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Welcome to the Guestbook Feel free to add messages relating to the site and the school. The only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning). It would be appreciated if you gave an email address, where you now live and said when you were at the school, but you don't have to. Plase note that if you click on an email address below you will need to replace ~DOT~ with . and ~AT~ with @ in your email program. The Guestbook presents these this way to avoid email address harvesters collecting your email addresses from the page. I know it's a pain, but it's very much better than the alternative.
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Alan Whittaker(1953-59)
| alan~DOT~diwhittaker~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Hi Everyone, Ref post-war housing development, I have a photo taken by my father around 1948 of the Marsden area which he took from the cliff in Thompson's Quarry.The photo is a bit faded but you can see the development of the Lake Avenue area,and, in the distance the Marsden Inn is visible. I was unable to forward the photo to our website .Any suggestions?
Wed 25-Jun-2025 12:08
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Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951
| ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Hello Bruce, I was just looking up something about South Shields in Chat so I posed a question regarding your email. The following is its response:- “South Shields had ambitious housing development plans during the 1930s, but World War II put many of them on hold. Looking at local housing history: In 1935, the borough initiated several “new housing schemes” as part of accommodating a fast-growing urban population bbc.co.uk+13southshieldslocalhistorygroup.co.uk+13m unicipaldreams.wordpress.com+13. In 1936, territory near Marsden Bay was absorbed into the borough, opening up further sites for possible development shieldsgazette.com+11southshieldslocalhistorygroup. co.uk+11co-curate.ncl.ac.uk+11. However, the outbreak of war in 1939 brought large-scale construction to a halt . After the war ended in 1945, the council resumed building efforts: by 1946, they were planning 2,000 post-war houses, and by 1948, nearly 2,000 had been completed, with plans for 3,000 more southshieldslocalhistorygroup.co.uk." I hope this helps, Cheers, Alex P.S.I am writing this at 9:30 PM and the temperature is 30C the high today was 36 and the "Feels like" temp was 40C
Mon 23-Jun-2025 02:33
- North York, Ontario, Canada
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Bruce Graham
| bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com
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In correspondence of several years ago Alan Whittaker reflected on the South Shields that so many of us remember from those days of yore.
One of the things that came to mind recently that relates to those years, and to the subsequent development of the School site and its environs. In particular the building of the very large council estates in the years following the end of WW2.
More particularly I got to wondering about the Marsden Inn and when it was opened. The answer is, it seems 1939 just before the onset of hostilities and the hiatus in house building that followed.
Presumably, and someone will know, there were plans in existence to develop that part of the town but, when it was opened the Inn must have been very isolated.
Many moons ago Alan corrected me on the termination of the trolley bus service that i knew as a small child which didn't go as far as where the Marsden Inn stands.
Perhaps all of this rambling may ring a bell in some of the oldies memories?
Every time I see the end stages of the Great North Run on TV and see the shots of the Marsden Inn and that steep slope down to the beach area it takes me back to the wheat fields that then existed.
Time for a lie down, I think!!
Sun 22-Jun-2025 15:59
- ruskington lincolnshie
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Neale Backhouse
| neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Hi Alex, No not metaphorically, it was a walk principally around your neighbourhood in Shields. You met and talked to a man and described the area as you remembered it. You also said that you now lived in Montreal and were a Naval Architect. WRT my birthday, everything went swimmingly,the weather was fine and the girls produced mounds of food.I felt like a big shot, at least for one day. Tomorrow is son Eric's birthday, (53) and he will receive similar treatment. Cheers, Neale.
Sat 21-Jun-2025 22:13
- Victoria BC
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Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951
| ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Hello all, Just a short note for Neale, BTW it's his 90th birthday tomorrow...so don't forget like I have many times over the 79 years we've known each other. Neale you said in your last email that you had seen me on one of the Shields' video walks. Was that actually or as we say 'metaphorically' I'd like to know. also I love watching "Reckless" which I have done numerous times over the years I remember seeing her in "Dune" many years ago in the 80's or 90's and she was delectable then and she was even more delectabler after umpty years...like all of us. HBFT Alex
Wed 18-Jun-2025 00:44
- North York, Ontario, Canada
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Neale Backhouse
| neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Ok Alex. Thanks for the update. I do a lot of treadmilling metaphorically.It helps me to lie down with a clear conscience. I think I might walk a treadmill but I can't see myself running very far. I had hoped to see you on the trail because I'd seen you on one of the walking tours of old South Shields. Oh incidently I got it wrong. The name of the TV show featuring Robson was Reckless not Restless
Thu 12-Jun-2025 00:18
- Victoria BC
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Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951
| ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Hi Neale et al, Thanks for the note, but when I said I'd walked with Robson Green, I should have inserted "metaphorically" somewhere. I was on the treadmill with my iPhone propped up on the dashboard watching the same three episodes that you saw...lots of trivia and pleasant to watch. I wish I had accompanied him, 'cause he seems a canny lad. Were you treadmilling while you watched it? I hope you were. Take care of you, Alex
Wed 11-Jun-2025 19:41
- North York, Ontario, Canada
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Neale Backhouse
| neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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In your last entry, Alex, it was interesting to read that actor Robson Green was previously, in his early years, one of us.I can easily imagine that he much preferred cozying up to Francesca Annis (see "Restless", BBC 1997) to pushing a drawing pen! You mentioned meeting him during his making a documentary feature about a hike along the whole length of Hadrian's Wall. That caught my interest so I watched all three episodes, hoping to see Alex Patterson, but to no avail. Did you stay in the background or were you talking about a later feature starring the actor (he's done a lot). I remember camping, as a teenager, near Once Brewed, in Northumberland, and hiking a section of the Wall. We had spent the previous night in an old barn nearby and were awakened during the night by a group of rock climbers who seemed to think we had trespassed on their property. Next day we passed them, or rather heard them, way up on the cragside, by the trail, yelling at us that we were going in the wrong direction. We survived! Cheers, Neale.
Tue 10-Jun-2025 20:58
- Victoria BC
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Bruce Graham
| bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com
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Thanks for the comment Alex.
I was in the A class - no difference , still a 9 month waiting list for the scout troop.
You may be right about the limited number of class photographs. Mind you photography was expensive back then.
Nowadays everybody seems photograph almost everything on their smart phones - though what they do with all of the images eludes me,
Sun 8-Jun-2025 20:40
- ruskington lincolnshie
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Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951
| ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com
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Hello Bruce, I seem to remember input, from I think, Eric Moyse, years ago about the scout troop being limited to A form students only. Also that only A forms had class photos taken. I think that letter must have been about 15 years ago Cheers, Alex
Sun 8-Jun-2025 02:46
- North York, Ontario, Canada
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