Elliott School Southfields     Back to Main Index

If you have a picture, that others might like to see - Send it to us as an 1000 x 700 (or better) jpg. If you think emailing, or scanning is beyond you please ask for our help. We can always scan the pictures for you and then return them.

Above in remarkable good condition is the back of the picture below. It was sent in by Mr Patrick Williams, who is in the third row from the front and second from the left. Going by the date of the signatures it is safe to assume this photo was taken during the last few days at school before the summer break of 1946.

Back Row L-R ? ?, Peter Matthews, George Wenglowitz, Johnny Morris, ? ?, ? ?, ? ?, ? ?, John Temple ? ?, ? ?.
Third Row Mr H Wallace Hill (English), Patrick Williams, John Ewing, Ted Rowe, Bernard Brady, Doug James, S A Bullenthorpe, Geoffrey Trett, ? ?, John Siary (School Captain), Anthony Brewis, Mr Arthur Owen, Mr J Armitage.
Second Row Mr Ed Fennell (Geography), Mr E S Colloff (Maths; Football), Mr J Benjamin, Mr H A Wilkinson (Maths), Mr Harry Taylor (History), Mr Nugent (Headmaster), Mr W R Mitchell (Art), Mr Gilbert May, Mr G Hofmann, Miss Burgess (French).
Front Row Ernie F Webb (England Under 18 Football Goalkeeper), ? ?, ? ?, J Deadman ? ?, ? ?, ? ?, ? ?, ? ?, Stanley Kearton, Dennis Palmer.

Picture sent by Lazarus Sheridan and was take around 1947/8. The location is the playing field at the rear of the 'original' Elliott School. This area was also used by Riversdale School. The trademark architecture of the Henry Prince Estate (as often featured on "The Bill TV series), can clearly be seen in the background.

Back row L to R Mr Ruskin, Mr. Mason, Mr. Sheridan ? ?. Middle row Mr. Wilkinson, Mr. Hemens, Mr Wife, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Hofmann, Mr Howe, Mr. Owen.
Front row Mr Church, ? ?, Miss. Burgess, Mr. James, Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Hill and Mr. Colloff.

A wonderful image of a Southfields mixed class around 1905 complete with Gas lighting, almost unbelievable today

Mr. Price on the right with a mixed class around 1905

A much older class with Mr. T. B. Smith around 1905/6

The School's PE Demo Team for the County Hall Jubilee in 1935, does anyone know how they got on? Note that what was presumably once the girl’s entrance has being blocked off with a bookcase.

Southfields School 1909 Winners of Challenge cup Miniature rifles, Mr Price on right. You cannot help but wonder how many of them when straight into the Army and ended their short lives in Europe

Mr. Price with other members of staff believed to be in 1909, if you can add any other names please do?

Picture taken in the hall as the floor was undergoing some treatment around 1949 and shows (on the left) Mr. Mitchell the First Assistant (Deputy Head) contemplating the floor; To his left is Lazarus Sheridan, Shrensky-Sheridan (English & P.E.) talking with Mr.Knight (Woodwork) Miss Burgess by the door, Mr Andrew and Mr Mason beneath the framed photograph of Sir Charles Elliott.

An Open Day in 1949. From Lazarus Sheridan

The Picture is of a play "Christopher Columbus" which Lazarus Sheridan produced for Open Day in 1949. Names of boys who took part pencilled on the back of the original picture are Brewington, Mace, Palmer, Reeves, Ashby, Lacey and Trimmer . The dress rehearsal was performed before the invited audience of the Elliott Girls' School and one of the leading actors fainted on the stage as the girls marched in to the hall before the curtain even parted!! Picture from Lazarus Sheridan

Picture of a patrol from the 1st Stoughton Scout Troop, dated 1944. Stoughton is a district in Guildford and the school was evacuated to the area during the 2nd World War. Three of the seven boys Peter George and Patrick, were in the same class at the Elliott Central School. The Troop:- Unknown, Patrick Williams, unknown, unknown, unknown, Peter Matthews and George Wenglowitz. Picture from: Patrick Williams. You can read Patrick's recollections, in the Elliott at War section

Patrick Williams supplied the photo and writes: Those taking part are - from the left - unknown (but he is the boy 3rd from right, back row and wearing a tie, in the 6th Form Photo); Brady; Patrick Williams; unknown; George Wenglowitz and unknown. (I know them all, but can't remember their names).

