Barnsbury Boy - Dave Hollowell-Geddes – 1960-1965
Dave Hollowell-Geddes
I was born in December 1948 in the Salvation Army Mothers Hospital in Hackney and grew up in Thornhill Road (number 78) and went to Thornhill Road Juniors. I also went to Holy Trinity Church, Cloudsley Square, from a very young age and was in the Church Choir, and was also a Boy Scout. So, looking back you could say I was a 'Good Little Boy' - easy prey for school bullies. It was a short walk from my house, opposite Barnsbury Park, to Thornhill School, and I remember walking there in the mid-fifties in the smog. When we moved from Thornhill Road, I was the eldest of six children, used to living without a bathroom or indoor toilet. Our council house was in Holloway, so I was able to walk to the Camden Road school.
Due to an illness, chicken pox possibly, I did not take my 11+ with the rest of the class, and so took it later sitting in the Headmaster's Office (Mr. Parry) and, of course, I failed. I'm not sure if I 'picked' Barnsbury Boys, or it was picked for me. My younger brother passed his 11+ and went to Highbury County Grammar school.
In 1960, I started at Eden Grove. I used to walk down Westbourne Road, usually passing Barnsbury Girls in their green uniforms going the other way. Turned right on Mackenzie Road, then a couple more streets to the Eden Grove school entrance. I do remember the ice cream van at the entrance at dinner time.
I remember you could not walk through the upstairs hall as a short cut to other classrooms, and I remember when we had boxing matches in the hall. There was a tall kid named Foxy who didn't enter any of the pre-fights but always fought (and probably won) in the finals.
I'm not sure why but I was put in class 1B and, for some reason, when 'learning' Foreign Languages, class 1A was taught French and class 1B was taught Spanish. I'm not sure if it went further down my year. Our initial Spanish teacher was Mr. Bone, a big guy as I recall, and he got the whole class to stand when he entered the room. He got us speaking general Spanish, like good morning and afternoon, but he left after the first term, only to be replaced by a small Spanish lady called Mrs. Katalan (not sure if that is the correct spelling) and she TOTALLY lost control of the class almost immediately. From then on, and for the rest of the year, we were given little orange text books, the title was ' Los Tres Osos' - The Three Bears (Goldilocks) - and homework every week was translating pages of Los Tres Osos from Spanish into English. As a 'Good Boy' I used to do the homework, and this is when I started getting 'requests' from other boys in the class to do theirs as well - or else!
On moving to Camden Road, while still living in Thornhill Road, I used to get the bus along Holloway Road and get off by the Islington Town Hall. I remember the poles on the trolley buses coming off on Highbury roundabout and the conductor or driver using the long pole to put the connectors back on the wires. On occasions, I would be held back by 'my friends' until the bus pulled away from the bus stop. I recall one occasion running to the back of the bus onto the platform and jumping off, nearly killing myself in the process. A slight exaggeration maybe, as my duffle bag saved me from serious damage.
In the playground at Camden Road one of my 'so called' friends knew I went to Church, so another boy, whose name I DO remember, slapped me on the face and told me that I should 'turn the other cheek'. The other 'game' they played was trying to get me to swear.
What I liked about both Eden Grove and Camden Road was the metalwork class; I still have the coat hook I made at Eden Grove. The metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing classes I really liked. And the trampoline in the dining hall with the rest of the class standing around the edge.
In 1965, I took five O Levels, failed four and passed Technical Drawing. Then left ASAP.
I got an apprenticeship with the GPO (post office). The garage I was based in Marshall Street, just behind Carnaby Street, in the West End. I worked there from 1965 to 1972, repairing and driving both post office vans and BT vans all over the West End. I rode a motor bike to and from the garage. Officially I was a Commercial Vehicle Mechanic, so more a Rocker than a Mod, and I just remember pre crash helmets, wearing a peaked cap with chains on, and a little Esso Man just above the peak. Plus the obligatory leather jacket which I still have and it weighs a ton. They were some of the best years of my life.
During my apprenticeship I went on day release to my nearest college which was Hackney College. This was in 1965, and in my third year, when I was 19 years old, I started as an Assistant Lecturer teaching first year evening classes in the Motor Vehicle section. By 1972, aged twenty-three, I left the GPO and got a full time lecturer's job in the Motor Vehicle section of Hackney College where I stayed until I retired, aged 59. While there, I went from Motor Vehicle Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and then Head of Motor Vehicle Section, ending my Career as Head of School of Construction and Engineering with ninety-six staff and one thousand students, all based at Hackney (Community) College in Shoreditch. I actually enjoyed the 'teaching' part of the job, but in the end it was more 'Management' Committees and meetings, etc.
On one occasion I was accidentally run off the road by a car in Caledonian Road. Trying to avoid the car which was turning right as I was overtaking him, (he said he didn't see me) I mounted the pavement, hit a parked car from the pavement side, bounced off into a garden wall, THEN back onto Caledonian Road. A little old lady came out from her house and said, "I didn't think you were going to get up from that, son." To which I replied, "Neither did I!"
When I got married to Kim Hollowell we joined our surnames officially so I am now Dave Hollowell-Geddes or Dave H-G for short. Glad to join the Barnsbury Group.
