When I retired from the work force in 1987, like most people, I cast around for things to do. Doreen and I had recently become grandparents, which must have aroused the Family Historian within me, a feeling which apparently lies within millions of people all over the globe. I thought what better legacy can I leave our grandchildren, than a record of their origins?

I set to work on researching our Family Tree. I joined the Tasmanian Genealogical Society, and I joined the Gloucester Family History Society. I read books, looked at countless microfiches, and sent away for certificates. All in all, I enjoyed a certain amount of what can now be called beginners luck. It wasn't long before I found myself floundering, almost at a complete standstill, looking for family events that are still proving very difficult to trace.

It then occurred to me that although it was proving to be very difficult to find out about the life and times of my own grandfather, there was no reason why my own grandchildren should have the same degree of difficulty, should they ever wish to know about theirs. I started to write about my life at sea, but then I thought that I should include the years I spent at the National Nautical School since my stay there has probably influenced my life considerably.

Having by now at least tentatively made a start on three different fields of research, i.e., the family, the school, and my own early life, I began to come into contact with the many people and institutions who have helped me considerably in compiling this account.

My first new correspondence came about quite incidentally. I was browsing in a magazine bookshop. (I am one of those people who read practically the entire magazine before I decide there is sufficient material in it of interest to me to warrant it's purchase.) In a section of one magazine which dealt with 'Can you help these Readers?' The initials NNS caught my eye. I had not seen these initials written by someone else for almost fifty years. I responded to the inquiry, and have been in contact with Mr. George Standley of Weston Super Mare ever since. George was at the school in the late twenties. His description of life at the school in those early days has been of great interest and considerable help to me.

Whilst on holiday in the UK in 1994, and during one of my trips to Exeter, I was able to call in at Weston Super Mare, to meet George and his wife Joan. Although George preceded me at the school by some ten years, he was able to remember many of his own experiences there. He has also been able to pass on to me quite a bit of memorabilia relating to the school, including copies of photographs of the school in the very early days.

I next decided that although I can remember much about the school from my stay there, it might be more interesting to have some official comment included in the document. From the literature that George Standley had sent to me, I was aware that there had always been a member of the Portishead Council on the School Board. From this, I assumed (quite wrongly, as it happens) that the Council would have copies of minutes of board meetings which, if available, could be a rich source of information.

I wrote off to the Portishead Council and received a very nice reply from Mrs. Penny Rendle, the Town Clerk who informed me that since the closure and sale of the school, a committee of people known as the Portishead Nautical Trust had been set up. The Trust administers the proceeds from the sale of the school, and generally makes funds available for worthwhile projects which can be shown to ultimately benefit the youth of the area. The Secretary of the Trust was Mr. Cruise. After some correspondence, Mr.Cruise arranged for myself and my wife to meet the members of the committee whilst we were visiting the UK in 1994. During my visit, the committee also very kindly arranged for me to access the National Nautical School's archived material, which by this time had been placed in the safe keeping of the Bristol Records Office.

Mr.Cruise arranged for the committee, myself and my wife, to visit Fedden Village as the school is now called. Our visit was made possible by the good offices of Mr Bob Runacres, the Property manager of Fedden Village who personally conducted us around the now quite magnificent accommodation.

Although the interior of the building has changed dramatically since it was vacated in 1983, I was delighted to see that the facade of the old school building has been 'Listed' I think the term is. As such, it cannot be pulled down or altered in any way, which was quite a relief to me. The vaulted classrooms which are situated below the Terrace, some of which were our air raid shelters during the war, are now all now luxury apartments. Basically, from the outside, and from a distance, they look much as they did years ago. So whilst internally, the school has undergone an impressive change, if one were to sail along the Bristol Channel past the premises, it would look pretty much as it did when it was a school.

I have to say that I toured the establishment with mixed feelings. Sad that it no longer served the purpose for which the citizens of Bristol and district intended, when they contributed toward it's construction, but pleased that because of the 'Listed' classification, the essential character of the facade of the school will be protected for some time to come.

During our tour of the premises, Mr Runacres invited me into his office, where he gave me the address of Mr. Les Philpot, an old boy of the school from the same period as myself. Mr. Philpot had been making enquiries at the school (not knowing that it was now 'under new management') on behalf of the sister of a boy, Bernard Griffiths, who had been killed at sea during the war. Bernard had been at the school at the same time as Les Philpot and myself, and was therefore known to both of us.
Shortly after our tour of the school, I went to the Records Office in Bristol where I was shown the material they held, relevant to 1938-42. Unfortunately, much of the material from that particular time, I was told, is no longer available. I had to make do with the Punishment Book, and some photographs of the Dowager Queen Mother's visit to the school which took place in September of 1942, about six months after I had left.

From the Punishment Book, I was able to deduce quite a bit of information, especially with respect to the dates that certain events took place. Reading through the pages was quite an emotional experience for me, seeing names long since forgotten, suddenly spring to life, with related images of classroom, gymnasium, playing fields, or swimming bath. Each name remembered, firing up an image of long ago. I did not have too much time, so I asked for copies of certain pages, which have helped me to establish the dates of certain events.

