Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

I'm involved in a postal survey at the moment which got me thinking about post at CH.
At Hertford the post was delivered to the VI form study and after breakfast everyone woud congregate outside the study and a VI former would call out the names of everyone who had received mail. Some would seem to get letters and/or parcels practically every day whilst I remember hardly getting any post at all.
At Horsham the post was just left on a table outside the dayroom for people to take.
At Hertford I don't even remember where we posted our mail Was there a post box within the school? I know at Horsham there was at least one post box - the one I remember was outside the staff room somewhere near Col
On another note - is there still a Post Office at Tower Hill?

Vonny wrote:On another note - is there still a Post Office at Tower Hill?

I'm afraid not - it closed years ago.

The post box is still there, but the building is now a private house.

The post office shop was very useful for emergency tobacco supplies.....

Do you remember the school's own post office (in a building on the road running past Little Side)?

There are 3 post boxes along the Avenue, one at Cornerways.....

Vonny wrote:At Hertford the post was delivered to the VI form study and after breakfast everyone woud congregate outside the study and a VI former would call out the names of everyone who had received mail. Some would seem to get letters and/or parcels practically every day whilst I remember hardly getting any post at all.
.....
At Hertford I don't even remember where we posted our mail Was there a post box within the school?

I think delivery of mail within the houses at Hertford differed at different times. In my time, in 6s, it was our revered housemistress who put it out on top of the lockers just inside the dayroom. There was a second (much smaller) postal delivery later in the day and that was given individually.

We did NOT post our own letters. We left them open for the housemistress to seal, allegedly so she could insert anything for your parents but generally believed so she could censor them. They were then taken to the Headmistress' Secretary who posted them all on Monday morning.

One Sunday when the postal rate was going up on Monday morning the whole school's Sunday was re-arranged so the letters could get posted on Sunday to save each of us something like one old penny (might even have been a ha'penny!)

Some time between my earning my BA and Kerren getting hers, someone was seen in Hertford posting a letter. As nobody would own up, and nobody would snitch we all lost our BAs we 'were rotten to the core'. There were great problems getting pinnies for all of us - the GAs wore BAs and we lesser mortals wore pinnies again. I can't remember how long this punishment lasted.

Katharine wrote:

Vonny wrote:At Hertford the post was delivered to the VI form study and after breakfast everyone woud congregate outside the study and a VI former would call out the names of everyone who had received mail. Some would seem to get letters and/or parcels practically every day whilst I remember hardly getting any post at all.
.....
At Hertford I don't even remember where we posted our mail Was there a post box within the school?

I think delivery of mail within the houses at Hertford differed at different times. In my time, in 6s, it was our revered housemistress who put it out on top of the lockers just inside the dayroom. There was a second (much smaller) postal delivery later in the day and that was given individually.

We did NOT post our own letters. We left them open for the housemistress to seal, allegedly so she could insert anything for your parents but generally believed so she could censor them. They were then taken to the Headmistress' Secretary who posted them all on Monday morning.

One Sunday when the postal rate was going up on Monday morning the whole school's Sunday was re-arranged so the letters could get posted on Sunday to save each of us something like one old penny (might even have been a ha'penny!)

Some time between my earning my BA and Kerren getting hers, someone was seen in Hertford posting a letter. As nobody would own up, and nobody would snitch we all lost our BAs we 'were rotten to the core'. There were great problems getting pinnies for all of us - the GAs wore BAs and we lesser mortals wore pinnies again. I can't remember how long this punishment lasted.

Excuse my ignorance but what is (was) a BA?

Richard Ruck wrote:

Vonny wrote:On another note - is there still a Post Office at Tower Hill?

I'm afraid not - it closed years ago.

The post box is still there, but the building is now a private house.

The post office shop was very useful for emergency tobacco supplies.....

Do you remember the school's own post office (in a building on the road running past Little Side)?

That's a shame. I remember cycling there a few times - not for tobacco though

I don't remember the the school post office.

Mid A 15 wrote:Excuse my ignorance but what is (was) a BA?

A Black Apron There were also GAs (Green Aprons) I had moved to Horsham before my V year so didn't get to wear either. They were worn to lunch instead of the blue pinnies everyone else wore.

Katharine wrote:There was a second (much smaller) postal delivery later in the day and that was given individually.

We did NOT post our own letters. We left them open for the housemistress to seal, allegedly so she could insert anything for your parents but generally believed so she could censor them. They were then taken to the Headmistress' Secretary who posted them all on Monday morning.

The 2nd post (in my time) was left on the little ledge by the front door.

We definitely didn't have our letters sealed by the housemistress.

If you wanted to write to anyone other than parents, the letter had to be sent via your parents. Privacy! What's that?

Maggie

midget wrote:If you wanted to write to anyone other than parents, the letter had to be sent via your parents. Privacy! What's that?

When we got our BA we could have a list of 12 people we could write to direct - the list had to be countersigned by our parents.

Sorry Andy for not explaining about BA earlier, they do come up so many times on Hertford threads or in our remeniscences we tend to think all regulars will know the meaning by now. (We have had to learn many terms such as broady) The Black Apron was literally that, it was awarded some time in the O level year, when you were considered reliable, responsible or something! Names were read out twice a term, very few were awarded the first possible occasion in my time. I think most people won them during the Spring term. The myth was that if you did not get it before the end of the year you would not be able to enter the VI form. I don't know whether this was ever challenged or not.

I think they (the BAs & GAs) could be taken away as well couldn't they? I seem to remember a couple of girls in 2's having them taken away and having to earn them back.

Vonny wrote:I think they (the BAs & GAs) could be taken away as well couldn't they? I seem to remember a couple of girls in 2's having them taken away and having to earn them back.

They could be taken away for various infringements, in my time it was rare for a GA to be taken away, I can't think of any time except the time I described earlier in the thread. One girl in 6s had her BA taken away because she had had a long plait her time in the school and one term on her way to Liverpool Street Station for the school train she went to a hairdressers and had it all cut off - without her parents' permission.

Writing it down now, I wonder how anyone knew the truth that it was done without permission? I have no idea, I was still fairly junior then.

Vonny wrote:I think they (the BAs & GAs) could be taken away as well couldn't they?


Yes, they could.


I seem to remember a couple of girls in 2's having them taken away and having to earn them back.

I left instead

Katharine wrote:

Vonny wrote:I think they (the BAs & GAs) could be taken away as well couldn't they? I seem to remember a couple of girls in 2's having them taken away and having to earn them back.

They could be taken away for various infringements, in my time it was rare for a GA to be taken away, I can't think of any time except the time I described earlier in the thread. One girl in 6s had her BA taken away because she had had a long plait her time in the school and one term on her way to Liverpool Street Station for the school train she went to a hairdressers and had it all cut off - without her parents' permission.

Writing it down now, I wonder how anyone knew the truth that it was done without permission? I have no idea, I was still fairly junior then.

Aaarrggghhhhh - when were we allowed to make decisions for ourselves? BA, therefore 15 or 16 .................

Fanny put our first post on top of lockers in the dayroom too.

My proudest moment was February 14th 1969 or 1970 (I was 15 or 16) when I got THREE Valentines cards.

Second post (if there was any) was given out individually.

I don't remember that ours had to be unsealed but I did enclose letters to my mates at home, we all lived in the same street so it was the work of a moment for my brother to deliver them.