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Braishfield Memories: The Book - some of the contributors, some of the quotes

The involvement of Braishfield School

Braishfield Memories: The Book Launch


Reunion at the book launch evening of Gosport evacuees Ron Kidd and Anne Beggs with their Braishfield school friends after over 60 years. Left to right: John Mason, Rosemary (Thorne) Mason, Ron Kidd, Anne (Frost) Beggs, Stan Parsons. © Braishfield Memories Group
Anne (Frost) Beggs and Ron Kidd reminisce about their evacuation to Braishfield from Gosport in 1940 over a cup of tea just before the book launch party. © Braishfield Memories Group
Three Brownies from the Braishfield Brownie pack hand round the cheese biscuits they made for the book launch. © Braishfield Memories Group
14th November 2003 at the book launch party. Left to right: Sue Buxton (Project Co-ordinator), Greg Smith (Archive Photographer), Jan Olden, Alan Olden (Artist and Illustrator). © Briashfield Memories Group
Book signing at the launch 2003 © project


   
   
Braishfield Memories: The Book Launch
 Location: Hampshire

Friday 14th November was set for the date of the book launch and the evening saw a gathering of nearly 300 residents, past and present, some coming from a great distance to attend. It was an evening of reunions and many felt the opportunity to see old friends should become an annual event.

Anne Beggs and Ronald Kidd met for the first time in 63 years. Both had been evacuated from Gosport in 1940, Ron to stay at Malthouse Farm with the Parsons family and Anne to be with Mrs Annie Quick in Newport Lane. Anne's memory as an evacuee is one of the many recollections of Braishfield over the past 100 years included in the book. "I loved hearing extracts from my chapter read on tape by one of the pupils as part of the exhibition," Anne said. Anne and husband, Ralph, travelled from Weymouth to attend the evening and Ron drove from London. "We talked and talked and the years rolled away," said Ron. "My evacuation to Braishfield was a wonderful experience. The kindness shown to me by the Parsons family has stayed with me all my life."

All the Braishfield Brownies made cheese biscuits and tiffin at their weekly meeting and several came to help pass round refreshments during the evening.

The boards the Braishfield Memories Committee produced for the first LHI Web Site Open Day were arranged along the stage and attracted a great deal of interest.





 


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