Bella

3 hours ago, Canny lass said:

Hi Bella!

I left Westridge in 1962 and the headmaster was Mr George Gemming. His wife worked at the school as well, as some sort of secretary/clerical assistant. She wasn't, as far as I know, a teacher and I never heard her play the piano at morning assembly. That task was reserved for the music teacher. However, Symptoms may have been at the school after me and new routines may have been introduced. I believe Mrs Hemming's name was Elizabeth.

Thanks very much! I have just found them in the 1939 Register in Longbenton, and it appears she was Alice (nee Clark). On that record her occupation was "unpaid domestic duties'! He was an "Assistant Schoolmaker". Thank you for the clarification re teaching.  

4 hours ago, Eggy1948 said:

@Bella :- I'm not saying you will find the answer to your question  but have you input the name "Hemming" into the search box, top right hand corner, to see the topis the name Hemming is linked with?

I see a similar question has been asked on the Facebook group - Bedlington remembered by a new member, Diane, from Canada. Is there a link between Diane & Bella?  

And yes thanks, I did do a search earlier which is how I found out he was married. My Hemming grandmother came to Canada in 1912 and I am trying to piece together the genealogy. Thanks again.

Thank you. Yes that is me. Working on my family history from Canada and trying to find out Mrs. Hemming's name and whether they had children. Thanks again.

On ‎21‎/‎03‎/‎2013 at 16:39, Symptoms said:

And so ... "The Great Grand Piano Scandal".

It was a drudge always being marched into morning assembly expecting the same old God bothering tosh. Us kids stacked-up from front to back, boys on the left, girls on the right, with the beaks on guard at the outside edge. In he'd march with his team in tow to mount the stage, with a scowl to check all was well he'd signal us all to sit down at ease and those tubular chairs with their canvass slings, clattered back to take the strain. When he'd move forward to the lecturn spot and command us all to sing then his wife at the piano crashed down the keys ... THUD, THUD, THUD.

One morning before school started I pinched a roll of Izal* bog paper from the boys' netty, then crept into the assembly hall via the stage doors (back corridor near the workshops and changing rooms). The piano was always parked on stage ready for Mrs Hemmings to bash-out the tunes. I lifted the lid, depressed the sustain pedal (to lift the hammers off the strings) and slipped in a double layers of bog paper into the space between hammers and strings. Closing the piano lid I then made my escape. The effect of this was to completely muffle the piano's action rendering it silent ... I knew about how pianos worked because I went for piano lessons. I'd noticed that Mrs Hemmings always had a exuberant playing style and she usually led-in with a rather flash, and extended introduction to the hymns ... a perfect target for a jolly jape. I was never caught.

*Izal bog paper - hard shiny stuff ... non-absorbant and could easily produce 'paper cuts'. Amazingly, it's still available!

Perhaps next time - "Tales from School Camp".

Was this Headmaster Hemming's wife. Does anyone recall her name?