Notice the mix of footwear; plimsolls, football boots and ordinary shoes among them. Long before the days when one had to worry whether one was wearing the right trainers!

I also entered the one mile race; Houses were competing with each other. I think there were only four Houses - Saxons, Norman, Danes - I can't remember the fourth House (Celt ED). But there were 6 entrants in the race. Only the first four would score points. After 3 laps I was trailing a miserable sixth, behind Doug James. (see the form photo) I think Doug's fags were beginning to take their toll, and realising he wasn't going to score points for his team, he dropped out. I was still half a lap behind, but remembering the words of Winston Churchill that we should never surrender, I trailed in a pathetic fifth. No points, but a most gratifying cheer all to myself from the handful of spectators in the grandstand.

This photo was taken at the opening of the School Field in 1929. The photographer was Mr. H "Harold" Parker of Brookwood Road Southfields.
Some thirty years later the webmaster would get his first part time job with Mr Parker and start to learn how to process images Pictures from Alan Morrin

This photo shows Staff and Pupils from 1939. Again the the photographer was Mr. Parker of Brookwood Road Southfields
Back row, L-R:- Cyril Green, Dennis Cooper, Reg Avery, Dennis Jeffries, Alan Patey, Bernard Haylett, Gordon Redwood, John Barber, Dennis Bullen, Henry Neale, Mervyn Harris.
Centre row, left to right:- Harold Roberts, Kenneth Lewis, Ronald Merrett, Alfred Jeffrey, Edward Goodyere, George Kirby, Robert Kirby (not related), John Law, Ronald Smith, Edward Bailey, Arthur Hathaway.
Front row left to right: Mr. Armitage (Science),Unknown, Mr. Fennell (Geography). Mr. Colloff (English), Mr. Mitchell (Art), Mr. D.W. Llewellyn (Headmaster), Mr.Cadman (Shorthand, Typewriting and Bookkeeping), Mr.Dowsett (French), Mr.Cole (History), Possibly Mr. Wilkinson.
Pictures from Jeff Jeffrey (via Alan Morrin) This picture was in fact salvaged from the wreckage of Jeff's family's house in Norroy Road, Putney, when it was destroyed by a V1 bomb in 1944. It went with him when he emigrated to Australia in 1957.

Jeff adds: Mr. Hill (a nice gentle man, taught English Lit) is not in this photo. He always wore a cap - even in class - because he had a habit of stroking his hair and it was starting to fall out (that should make him easy to identify in other photos). Also not in the photo were Mr. Owen (Science) and Mr. Hughes (Woodwork). These latter shared a separate building along the north side - a science lab and a woodwork shop back to back. There were three single-storey buildings in the old school. The building nearest to Wandsworth contained forms 1, 2, 3 and 5 of the boys' school. The centre building was 4th form boys, the art room, a science lab, gymnasium and a girls' form. The third building (nearest Wimbledon) contained the rest of the girls forms. The photo was taken in the playground between the first and second buildings - the back of the first building is behind the group.

This is a school party that went to Rouen in 1948. In the centre of the third row from the front are 3 staff members Miss Hewetson (Head) is in the centre with Miss Mountjoy (music) on her left (as you look at it) and Miss Casley (French) on the right.

Alan Trengove sent us this evocative picture. Alan spent his days at the Elliott days evacuated (with the Girls School) to Guildford, because of the war. The picture shows six boys from the Elliott gardening group with the Guildown house gardener (Mr Wells) wheeling his barrow. He says "I can't identify the two boys on the extreme left. The third boy from the left (at the rear) is Frank Turner. I am the fourth boy from the left (in the foreground). I recognise the face of the fifth boy from the left, but can't put a name to him. The sixth boy from the left is Peter Couchman". He adds "Usually, the boys who had volunteered to be gardeners, walked up the road to an allotment that presumably the school had leased, and scratched the soil around there. However, this picture was taken on a plot of ground adjacent to the large greenhouse."

