Thanks a lot to Janet and others for the recent help in identifying people.

when I attended St Bernard’s in 1970. I started in Mrs Gibbons Kindergarten Class and then went up to Mrs Church’s Transition Class until the school closed. My brother Paul was two years ahead and my cousin Esther Camenzind four years above me. When the school closed quite a few of the pupils went onto Hilsea College…as did Mrs Gibbons and Mrs Church for a while. I remeber Sister Mary John as the Headmistress and Mrs Lewendon as the school secretary.

My maiden name is Hennessy (sister to Mary, Patrick & James, 3 of my 6 siblings) & I attended St Josephs in 1963 & I am child 145 in that year photo, my friend Francesca Harrison is child 135 (sister of Roland Harrison)

My sister Mary appears in the 1962 photo, top row, fifth from the left. There is a comment on your website saying Mary died of cancer, sadly this is true, she died in February 1995. Her married name was Allen & she lived in Burgess Road, just across from the original convent school, which was in the Holy Ghost, in the Presbytery building, where the Sisters of Charity then lived. My late Father, Dick Hennessy, helped the Nuns (Sisters of Charity), cutting wood for the fires in the Bolton Lodge house & generally helping out when they needed it.
I can’t be certain but am pretty sure that child 143 (1963 photo) is John Bennett & child 123 is his younger brother Martin Bennett (deceased)

It was all such a long time ago, but some of my memories are so clear, Miss McNulty handing out Maltesers, that wonderful staircase, gazing out the huge sash windows out into the lovely gardens and magnificent trees………..

I went on to St Annes with Francesca & Roland & both John & Martin, Martin was in my year, I met up again with John & Martin at QMC & we became quite good friends whilst at 6th form.  I lost touch with Martin & John, sadly Martin died about 10 years ago (maybe more?) Martin was a lovely person & its very sad.

Grace Burke (now Webber) was at the school in the late 60s/early 70s and she has sent a fantastic cutting from the Basingstoke Gazette dated 3rd July 1970

Grace says “There are a lot of names in the cutting which may jog memories and if I make reasonable assumptions, re, part sharing and the groups of birds…me!..imps, sugar plums and fairies then I think the whole school was involved, so there were around 170 pupils then.

The cutting appeared in The Basingstoke Gazette on July 3rd 1970. I am the the one at the far right of the picture and I remember this…how sad is that! I was a bird. My name at the time was Grace Burke and I was 8 years 2 months old. I started at the school Easter 1967, just before my 5th birthday and left when we moved out of the area in July 1971.

In addition my brother was also at the school for a couple of terms, Jan 1971 until July 1971. His name is David H.J. Burke.

Unfortunately due to my tender years I dont have any other names and am not in touch with any of my fellow pupils.

I do however remember these little snippets, which I think indicate that the property was undergoing some work at the time.

• I hid some money in a pile of sand and couldn’t find it again!!
• There was a roped of area by the main building with a notice saying “Care, Falling Slates”….I remember it because I thought it said Care, Falling Snakes!!!.. I was little!

”

The cast list taken from the article is as follows:

• Sister Mary John
• Mrs V Murphy (piano)
• Bridget Burden (Hansel)
• Kathleen Gorman (Gretel)
• Sally Anne Deane (pedlar)
• Pippa Wyville (pedlar)
• Clare O’Boyle (witch)
• Susan Fogg (step mother/angel)
• Brendan Hickey (father)
• Mary Johnson (fairy queen)
• Graham Reason (prince)
• Gillian Brimcombe (?)
• Susanne ? (?)
• Julie Purdue (tap dancing)
• Fiona Murphy (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy)

Diane Errey has been in touch to correct my spelling of her name and to point out that the girl we had as Imogen Stockbridge was in fact her sister Teresa Errey. She has also provided a photo of the two of them taken probably around 1959