Holy Roman

At my UK boarding school All Hallows near Shepton Mallet in Somerset.

A Catholic preparatory school, founded and run by a Mr Dix who was the headmaster for my first year or so before retiring. The school still going strong in 2018 but is now mixed and with a substantial number of day pupils.

Today the 1st of November was the 25th anniversary of "Founding Day" which had been in 1938 and was the cause of the celebrations. It started at Bognor Regis and moved to East Cranmore in 1945, the purchase contract signed on 1st November. .

It is of the entire school children. I am the shielded Roman on the middle left. I have now in 2017/8 re-discovered several of my school friends via the power of social networks.


Here a summary taken from the School's Website:
A brief history…
The school was founded by Francis Dix in 1938 in Bognor Regis, with just one pupil. Numbers quickly grew but the outbreak of the Second World War meant safer accommodation was required. This was sought in Devon and, by the summer of 1940, All Hallows was at Scorhill near Chagford where the River Teign, running through the grounds, acted as a bathing-pool and Dartmoor was a magnificent playground. The school remained in Devon until the end of 1945 and relocated to its current home of Cranmore Hall in 1946. Do ask to see a copy of The Cherry Jumpers to find out more about these early days – this book telling the history of the school was written by former Headmaster Chris Bird to celebrate the school’s 75th anniversary.
Cranmore, the name, comes from Crane Mere or Lake of the Cranes. This is why the head of a crane forms part of our school logo and why images of cranes can be seen around the school with some particularly fine ones in the art department. We were delighted recently when cranes were re-introduced to Somerset.
The main school building, Cranmore Hall, was formerly the home of the Paget family, and has history dating back to the 17th Century when it was owned by the Glastonbury Monks. Like many large country houses during the Second World War, it was put to very good use, perhaps unusually though, as a maternity hospital.