I was born in December 1948 in the Salvation Army Mothers Hospital in Hackney and grew up in Thornhill Road (number 78) and went to Thornhill Road Juniors. I also went to Holy Trinity Church, Cloudsley Square, from a very young age and was in the Church Choir, and was also a Boy Scout. So, looking back you could say I was a 'Good Little Boy' - easy prey for school bullies. It was a short walk from my house, opposite Barnsbury Park, to Thornhill School, and I remember walking there in the mid-fifties in the smog. When we moved from Thornhill Road, I was the eldest of six children, used to living without a bathroom or indoor toilet. Our council house was in Holloway, so I was able to walk to the Camden Road school.
Due to an illness, chicken pox possibly, I did not take my 11+ with the rest of the class, and so took it later sitting in the Headmaster's Office (Mr. Parry) and, of course, I failed. I'm not sure if I 'picked' Barnsbury Boys, or it was picked for me. My younger brother passed his 11+ and went to Highbury County Grammar school.
In 1960, I started at Eden Grove. I used to walk down Westbourne Road, usually passing Barnsbury Girls in their green uniforms going the other way. Turned right on Mackenzie Road, then a couple more streets to the Eden Grove school entrance. I do remember the ice cream van at the entrance at dinner time.
I remember you could not walk through the upstairs hall as a short cut to other classrooms, and I remember when we had boxing matches in the hall. There was a tall kid named Foxy who didn't enter any of the pre-fights but always fought (and probably won) in the finals.
I'm not sure why but I was put in class 1B and, for some reason, when 'learning' Foreign Languages, class 1A was taught French and class 1B was taught Spanish. I'm not sure if it went further down my year. Our initial Spanish teacher was Mr. Bone, a big guy as I recall, and he got the whole class to stand when he entered the room. He got us speaking general Spanish, like good morning and afternoon, but he left after the first term, only to be replaced by a small Spanish lady called Mrs. Katalan (not sure if that is the correct spelling) and she TOTALLY lost control of the class almost immediately. From then on, and for the rest of the year, we were given little orange text books, the title was ' Los Tres Osos' - The Three Bears (Goldilocks) - and homework every week was translating pages of Los Tres Osos from Spanish into English. As a 'Good Boy' I used to do the homework, and this is when I started getting 'requests' from other boys in the class to do theirs as well - or else!
On moving to Camden Road, while still living in Thornhill Road, I used to get the bus along Holloway Road and get off by the Islington Town Hall. I remember the poles on the trolley buses coming off on Highbury roundabout and the conductor or driver using the long pole to put the connectors back on the wires. On occasions, I would be held back by 'my friends' until the bus pulled away from the bus stop. I recall one occasion running to the back of the bus onto the platform and jumping off, nearly killing myself in the process. A slight exaggeration maybe, as my duffle bag saved me from serious damage.
In the playground at Camden Road one of my 'so called' friends knew I went to Church, so another boy, whose name I DO remember, slapped me on the face and told me that I should 'turn the other cheek'. The other 'game' they played was trying to get me to swear.
What I liked about both Eden Grove and Camden Road was the metalwork class; I still have the coat hook I made at Eden Grove. The metalwork, woodwork and technical drawing classes I really liked. And the trampoline in the dining hall with the rest of the class standing around the edge.
In 1965, I took five O Levels, failed four and passed Technical Drawing. Then left ASAP.
I got an apprenticeship with the GPO (post office). The garage I was based in Marshall Street, just behind Carnaby Street, in the West End. I worked there from 1965 to 1972, repairing and driving both post office vans and BT vans all over the West End. I rode a motor bike to and from the garage. Officially I was a Commercial Vehicle Mechanic, so more a Rocker than a Mod, and I just remember pre crash helmets, wearing a peaked cap with chains on, and a little Esso Man just above the peak. Plus the obligatory leather jacket which I still have and it weighs a ton. They were some of the best years of my life.
During my apprenticeship I went on day release to my nearest college which was Hackney College. This was in 1965, and in my third year, when I was 19 years old, I started as an Assistant Lecturer teaching first year evening classes in the Motor Vehicle section. By 1972, aged twenty-three, I left the GPO and got a full time lecturer's job in the Motor Vehicle section of Hackney College where I stayed until I retired, aged 59. While there, I went from Motor Vehicle Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and then Head of Motor Vehicle Section, ending my Career as Head of School of Construction and Engineering with ninety-six staff and one thousand students, all based at Hackney (Community) College in Shoreditch. I actually enjoyed the 'teaching' part of the job, but in the end it was more 'Management' Committees and meetings, etc.
On one occasion I was accidentally run off the road by a car in Caledonian Road. Trying to avoid the car which was turning right as I was overtaking him, (he said he didn't see me) I mounted the pavement, hit a parked car from the pavement side, bounced off into a garden wall, THEN back onto Caledonian Road. A little old lady came out from her house and said, "I didn't think you were going to get up from that, son." To which I replied, "Neither did I!"
When I got married to Kim Hollowell we joined our surnames officially so I am now Dave Hollowell-Geddes or Dave H-G for short. Glad to join the Barnsbury Group.