Herbert Strutt School: Photos from the 1920's

Updated: Monday, August 19, 2013   |   Belper Historical & Genealogical Website

This page is an introduction to the photographs kindly provided by Roger Vincent whose mother attended Herbert Strutt School, Belper, in the 1920's. But further photographs and a history of the school may be found on this excellent community website: here

In Mr Vincent's covering letter he says:

"These are photographs taken by my mother Edith Weskett during her school days 1920 to 1925 at Herbert Strutt School.

My grandfather, Frederick William Weskett (Will), worked for the Post Office all his life and moved from Crawley to become Postmaster in Matlock in 1920. My mother once told me that as a girl of thirteen she remembered arriving in Derbyshire at night and seeing the lights of Matlock twinkling in the snow.

Edith took amateur photos and created family albums all her life and the Herbert Strutt School photographs are all in an album entitled “Rambles with a Brownie” referring to the box-brownie Kodak camera she used at the time.

The first photograph of Form VIB at Herbert Strutt School was not part of the album but presumably a professionally taken school photo of which there may be many examples in existence. Unfortunately I do not have any names of pupils other than of course my mother who is in the middle row third from right.

However you will see on the photo that was taken in 1923, staff members do have names against them which I hope you can decipher.

I believe Edith’s older sister Joanne also attended Herbert Strutt School, but her eldest still sister Phyllis was in Bristol at the time of the move to Matlock. I’m not aware that Edith kept in touch long-term with any other school friends. Her lifelong friend whom she met through Matlock Post Office was Mrs Jess Bradshaw (nee Dickinson) who was older than my mother. Jess was described in 1980 in the local press article on her 90th birthday as Matlock Opera’s ‘Grand Old Lady’.

On Will Weskett’s retirement in 1925 the family moved to Tisbury, Wiltshire where Edith and Joanna opened a small private school. They became very involved in village life until eventually marrying their future husbands. As a matter of interest, Edith’s albums have been borrowed and copied by the Tisbury Historical Society.

I hope these photographs may prove of interest. They certainly provide treasured memories from my own family."
Herbert Strutt School
From Roger Vincent
Hargreave Chester
February 2011

Feedback 2013: One of the photos – Master Cecil Round -  was sent to me by my cousin, Jean Timms, nee Stone. He is certainly my father. He moved in 1929 to become Headmaster of Wirksworth Grammar School. Percy Round

 

 

© Copyright 2011 Tricia Booth BACK HOME CONTACT

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