Prefects, 4X and 5X 1959/60

Laindon High Road School

Prefects. 4X and 5X Laindon High Road School 1959/60.
Christine Honess

Photograph kindly supplied by Christine Honess.  We hope we have named them all correctly.

Back Row from the left:  1.  Melvyn Eldridge.  2. Philip Washington.  3.  John Stenson.  4. Stefan Labedski.  5. Arthur Martin.  6. John Randall.  7. Stanley Quinn.

Middle Row from the left:  1. Cynthia Jones.  2. Margaret Cousins  3. Pat Gray.  4. Christine Haberfield.  5. Roselyn Preece.  6. Ann Dolton.  7.  Ann Goodchild.  8. Josie Hunt.  9. Maureen Perry.

Front Row from the left:  1. Georgina Ellingford.  2. Valerie Skudder.  3. John Ward (Head Boy).  4. Mr Jack Woodward (Headmaster).  5. Evelyn Hollington (Head Girl).  6. Terry Marks.  7. Christine Honess.

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  • Christine Honess is my mum. She married Peter Short, also a former LHR school pupil. They moved to Shotgate, Wickford in 1979, where mum rekindled her friendship with Chris Haberfield. We lived literally just up the road from her. Sadly mum died very suddenly last April 2023 and we miss her terribly. Dad still lives in Shotgate. My mum always spoke very fondly of her school days and she loved to learn throughout her life. She got two bachelor degrees whilst in her 60’s a love she acquired at LHR school.

    By Tracey Hall (21/02/2024)
  • Dear Stephen, I am Gina Nottage (nee Ellingford) and your mother was a school friend. As a teenager I spent many lovely weekends at your grandmother’s house in Laindon High Road. I went with your mother, Ann Rawlison (nee Dolton) and her sister Jill on holiday to Switzerland and Austria.
    I knew all four of your granparents, your Aunt Jennifer and of course I knew your dad.
    When I married I came back to Essex to live and the last time I saw your parents was at Basildon Hospital and they were with your Aunt Margaret and her husband. Your Aunt Margaret was my Guide Captain and I would be grateful if you would remember me to her.
    Unfortunately time and distance (I moved to London) caused us to loose contact.

    By Georgina Nottage nee Ellingford (11/04/2020)
  • Christine Winfield née Haberfield was my mum. Jennifer her sister, my aunt. My mum died in 2012 and is buried locally having lived in Shotgate since 1969.

    She married the son of the local vicar and only gave up half her surname- my dad’s name being Winfield!

    Christine’s sister Margaret still lives locally and is nearly 90!

    By Stephen Winfield (10/04/2020)
  • Nina, thanks for enlightening me on Jennifer Haberfield. Such a tragic thought, how could she have been taken from us at such a young age. In our school all the girls sat in twos. I am struggling hard to recall who sat with Jennifer Haberfield. All I know is that Jennifer was a great young talent. Mr Rees knew this and it was clear that she was set for greater things in achievement and this is probably why she moved on to better schools than LHR. From memory she was a lovely and intelligent little girl. How cruel she should be taken from us so young. I hope she is with the angels now, what a sweet little person.

    By Richard Haines (10/08/2017)
  • As I’ve said before on this site, I was at LHR with Jennifer Haberfield in Mr Rees’s class. She was very intelligent, one of the best in the class. My memory of her is a pretty little girl, always smart with a white blouse and dark navy blue cardigan. She is in the 1958 photo and I did comment on there that I never knew she had tragically died in 1962. My guess is that she transferred to a different school after passing her 13 plus. I cant be sure of this but I don’t remember Jennifer in the third, fourth or fifth year. Maybe Georgina Nottage can clarify please.

    By Richard Haines (09/08/2017)
  • Richard.  Yes Jennifer Haberfield did go on to Grammar school.  She went to the same Sunday school as my cousin – St Peters.  The story was in the local paper – Jennifer was supposed to be confirmed at St Nicholas Church but went downhill suddenly, so the Bishop of Barking (who was to do the confirmations that year) went to her house and confirmed her there just a day or so before she died. So very sad.

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (09/08/2017)
  • Christine Haberfield was a personal friend of mine.  I spent many happy weekends at Mayville as I was by then living in Stratford, E15.  She married Arthur Winfield who was the son of the Rev Winfield of St Nicholas Church c. 1950/60’s.  Arthur died the year before Christine.  They had two sons together. 

    By Georgina Nottage née Ellingford (07/08/2017)
  • That is most interesting.  I had checked for the correct spelling.   According to the official BMD (Births, Marriage and Deaths) records Jennifer, born 1947, was registered as Habberfield.  Also her parents’ marriage record (1941) shows their names as Victor and Florence Habberfield. Christine’s birth in 1944 was also registered with the spelling Habberfield. 

    Having read Richard’s comment I double checked the records and I found another Jennifer born 1947 and Christine born 1943 with the surname Haberfield. Their parents being Harold and Lilian Haberfield.  In future I will need to double check all the records for any similar co-incidence.  I have made the adjustment accordingly.

    The Haberfield family once lived in ‘Mayville’ High Road, Laindon.

    Sadly both girls are no longer with us.  Jennifer passed away in 1962 with Leukemia and Christine passed away recently.

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (01/08/2017)
  • Editor; Haberfield has only one b. I was in Jennifer’s class!

    By Richard Haines (31/07/2017)
  • I’m sure that nos. 2 and 3 middle row are Margaret Cousins and Pat Gray.

    By Georgina Nottage nèe Ellingford (30/07/2017)
  • 59/60 must have been a brilliant year, everyone in this photo looks happy – and why wouldn’t they be, it was the best little school in the world. I don’t remember many of these pupils, they were far too grown up and important, being prefects as well.

    I do recall a lot of the surnames, I presume Ann Goodchild was related to Sandra Goodchild, Christine Habberfield related to Jennifer Habberfield, Evelyn Hollington to Dorothy Hollington and Christine Honess to Marilyn Honess, all of which were younger and were in my year or thereabouts.

    I still have mixed feelings about Jack Woodward after all these years, a visit to his office was often painful.

    By Richard Haines (30/07/2017)

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