School Journey

A Memory of Rustington.

As a sickly child, I missed much of my early schooling and eventually attended schools for the physically handicapped. My senior school was the Venetian School for boys in Camberwell, south London. We went on School Journeys during my attendance there; two of them were to Rustington Lido. Few of us had been out of London, except perhaps those who, like myself, had been evacuated from the city during WWII. The Lido was a delightful place and I remember especially not so much the detailed architecture, but the general air of spaciousness and light that was so different from London at that time, then a shabby, battered, place post-war.

I remember the second visit rather than the first one. I would have been 14-15 then (in 1951) and I have a photograph somewhere(!) taken with my friend George sitting by the pool. It was early season, probably after Easter time, but there were individual people present. There was a particularly pretty girl (I was nearly 15 after all!) who occupied a room on the upper story of our block and who would desport herself outside her room while drying off with a towel after swimming. We were informed as to the meaning of these activities by our driver, Jock, who had been a tank driver during WWII and used language which was graphic, but best not expressed here! We got the message both from Jock and the girl!

I remember particularly a 'camp activist' who got us to do things. He had a magnetic personality and we would do just about anything for him. He proposed a concert one evening; it was held in the hall that I have seen again in one of the photographs. There was a gentleman of advanced years (probably in his 50s I expect!) who sang a comic song of the old style, 'Captain Ginger'. I still sing it myself sometimes, though I can't remember all the words now. The words I do remember are as follows: "Ginger, Ginger, they call me Captain Ginger, I'm a jolly old sport and I'm O.T. hot, 95 in the shade, What! What! I love the ladies, not one would I endinger, All the girls run after me, jolly old Captain Ginger".

One of my school friends, Terry Barber, played a piece on his clarinette, which he had thoughtfully taken with him on the School Journey and I played from memory (and for the first time and never again) a Chopin Nocturne (sorry about that!) on the piano, which fortunately was already on the platform. Happy days. Many thanks to our supervising teachers, Mrs D L Watson and Ronald Drummond Ottley. By chance I was in contact with Mr Ottley's daughter, who joined us briefly during that School Journey, some years ago. Although 10 years younger than me I was unable to persuade her to engage with me, which was a pity as she too might have remembered Rustington Lido in 1951. I have reasons to be in the Rustington area in the next few weeks and had hoped to see the Lido again. Alas!

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