems a good opportunity to share all three with everyone.

I'm only going to pick out a few highlights but I liked this poem by Helen Merriday in Venture II about Colchester...

Beth Hart's poem in Spectrum, also about Colchester, made me smile...

And finally, Eddie wrote an account of his experiences teaching in Geneva for Phases...

There is plenty more to enjoy in these magazines and you'll find all of the documents available to view or download HERE.

My thanks to Neil, Eddie and Liz for sharing their finds with us. My apologies to anyone who was hoping their poetry might never see the light of day again!

If you are having a clear out of your loft or office and discover any old Gilberd memorabilia, then do get in touch and we'll share it with everyone here. You can email us at eddiesphotos@icloud.com 

We will hopefully be back with another update later in the year. Have a great summer.