Mr Ralph Cachemaille Thomas married Miss Elsie Florence Uffindell on August 31st 1929 at St Clements Church, Great Ilford. They celebrated their silver wedding anniversery on 31st August 1954 when they were living at 112 Fairlands Avenue, Thornton Heath.
The visit to Arnhem was organised under the auspices of the Anglo Netherlands Sports Partnership. As well as the Mayor and Mayoress (Ald. and Mrs H.Regan, (who broke her wrist during the trip)), the party consisted of Ald and Mrs Lewin, Councillor Turner and other members of the Committee plus 17 table tennis players under Mrs C.A.Bourne and a football team managed Mr Mr S.A.Browne and captained by Fred Stevenson. Croydon played three football matches, winning the second and losing the first and third.
As well as various visits, including the Airborne Cemetery at Oosterbeck and the Arnhem Bridge, the Croydon party marched in procession through the streets of Wageningen on Easter Sunday. A report of the visit appears in the Croydon Times, 19 April 1947. L.Woolnough, of the Norbury team, was a member of the football team. (CT 12 April 1947) and was then resident at 28 Weybridge Avenue, Thornton Heath.
Monks Orchard Primary School was opened on 27 October 1936 for 5 to 11 year olds.
On 4 September 1939 the school was evacuated to Kemptown, Brighton but the Head Teacher was recalled on 19 February 1940 and on 1 April 1940 the few children remaining there were absorbed by Cypress School.
From 24 June to 6 September 1940 the majority of the school was again evacuated, the Acting Head Teacher remaining on the Croydon site being Miss M.E. Pedgrift of St Lukes Partially Sighted School.
On the night of 14 - 15 September 1940 the house-holders of Chaffinch Avenue had to shelter in the school and on 6 October 1940 the building was damaged by bombs falling in the Glade and Mardell Road.
On the night of 16 - 17 April, a pupil - Yvonne Kingman - and her parents, living at 9 Fairhaven Avenue, were all killed by a bomb. Later, on the night of 24 - 25 March 1944, several classrooms were damaged by incendiary bombs.
Mollie Isobel Moors was the daughter of Ernest James Moors and Elsie Newton. Her grandparents, Charles John Moors and Martha Duckett ran a drapers business at 71-73 High Street Croydon from 1882 - c. 1925 and their son, Mollie's father joined them in the business. in 1911 he married Elsie and they lived at 82 Edridge Road, Croydon. In 1921 Census, they have three children, Norah Rendall aged 8, Ruth Pattie aged 6 and Mollie Isobel aged 1. At one point he left Croydon for Devon, eventually moving to Littlemeads, South Knighton Devon, where Mollie lived later in her life. Mollie started out in a career in the theatre, training at the Croydon Repertory Theatre school of Acting and performed in this company and others. Her acting career was interrupted by the war during which she drove ambulances during the blitz and then worked in the Women's Land Army Timber Corps. After the war she moved to Devon and became a Chiropodist and became involved in amateur dramatics.
Metal Propellers Ltd was established by Henry Leitner and Dr Henry Watts, two engineers who had collaborated in designing a hollow steel aircraft propeller (an improvement on the wooden propellers which were then standard). They established a syndicate called the Metal Airscrew Co Ltd during the First World War, to carry out experimental research work; and this resulted in the production of the 'Leitner-Watts' propeller, which successfully passed official tests in 1917 and 1918, and flew successfully in 1920. The firm was subsequently established as a manufacturing company under the name of Metal Propellers Ltd, and opened its general offices and works at 74 Purley Way, Croydon, in 1925. The Directors included Viscount Elibank, Captain HH Balfour (later Under Secretary of State for Air, and eventually Lord Balfour) and Air Vice Marshal Sir Godfrey Paine. Major General Sir Sefton Brancker (Director of Civil Aviation at the Air Ministry) also had an interest.
The company supplied propellers for the R101 airship. These were apparently not the propellers fitted when the R101 crashed tragically in October 1930; but the disaster was nonetheless a severe setback for the company, as the dead included both Sir Godfrey Paine and Sir Sefton Brancker.
As well as propellers, the company manufactured other items in stainless steel, for a range of domestic and industrial uses; and it eventually evolved into a general engineering company, specialising in stainless steel. It later became associated with Saunders-Roe Ltd, flying-boat builders. In 1960, it acquired the neighbouring company in the Purley Way, the Standard Steel Co (1929) Ltd, structural engineers; and in 1962 it merged with LA Mitchell Ltd, chemical and industrial drying engineers of Manchester. It closed down in 1973.
Phyllis Devereux (b 1914) joined the firm in 1930 as a trainee technical assistant to Dr Watts, having been recruited from Lady Edridge School. She left the firm in 1934.
Mayday Hospital was originally the Croydon Union Infirmary, run by Croydon Board of Guardians. The first Infirmary was situated in the old Workhouse at Duppas Hill, where it remained after the Workhouse itself moved to new buildings in 1865. The new Infirmary was renamed Mayday Road Hospital in 1923, but soon afterwards became known as Mayday Hospital. After the dissolution of Croydon Board of Guardians in 1930, it was administered by Croydon Corporation (under the Local Government Act 1929). In 1948 it was taken over by the National Health Service. St Marys Maternity Hospital, in St James Road, originally opened in 1918. It became closely associated with Mayday Hospital. It closed in October 1985.
Mary Alicia Neville-Kaye (16 January 1911 - 17 December 2007) attended Whyteleafe County Grammar School for Girls, 1921 - 1929 (see http://www.semperfidelis.org.uk/announcements.php checked 23 Jan 2008).
Mary joined the staff of Overbury School in September 1939 and was immediately evacuated to Brighton. Following her return to Croydon, she was evacuated to Lee in Devon in June 1940. The log book (SCH1/2/1) records that she rejoined the staff on 11 January 1943.
She was later, briefly, Teacher In Charge (14 June - 30 August 1949) at Overbury before becoming Head of Purley Oaks Infants School (30 August 1949 - 23 July 1954) and then the first Head of the new Fairchildes Infants School, New Addington from 31 August 1954 until her retirement on 09 April 1976.
She was awarded an OBE in 1984 for her forty year service with the St John Ambulance Brigade (see Croydon Advertiser 22 June 1984). At the time of her death she was resident at Whitgift House, Brighton Road.
Private William Frederick Martin was born in Clapham, the son of Mr. Ernest John and Mrs. A. A. Martin, later of 54 Priory Road, West Croydon, Surrey. In the First World War he fought for the Queens 2nd Battalion of the Royal West Surrey Regiment. He was killed in action at Festubert whilst serving with the British Expeditionary Force on the 16th May 1915 at the age of 19. His grave is unknown but there is a memorial to him at Le Touret Military Cemetery in France.
Sergeant Frederick William Stevens was born at Godstone, the son of Fred William and Louisa Elizabeth Stevens of 2, Jubilee Terrace, Dorking. He was a member of the Queens 1st Battalion of the Royal West Surrey Regiment during the First World War but died on Wednesday 16th January 1918 at the age of 23. He is buried in Dorking Cemetery in Surrey.
Henry George Stevens was an Ordinary Seaman on H.M.S. Queen Mary he died at sea on Wednesday 31st May 1916, and having no grave, he is mentioned on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial in Hampshire.
Private William Stevens was also a member of the 1st Queens Royal West Surrey Regiment.