I have endeavoured to write as I remember those very happy days at Goldings. My period of stay being four years 1928-32. Those days the procedure was Reveille by the bugle boy, standing on the first-floor landing at 6.30 am. After breakfast we then paraded on the parade ground and the Governor, The Rev F. C. McDonald, at that period of time took the parade. On dismissal we then proceeded to our respective trade teaching sections which were printing, carpentry, cabinet making, shoe making, engineering, smith and forge, wheelwrights, gardening, and tin smiths. The hours of teaching daily 9 am-12.30 pm return at 13.30 pm-4 pm plus two nights of two hours per week evening class trades.

Each trainee had the average workout of three hours per week in the gym, boxing and use of wall beams, vaulting horse, etc, and trained for fetes and the Royal Albert Hall annual gym displays. The School had a very good band on military lines. Each Sunday parade inspection taken by the Governor; then from the parade ground the march following the band round the drive past the workshops and the tennis court up to the church for morning service. At the entrance door at a small distance there are four trees in a square formation; these I remember as very small those many years ago. At the base of these trees, we would place our musical instruments before entering church. After the service we would line up outside and return to the parade ground and then be dismissed.

Off the parade ground the long hut now much forlorn was the recreation hut. At the left end room we had a billiards table for the use of the house prefects. The other end of the hut was our band practice room.

There were approximately 40 boys to each dormitory and in the dining hall the entire school sat down on 18 long tables for meals. Grace was said verbally before and after meals aloud, the master of the day standing on the rostrum at the entrance of the hall.

The top fields as were called high off the forecourt had six football pitches for inter-dorm games. The lower field base of tennis court was cricket and field sports, generally all taken very seriously, for in the serving hall of the building the board emblazoned in gold leaf was the annual house champions and dorm achievements. We were very proud if our name was amongst the achievements obtained.

BERTIE ALFRED HEFFER