Post-war friendships that stood test of time

So it was at All Saints Junior School in Emscote, Warwick, in 1952, where the headmaster, Mr L.J. Twigger, was particularly keen to extend the hand of friendship to people living more than 10,000 miles away in Queensland, Australia.

The Australian town was - and still is - called Warwick.

And during the war the townsfolk Down Under generously sent food parcels to help their English namesakes in Warwickshire.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s letters flowed freely between schoolchildren in Warwick - and Warwick.

Around 1957, in a bid to keep up with modern technology, Mr Twigger decided they should also record their voices on one of the cumbersome new tape recorders that were coming into vogue.

When he appealed for help to do this, a Mr Onions, from Leek Wootton, donated his own tape recorder and so, for the first time, the voices of the English youngsters could be heard in what was to become an annual exchange message.

The two town mayors also got in on the act but it must have been an odd mix. The Warwickshire pupils were only aged ten and 11 whilst the Australians - who wrote exciting letters about native Aborigines coming in to demonstrate boomerang throwing - were several years older.

Next month members of the Emscote Local History Project will stage an exhibition about the area to mark the 150th anniversary of All Saints Church. And they are still keen to hear more about the friendships forged during the decades of letter writing.

Kathleen Smallman, who was headteacher at the school between 1981 and 1992, said: “I remember both Mr Twigger, who retired in 1968, and the class teacher, Mrs Taylor, who kept the penpals links going during their time.

As well as recording the sounds of their own voices, children like Lynda Rafferty and Robert Patterson added extra flavour with the sounds of peacocks calling in the grounds of Warwick Castle and the bells of St Mary’s pealing out.

Before the school moved from All Saints Road to its present site in Nelson Avenue in the 1960s there had been lots of visits from Australians who came to Britain.

Among that was an actor called Robert Kelly, who was president of the Brisbane Shakespeare Society and had come to Stratford to attend the 1959 Shakespeare’s Birthday celebrations. The children learned to sing Waltzing Matilda in his honour.

Other memories and photographs from former penpals would be greatly appreciated by Miss Smallman and fellow members of the Emscote Local History group whose exhibition in the church in Vicarage Field will run from July 2 to July 10. This will include an I Remember special exhibition between 2-4pm on July 6.

If you have memories to share contact Miss Smallman on 494403.