HOW DOES one write a final Editorial? It is only natural that one must feel a certain amount of bitterness and resentment, that because of other forces and apparent shortcomings, a magazine must die too, through no fault of its own for many readers this will be the first intimation they will have had about the closing of the William Baker School, Goldings, on Wednesday, 26th July next. The official release was worded as follows:

The Council of Dr. Barnardo's announce with regret that the decision has been reached to close the 'William Baker School at Goldings, Hertford.

The School, which was opened in 1921, was originally designed to help Barnardo boys who were in need of a specialized education and to prepare them for their working lives.

For some time the number of such boys has been declining, one of the main reasons being that it is now the aim of Barnardo's to help these boys without removing them great distances from their own homes.

In the light of this and other changing circumstances the Council of Dr. Barnardo's feel they are no longer justified in continuing the running of this school and in due course the number of boys will he gradually run down and alternative arrangements will he made to continue the education of the remaining boys.

Barnardo's will at the some time be considering the future of the school buildings and will also be investigating ways, with the appropriate authorities, of continuing to render assistance to boys of secondary school age with a social need and thus carry on the spirit of Goldings in the service of youth.

This announcement was read to all staff on the morning of 29th September by the Chairman of the Committee of Management, Lt. General Sir Arthur Smith. After some minutes the true implication of the statement pierced our numbed brains, and one by one members of staff rose to their feet to ask for further details, and some had even grasped the situation enough to ask the chairman not to make this announcement public before the Committee of Management had received representation from us, the staff of Goldings. All to no avail, however, the Committee had decided and the decision must stand.

Despite the fact that 'legally' we were in no position to oppose the decision to close down, everyone felt that we had a 'moral' obligation to the type of boy we were successfully training and rehabilitating. As a result we immediately held a full staff meeting, and elected a committee to represent us and meet the Committee of Management to put our case. Eventually a date was fixed 1st November (All Saints' Day) for our five man team to go to Stepney to meet Sir Arthur and Mr. Cornish. At the meeting a Full transcript of our proposals was read, and later, in response to an urgent request, a copy was sent for each member of the Council and Committee of management nevertheless, eventually a reply was received in the form of a telephone call to Mr. Embleton from Mr. Cornish stating that the Council stood by their decision.

It will be obvious to readers that I have over simplified the facts of the case, but it would serve no useful purpose to relate all the discussions, arguments, appeals that have gone on. In fact hundreds of thousands of words have been written and spoken about the pros and cons of the situation, and the staff at Goldings are all firmly of the opinion that the Council has made a grave mistake.

Many of us were, and still are of the opinion that the School as a whole needed a face lift as regards training and general activities, and in fact this was taking place, with the best team of house parents we have had for a long while, the re-organization of the School block, and many other innovations which were in the pipeline. What a pity there was not enough adventurous spirit to give us a further period of three or five years! The fact that our numbers had dropped was certainly not the desire or fault of the staff at Goldings, and whenever we questioned this fact, we were given to understand that it was Headquarters' policy, so that we should eventually build-up under a new scheme.

Although there has been no change of heart for the School as a whole, someone somewhere has been able to rescind the order as regards the Printing Department, and the following announcement was made in the Barnardo News.

Our readers will be pleased to hear that in connection with the closing of the William Baker School further consideration has been given to the future of the Printing Department.

'The Council of Dr. Barnardo's has agreed that this Department shall continue to function but to be reduced in size and number to accommodate fewer apprentices. The range of work to he undertaken to be limited to that most suitable for the plant. The school itself will slowly develop into a conventional printing house but will continue to take the smaller number of apprentices to which it will he entitled from Barnardo's.

It is felt impracticable to continue to have the Printing Department at Goldings and enquiries are being made into the possibility of acquiring suitable premises in or near Hertford. Waterford Verney will continue to be used as a Hostel for the Printing Apprentices and other working boys.

This news was, of course, very welcome to apprentices and staff of the Printing Department, which will be remaining at Goldings for the present.

Many readers will also be sad to read that 'Goldings Old Boys' club and football team, too, has now had to close down, owing to lack of support. This is yet another personal blow to myself, as I was the member of staff to whom the founder members of the Old Boys approached to act as a 'general convener' when the club started in 1952. True, both my wife and myself have very happy memories of those early days, but one does not wish to have too many memories of good things that do not now exist! A photograph of thirteen of the original, football team appears from page 38.

I am sure our ex Headmaster, Mr. R. F. Wheatley, will always feel that his retirement was made all the more painful by this action of terminating the twenty‑two years' dedicated work as he vacated the Headmaster's chair. I am the last to suggest that sentiment should retard efficiency or progress, but the timing of this action was rather ‘untimely’! ?

It is with a sad heart that I now close this editorial of the last GOLDONIAN. During the ten years I have been privileged to be the editor I have made a great many friends, some purely through correspondence. I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Wheatley for allowing me such a free hand with the publication, and to all members of the Printing Department for their marvellous co‑operation in getting the magazine out on time when everything from the editorial end has been late. I hope you will all read the letter by The Rev. Suckling and first editorial reproduced on pages 15 and 16 when the GOLDONIAN was founded in 1927. I think the magazine has served the School well, and kept old friends in touch.

Au revoir, but not 'goodbye' -- I hope!

Mr. N. T. Powell

Goldonian Vol. XXI NUMBER 2 SPRING 1967