The Punishment Book is a rich source of information. Reading through some of the offences committed by the boys, and the punishments handed down, gives some idea of the code of discipline used by the school, and it's effectiveness. There is much that can be learned from within its pages

However, there seemed to be no record of day to day life at the school, and certainly none from the boys' point of view. By any standards, the National Nautical School has played an important role in the sociological and historical development of the area. It is not unreasonable to hope, therefore, that along with the impressive facade of the school, and the official documents placed in the care of the Bristol Records Office; that some account of the daily lives of the boys who were placed in it's care should be preserved. Since many of my own memories of the school were still quite strong in my mind, I resolved to put as much on paper as I could remember of this period, with reference to as many aspects of our day to day living that I could think of. It is my earnest hope that these notes will redress that omission

Within days of our tour of the school, I had contacted Les Philpot who lives near Manchester. Immediately he received my letter, he was on the phone to me, absolutely delighted to have contact with someone from the past. Since I was due to be going to St.Annes, which is not far from Manchester, he arranged to come around and see me whilst I was there. The meeting was, to say the least, enjoyable. We soon remembered each other's place in the school. Before long, we had relived at least, a tiny proportion of our days in Portishead. So pleasing was the experience that we met again the next day in Manchester at Les's house, where my wife and I were introduced to Mrs. Audrey Philpot. Our wives were quite happy to indulge us until it was time for us to go home. By one of those strange coincidences, we were due to be in Devon at the same time as Les and Audrey who were due to be going down there for a short holiday. We arranged a further afternoon together, this time in Exeter

Les was able to put me in touch with Mr Albert Knight who lives in Portishead. Both Les and I remembered Albert well, and again, I was able to arrange to travel to Portishead for an afternoon, where I met Albert after all those years, and was introduced to Mrs. Dorothy Knight, Albert's wife. As had been the case with Les, Albert and I were soon able to recall many events which had affected us both, and spent a most enjoyable afternoon talking of days gone by.

Before I left the UK in 1994, I became aware of 'Teletext' on TV. One of the many features of Teletext, is an item entitled 'Service Pals' and another, 'Lost Touch'. Inserts containing 45 words or less, and submitted on a postcard, to either of these classifications, are displayed free of charge. I thought that this might be an ideal way in which to contact 'old boys' of the school, I invested in a postcard, and a 70 cent stamp. I posted the card in December 1994, by March 1995, I had received three replies.

The first was from Mr. David Hopkins of North Wales, also known as 'Polly' Hopkins, who rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer at the school. Polly arrived there a few weeks after me, but because he was older, he left some time before I did. He established a firm friendship with Captain H.E.Evans, which continued right up to the time of the Captain's death in the late seventies at Budleigh Salterton, near where we went to camp in 1939. Polly, who achieved the commissioned rank of Captain in the British Army, has been an invaluable 'refresher' source to me of names, and events.

The second reply I received was from Mr. Gordon Kearns, now living in Shropshire. Gordon very kindly sent me a photograph of the Dowager Queen Mother's visit to the school in September 1942. I remembered Gordon quite well from our days at the school. He was a bugler at the school, and can be seen sat in the front row of the picture, with his bugle on his lap.

My next respondent was Mr. Tony Frost of Surrey. Tony has done extremely well for himself since leaving the school, mainly as a specialist in the automotive repair industry. He attended the school from 1949 - 51, and went to the Royal Navy from there. Since his stay at the school was almost ten years after mine, his descriptions of routines, and staff in later years have been of particular interest. Tony was also a bugler.

Then came one of those rare coincidences, which occur from time to time. During 1995, when the Allied Nations were celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the end of the war in Europe, a photograph of myself was published in the local daily paper, as having been a Merchant Seaman during World War Two. The photograph was taken at my home, and quite by chance, my 1939 picture of the National Nautical School, which hangs on the wall, was quite clearly shown in the background of the photograph. A day or two after the picture had appeared, I received a call from a person asking me if the photo in the background was of the National Nautical School, Portishead, England? The caller was non other than Mr. Jim Gilleece, who had been at the school from 1943 - 1945, and who now lives less than three minutes walk from my house - and has done for the last twenty years or so! Since my print of the school photograph is the same one which was pinned on the school notice board for many years before it came into my possession, it is not surprising that Jim should have recognised the picture. Naturally, we were delighted to meet up with each other, and talk of days gone by.

Yet another contact came about when my phone rang, and a voice on the other end introduced himself to me as Mr Sid Goodman of Winchester, England. Sid had written to the school making enquiries. Mr. Runacres, the Property Manager, had given him my address. Sid had been at the school from 1938 - 1941. He also is on the school photograph, and has a good memory for names and events.

Without exception, all the old boys I have contacted have been saddened by the demise of the school, and the ensuing loss of its amenities for those who needed them, to the exclusive use of those who can afford them. I suppose that the encroachment of suburbia upon the immediate surrounding area, hastened this course. It must also be acknowledged that with the demise of the once great British Merchant Navy, there is no longer the call for trained, and eager young men in any numbers to man the ever dwindling number of ships which presently sail the seas under the Red Ensign.

The eagerness with which all these 'old boys', have been willing to talk to me about their memories of the school has been an enormous well of encouragement, enthusiasm, and indeed validation, of many of my own recollections of the school. For all of this, and for our re-discovered friendships, I am most grateful.

I write the following in an effort to record the observations, thoughts, feelings, and priorities of an eleven year old, as he is removed from his home, and placed in a school such as the National Nautical School. Some memories are still quite strong, others less so, and it is with these latter, that my correspondence with the several old boys has been invaluable. Although they are necessarily expressed in adult terms, they are essentially the observations, thoughts, feelings, and priorities of the same boy, as remembered, some fifty odd years on.

Gordon S Sollors B A
Devonport Tasmania
August 1996

Since the completion of this document, Mr.Albert Knight of Portishead has died. Those of us who knew him at the school are deeply saddened. Unlike the two boys in the dedication, Albert, and those of us who are left, have lived relatively long, and happy lives. We have known the love of a wife, children, and for some of us, grandchildren. We have much to be thankful for.

Never were the words of R.L.Stevenson:

' Home is the Sailor, Home from the Sea'

more apt, than when related to an ex Formidable boy

Gordon S Sollors.