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St George's School Photo, 1930

This photo from 1930 shows class 5: 27 girls and 17 boys - quite an imbalance and a large group by today's standards. Ages are thought to vary from 10 to 13. Diane adds: I think that we had 2 or 3 groups within a classroom and moved from one end of the classroom to the other as we got older but it may also have suited different abilities.

Compared with the photos of 1925 and 1926 the children look rather happier and they are a little more uniformly dressed: around half the girls are wearing the same-style tunic over a blouse and half a dozen of the boys wear blazers. Ten or so of the tunic-wearing girls have a cloth badge near their left shoulder - I think it reads 'SGS', presumably St George's School. Diane suggests 'Perhaps the tunics were worn by the older girls about to leave St George's for the Senior School.'

Diane adds two names: Peggy BUTCHER, centre of the back row and Percy GARDNER, 2nd from right 2nd row; he is the younger brother to Reg who appears in the 1925 photo.

In 2019 Linda Hillier nee Chapman – Brentford born and bred - I’m pretty sure that the girl, third from the left in the back row, is my aunt Joan Rose Barrett nee CHAPMAN. She married Roy BARRETT probably early 1942 and she was born locally. Her mother Annie Rosa or Rosa Annie nee BARNARD lived in 13 Harnage Road with her father Daniel Barnard.
Annie Rosa married John Chapman – a big family I think locally.
John Chapman contracted TB in the First World War, was invalided out and died in I think 1928.

In 2019 Barry Pearce: the boy first left in the front row is my Uncle (he was christened Alfred W L BROOKS, but was always known as Jim).

He was born in 1920 and died in 2005 and was my Mother' eldest brother. He also had 3 other sisters and 2 brothers, all of whom attended St. George's School. At the time the family lived in Bedford Road so probably only took them about a minute to get to school!!

I sent the photograph to my cousin Geoff Brooks who lives in Los Angeles. He has confirmed that it is his Father in the photograph.

I also showed the photograph to the one remaining sibling, Kenneth George Walker Brooks, now 95. He remembers being taught by Mr. DuBois.

The website has a good collection of school photos thanks to several contributors, including others of St George's School. Please get in touch if you can add any names.

Published December 2016; updated August 2019