Memories of Fox Lane Junior School Leyland

Pam Ward recalls her time at Fox Lane Junior School, in Leyland, in the 1950s and has shared this photo of a tree planting in 1950.

Pam, whose maiden name was Aston, is pictured on the front row, to the left of the boy digging. She was wearing ribbons and a pleated skirt.

The 73-year-old says: “I have vague memories of that day. I was six.

“They were trying to do up the school after the war by planting trees.

“There had not been an awful lot of bombing in the area, but I remember they hit Ward Street in Farrington and there was an incendiary bomb in my grandma’s back yard.

“I have more general memories too. I used to live in Fox Lane so I was not very far from school. I went home for lunch and then when I came back we would all have a sleep on little camp beds.

“There was no central heating so we slept around a fire. We were all in one big room.

“We used to play in fields that are now Wade Hall. There was a big pond and an air raid shelter near a playground.

“Everybody looked out for everyone and would watch out for the children.

“I remember going to the milkman and getting my jug filled up and Robinson’s ice cream van used to come in a three-wheeler bike with a tin box on the front, which had ice cream in.”

One memorable moment that stuck out was being asked to present a bouquet of flowers to the Mayor and Mayoress at the Chamber of Trade exhibition at Leyland public hall.

She adds: “After the war, there was a period of austerity and so things like the Chamber of Trade were being set up.

“I presented flowers to the Mayor and Mayoress and Geraldo, who was a band leader. Whilst there I was in a fashion show and wore a dress with pink rose buds from the dress shop in Fox Lane, owned by Edna Noon.

“I also had to wear leggings and threw a tantrum because I didn’t want to wear them.

“I also remember seeing the first Hornby hobby horse made of tin.”

Pam left Leyland when she was 10.

The mother-of-four, with 11 grandchildren and five great grandchildren, now lives in the Lake District.

She was previously an English lecturer at Lancashire Training Agency.