School memories include eye-witness account of a fire

Horsham author John Snelling has given an eye witness account of a major fire in which a whole school burned down in 1940.
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His father was a part-time policeman at the time and was allowed into the ruins the next day, taking John with him and filming it on a cine-camera.

John picks up the story: “Tucked away beside Horsham’s Victory Road Recreation Ground, on land once called The Common, lies Trafalgar School, formerly called Victory Road School.

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“I remember going there for the first time and bawling so lustily that they must have heard me in The Carfax. Throughout this skirmish, Miss Way, the head teacher, was never in danger of losing her badge of office, a blue straw hat.

A still taken from the cine-camera film of John Snelling as a boy in the ruins of Victory Road SchoolA still taken from the cine-camera film of John Snelling as a boy in the ruins of Victory Road School
A still taken from the cine-camera film of John Snelling as a boy in the ruins of Victory Road School

“Well, it was my first day at school and the year must have been 1936. Other teachers were Miss Messeter, standing a good 4ft 6in in her socks. Also there was a lanky Miss Henessey, who would have made an acceptable Tiller Girl, if either of us in 1936 knew what that was.

“On the freezing night of January 10, 1940, the Victory Road schools all went up in flames, all three of them, infants, boys and girls, leaving unscathed only three playgrounds, three sets of lavatories and a small estate of air-raid shelters, unloved by all except the family of invading glow-worms.

“I could see the school from my bedroom and my parents woke me to see and hear the spectacle taking place. And I wept to see it.

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“I also learned that the noise of a conflagration is just as scary as the sight of one.

A still taken from the cine-camera film of the ruins of Victory Road SchoolA still taken from the cine-camera film of the ruins of Victory Road School
A still taken from the cine-camera film of the ruins of Victory Road School

“The police communicate differently these days, as in 1936 a constable came to the door asking to use our phone!

“And was this devastation due to German bombing? No, the nearest German was over 100 miles away at the time.

“The next morning, water from the hoses had left icy stalactites hanging from the single sycamore by the school gate. I wonder if that old tree is still there?”

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The West Sussex County Times reported at the time that the weather was so cold, water froze the firefighters’ uniforms as they tackled the blaze during six-hour vigil.

The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940
The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940

The fire broke out in the infants school and the school burned down overnight. Members of the Old Boys’ Association were at a dance in the Trinity Hall at the time and rushed out to see if they could help. The fire, though, was unstoppable and all they could do was watch as their old school was destroyed.

The County Times report said: “From the outside, the bare walls of the roofless building, with its blackened timbers and broken windows, bore mute witness to the extent of the damage.

“But it was not until one walked amid the smouldering, silent ruins of the classrooms that one could appreciate the full extent of the fire’s destruction.”

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There was nothing left of the infants school, the heat so intense it even melted the iron legs of the desks.

The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940
The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940

The boys’ school fared better, with some of the desks unburned, though they were sodden with water and bore the charred remains of the roof.

In the girls’ school, the iron legs of some of the desk jutted up from the smouldering floor and the storeroom where supplies such as textbook and pencils were stored was nothing but ashes.

As for the 500 children who showed up the next day for lessons, rumour quickly spread that the school would take two years to rebuild – which some of the younger ones took to mean they would enjoy a very long holiday.

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It was not to be. The efficient teachers, along with the town council and various businesses took just four days to find alternative accommodation for the schools.

Help with supplies came from as far afield as Chichester and the Horsham children did their bit.

The County Times reported: “One little girl brought her own desk from home. Another child handed a teacher a pile of notepaper saying: ‘I thought you would like to have this as I know you like to make notes about things to tell us’.”

The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940
The ruins of Victory Road School after the fire in January 1940

Among John’s mementoes is a picture of his infant class at Christmas in 1936 or 1937. He can be seen seated on the floor, dressed as a spider.

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He said: “Norah Peskett can be seen being frightened. Others either identified or likely to be there are June Frogley, Harold Over, Leslie Chatfield, Audrey Trott, Rosemary Madgwick, Donald Smallwood, Leslie Clack and Sheila Comper.

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