In 1925 this leaflet was drawn up and was Dr. Barnardo’s Leaflet No 175 it sounds like Mr Chumley Warner's brother is the author with it's BBC English, it gives his view as he takes you around Goldings, showing you what a spiffing place for boys Goldings really was. Please note the photos that are shown are from about 1950.
 

“Boys will be Boys” the ancient phrase still serves to explain or excuse the overflowing vigour and perhaps too boisterous activity of the young. To those who know them, living with them and working with them, they need neither explanation nor excuse. Boys are boys, and their charm lies' precisely in this, because in their boyishness they are so staggeringly sudden, friendly and yet so cautious, so determined and yet changeful. A more serious thought is Boys will be Men.” These youngsters, who are so full, so care‑free and optimistic, will be, nay, are growing up. All too soon they will leave the shelter of home and school and will have to face up to Life with its tremendous possibilities of good and evil, of happiness and misery.

In the largest Family in the World the future of the boys. must of necessity be a constant and immense problem. Curiously enough, many people who generously support Dr. Barnardo's Homes are prone to overlook this aspect, They know that destitute and friendless children are rescued: they know that such children receive medical attention, education, clothing, and are “Given a chance.” But what chance? How do the children leave the shelter of the Homes? What care is taken to prepare them for independence? Most people think the girls all go out to Domestic Service without realising the quite large number who qualify for teaching, nursing and secretarial posts. What of the boys? Some are trained for the Sea, and what a splendid chance is theirs! Others do not wish to go to sea, and it is for them that the William Baker Technical School at Goldings, Hertford, exists.

Long before Goldings was acquired, Dr. Barnardo with his wonderfully long view had realised this problem and had built a Technical School at Stepney. In 1922 Goldings was opened as a memorial to Mr. William B a k e r, w h o had succeeded Dr. Barnardo as Honorary Director. From the slums and congestion of Stepney the boys were brought into the clean open spaces of Hertfordshire.

Will you please imagine you have come to visit this Branch of the Association's nationwide work?

You have come by car or as a member of a ' larger party in a Motor Coach. After leaving the ancient County Town of Hertford, you take the North road and as soon as the Town is left behind, you find on your left wooded park - like land. Outside the Gate Lodge an oak board, made by our Carpenters,' announces that this is the William Baker Memorial Technical School. As you drive through the grounds, the large Open air Swimming Bath and Lake immediately catch the eye. Perhaps it is springtime and the daffodils and anemones are in bloom, waving a golden welcome to you.

At the top of the Drive is the School Sick Bay, generously given by Mr. R. Abel Smith in memory of his grandfather who built Goldings. Then the house itself comes into view, a massive pile of decorative red brick - work, looking old and Elizabethan. You will be amazed to learn that it was built as recently as 1875.

Now you have arrived, certain of a welcome and of finding much to interest you. If you are in a party, one of the Staff will ask you into the Lounge and will say a few words about the nature and scope of the School before you commence your tour.

Before you leave the House, look into the Old Drawing Room and Library. Here, in comfortable and dignified surroundings, the boys are quietly reading or having lessons. Upstairs are the Dormitories. You will be pleased with their spacious windows and polished floors, though you will wonder how nearly 300 boys sleep in one House.
 

Descending at the other end, you will be able to peep into the kitchen and see the preparation of the boys' food, and will be gratified to find such substance and variety provided. Down a few steps into the Dining Hall, if you have called about midday, you should see the boys at dinner. A little noisy, perhaps, but how jolly and satisfied they look!

But we must get you to the Training Shops. Here is where the real work is done. What chance do the boys get? They get the chance to learn a Man's job, to earn mans wage and be self-supporting.

The Carpenters' Shops are the first there are three, in which sixty boys are in various stages of training. You will see beginners painfully trying to plane a piece of wood or struggling with a simple joint, and you will see the older boys at work with the skill of trained craftsmen.

The Printing Department always attracts the visitor. In the Machine Room there are many types of Printing Machines from the little treadle Platen to the Miehle two revolution Press. The Despatch Room reveals the scope and variety of the work turned out. Upstairs is the Composing Room, the scene is quieter, but there is an air of efficient bustle as you watch the boys at the frames setting up type. In an adjoining room are two Linotype Machines for mechanical composition and you will marvel at their intricacy.

The next Shop is a beehive of industry. More than 50 boys at the Bench and the Finishing Machines are repairing Boots and Shoes sent in from other Branches of the Homes to the Boot making Department. It is noisy here, with the thud of the hammers and the whirring of machines, but if you are interested you can see all the stages of boot making, from the last to the final polish.

In the Sheet Metal Workers' Shop there is a homely air, for all sorts of household utensils are being made, dustpans, dustbins, kettles, urns and all the manifold products of the craft. You will be surprised to see the curious geometric drawings on the walls and to learn how much training is necessary to cut sheet metal to the required shapes and sizes.

Next-door is the Engineers' Shop. You will acclaim its tidy orderliness and will be almost startled to see the boys tending the large Diesel Engine and manipulating the network of switches on the large panel. At the back is the workshop and 'many is the pound saved here on the lathe by turning out machine parts for the other Shops instead of buying them.

Before we go further we can look into the Gymnasium. A class is having Physical Training and if you are fortunate you may see the Gymnastic Squad at work. Their agility is amazing. In the gymnasium is an up‑to‑date Talkie Projector. On dark winter evenings pictures, both educational and entertaining, are shown.

You will like the gardens, so obviously well cared for, a reservoir of healthy food and a continuous feast of beauty. Twelve boys are training as gardeners and you will probably envy them!

Now you have reached the last Shop, the Wheelwrights' Department. They badly need a more up‑to‑date place, but their work is varied and full of promise. Wheelbarrows, Farm‑carts, Caravans and Motor Bodies all are made in these rather congested surroundings.

Then, if you are not too tired, we should like to show you our Playing Fields, and to tell you of our prowess at Cricket and Football, and to point out the Boys' Allotments. Last of all, and we have kept the best to the last, come with us to the School Chapel. In its quiet beauty and simplicity you will get a glimpse of what we are trying to do.

These boys must earn their living so we teach them a trade. They must meet with other men and hold their own, so we quicken their mental processes and by discipline and leadership help them to find true manhood. They must be fit, so by physical training and by games they are encouraged to healthy activity. Their leisure must be wisely planned, so they have an opportunity to learn music in the School Band (you simply must hear the Band play) and their reading and games are organised. But they must reach out to the Highest, and in the Chapel Services, in the whole atmosphere of the School life, they are brought into contact with a vital religion, the faith ‑ a man's faith - of the Lord Jesus Christ revealing the unchanging love of the Heavenly Father. Our Boys will be Men. At Goldings an effort is being made to make whole men, developed in their several parts to conform most easily and most naturally to the perfect Pattern.

Did you know in 1925 it cost £50.00 to provide a full year's technical training for one boy. That's what they were asking people to donate.

 "Will you help a Boy to aim high?"