Laindon High Rd School Trip 1955

My one claim to fame

I can remember the school trip very well but the actual date I am afraid I will have to rely on one of you readers to maybe fill in the correct date. I remember being very excited that day because the furthest I had ever been from Laindon was London on the Fenchurch Street line, now here I was going off miles away to the East Coast on a school trip, by steam train (which I loved) for a whole day and we were going to visit a castle as well.

Off we went to board the train at Shenfield Station, my mother and my Aunty Vera had told Silvia Turner (her Daughter) and I we must stay together as we were going such a long way from home. At Shenfield Station we were met by some photographers and Silvia and I were asked to stand by the engine to have some filming done for the East Anglian transport promotion film, of course being 14 year old super models how could we refuse hence the photo sent with this article, me being the one in the white pumps and bobby socks Silvia in the sandals. Hence as I have titled this article my one claim to fame.

I have never seen the whole film so if any readers could give me any idea where to get a copy if one still exists I would be very grateful.     

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  • Hi Richard. I read that too. Therefore, it would seem that what was taken that day by the photographers was a series of 51 stills on a film strip and it looks unlikely that an actual movie film was shot. Best wishes.

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (18/06/2012)
  • Hi Gloria; got a feeling that this ties in with my little article on here, about a 1955 school trip (with photo and names). We went from Shenfield??

    By Andrea (18/06/2012)
  • Hi Andrea. You are absolutely right. The photo in your article is the same as one of those I found on the website mentioned above. So it is the same trip of June 1955. My sister Anne told me that almost the entire school went along except for just a few who couldn’t afford it. The train went as far as Diss where you were transferred onto coaches to take you on to Norwich. Best wishes.

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (18/06/2012)
  • Hi Gloria I was interested in your article and enjoyed doing some research. Although I haven’t yet found a record of a movie, I have found a website where there are a further 5 photos on view and some others that are available upon request. The date of the trip is shown as June 1955. I think one of the boys standing behind you in one of the photos may be either Peter or John Sloper, but I am sure you will recognise many more of the faces. The website is as follows: http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk Then enter ‘Shenfield’ into the search box with the pink search button located on the top right of page, you should be able to see the other photographs taken on the platform. Also, if you enter ‘Shenfield Station’ into the search box you will see a photograph of the whole school party outside the station entrance. I will see what else I can discover. I really hope we get the chance to meet one day. Best wishes.

    Editor:  I’ve emailed Science and Society Picture Library and have asked for permission to reproduce the additional images on this website.

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (17/06/2012)
  • Hi Gloria I have just learned that my sister Anne was on that same trip. She was in 5X at the time. Therefore, it was definitely June 1955 as she left the school at the end of July 1955. There is a photo of some of her classmates on the train, on the website that I mentioned. (She has a photo of that day in one of her articles on this site and I recognised some of the dresses they were wearing and put two and two together.) If you do a search for number 10310194 on http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk it should come onto the screen. The number for the picture of you getting onto the train with one of the Sloper boys behind you is 10310187. Numbers for some of the other pictures are 10310185, 10310197 and 10310198. Let’s hope the whole film can be tracked down. Best wishes.

    By Nina Humphrey(née Burton) (17/06/2012)
  • Hi Gloria and Nina I looked on google for this and came up with British Transport Films and this direct extract; Filmstrips List -To Norwich And The Norfolk Broads (BT235 – 1955 – 51 frames) The day’s adventure of a party of schoolchildren who visited Norwich and then went for a trip on the Broads.

    However, thats where I stopped- so it was definitely 1955 and things may be traceable on film.

    By Richard Haines (17/06/2012)

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