The Diaries of Russell James Sparrow 1908 to 1991
School after the War 1918 We returned to Ipswich just before the end of the war and I went back to Springfield school and after a few weeks sat an examination for entrance to the “Muni”, i.e. Ipswich Municipal Secondary School for Boys (now Northgate) in Tower Ramparts just above the Cornhill. I was successful enough to gain entry on half-fees and started there in 1918 in form Transition. My particular pal at school was Bert Garrod a farmer’s son from Copt Hall, Bildeston and I spent part of one summer holiday with them on the farm. He had two older brothers, Willie and Jack, also at the school and the three of them used to live during the week with Mr and Mrs Boar, a funny old couple who kept a chandlers shop in Bramford Road. We used to keep his door knocker in working order by remote control i.e. a piece of string taken through the hedge and round the corner. My weekend pals were Vic Thread Kell, who later joined the navy as a boy, was commissioned and killed during the war at sea, Alan Crane who became a Baptist Missionary, and Ken Nurse whose father was Manager of the local Co-op where they lived in a flat above the shop. He had a sister Phyllis who was a bit of a goer! We formed a football team called Surbiton Road Rovers and played our matches on Saturday mornings in one of the parks, mostly Christchurch. We would take ourselves off on hikes into the country, which at that time was close by because there was hardly a building the other side of the railway bridges in Bramford Road and Bramford Lane. One of our favourite jaunts was to the slaughterhouse at Sproughton where we would sneak up and peep through the crack in the doors and watch the slaughter of pigs, sheep and bullocks. Blood thirsty little so and sos! Those were the days when you could play games in the road without fear of being run over unless by a horse or a cycle. Spinning tops, bowling hoops and ‘tip 15