Guildown House Guildford, viewed from the garden. This was the Elliott for some pupils during the Second World War

A very rare image believed to be Pre- First World War showing the playground at Elliott Schools Southfields Note the Boys' and Girls' separated by a fence.

Unknown School Group 1939

First Girls' School in Guildford (Note it does say "Boys' School" in the brickwork but of course this was war time, when things were somewhat fluid!)
Back Row L-R: Jean Grigor, Megan Thomas, Joyce Horton, Eileen Johnson, Angela Gower, Rita Webber, Joan Thatcher, Daphne Watson Pat Havelock, Betty Solly, Jean Cocking
Front Row L-R: Madeline Habgood, Jean Pomroy, Kathleen Jackson, Irene Cox, Grace Kingston, Joan Pace, Lillian Godwin, Moyna Jones, Zena Arkus, Mrs Westmorland-White.
Photos courtesy of Mrs Rita Steele nee Webber, via June Broomer.

Pre-First World War school hall at Southfields (Note the gas lamps).

Jeff Jeffrey adds "The wooden stairs on the right led up to the headmaster's study/office. The teachers in the picture appear to be female, so it was probably the headmistress's study. The gas lamps were still there in my time (1939), so was the dais and the desk on the left. The headmaster, Mr. Llewellyn, would conduct morning prayers from there. The classes lined up in their forms facing him. The piano accompaniment for the hymns was played by Mr. Thomas, one of the teachers - a quiet gentleman with nicotine-stained fingers. At the end of prayers, he would play a rousing march and the boys would march off, form by form, to their classrooms".

The Staff at the old Elliott Boys' School in 1952.
Back row L-R. Ted Porter, Cecil (taffy) Owen, Mr Howe, ?, Mr Hemens, Mr Mason, ?, Mr Morgan, Mr Hook and Mr Andrew
Front row L-R Mr Owen, Mr Hill, Mr Hofmann, Mr Colloff, Mr James, Mr Mitchell, Miss Burgess and Mr Knight, .

4th year at Elliott Central in 1949 doing the sword dance. Joyce Morris is one of the dancers, Barbara Barwis is another. Can you add any names?
Picture from Barbara Pollard (Now Barwis) 1946 - 1949

Unknown Elliott Girls from around 1952 to 1957

More Unknown Elliott Girls from aound 1952 to 1957

John Merlini says "Our 1947 Holiday Camp photo shows Don Brown, Alan Trengove and me setting out on an organised walk during our Hayling Island holiday. If you look at the back row of the walking party there are 4 young males. The 2nd from the right is Don; the 3rd from the right (not counting the little girl) is Alan: and the 4th, (white flagpole in background) is me".
Picture from John Merlini via Patrick Williams

The Annual Dinner of the Old Elliottonians, probably at Wandsworth Town Hall in 1949

We think the forth from the right must be The Rev Green, Chairman of the Governors. Photos courtesy of Mrs Rita Steele nee Webber, via June Broomer.

The Winning Relay team at the Annual Central Schools' All-London Competitions in 1938. Shown with the New South Wales Trophy presented by Australian Schools (it has a Kangaroo at the top of it). They are: Pat Cockings, Poppy Stone, Edna Pace and Joan Bignall and the photo is from the Christmas 1938 School Magazine.
From Daphne Watson Weiss nee Watson. Elliott 1938 - 1945 (Guildford 1942-1944)

This wonderful picture is from a postcard and was loaned to us by Howard Webb, who has a fascinating Postcard website at Postcards then and now.

The image must have been taken in Merton Road (can you imagine that today) somewhere around 1911, looking North East toward the Old School, presumably at leaving time.
The picture has been altered from the charming original to reveal more detail. It goes without saying however, that the picture is copyright and may not be reproduced without Howard's permission.

Below is an aerial picture taken by the webmaster (Andy Lambert) around 1980, looking down on the 'Southfield Grid' while flying somewhere above West Hill. On the left in Blue is marked out the site of the combined Elliott and Riversdale Schools, although by 1980 much of the modernisation had been done. In the distance in Green can be seen the Old Central Hall School, where some of us went as infants and in Yellow is the Southfields School. In Red can be seen the tip of the Wandsworth School and at the top right Wimbledon Park (with the lake) where sometimes we all meet after school..