David Mostyn – Nelson House 1950 – 1953
Having read your latest Shorehamer magazine (which was fantastic!), I was inspired by the articles from Ralph Palmer and John Buckingham to write down my own memories. I was around at their time in Pond Lane and I was very pleased to read Luke Kwok Toh had been found - he introduced me to “tinned sparrows” opened at special bean feasts and how to make Chinese fighting kites, but would not let me use his glass string! So, here we go, I have written my autobiography, to be published to friends after I pass away but this will be a chapter inserted.
The war saw our house in Plaistow, London demolished and my Mum and I were evacuated to Keswick until it was all over. We were put into the posh end of London, namely Maida Vale. I went to the local school and did quite well but when I took my 11+ I only managed to get a day boy place at the Prep School. I attended for a term but it meant getting up at 5am, getting a No 16 Bus to Victoria and then another No 3 Tram, yes tram, to arrive at Dulwich for 8.30! My Mother said enough is enough!
At thirteen, I took the entrance exam to Dulwich College but only got a day boy pass. So my Mum and Grandpa Max made a deal with Shoreham Grammar School in Sussex, which allowed me to use my entrance exam and be a full boarder rather than travel every day to Dulwich. I do not know if it was a good move as Dulwich College is a fine place. However, Shoreham did me good, and to prove it I still have contact with Gibbo (David Gibbs), two years my junior, Buster (Edward Gray, Monsieur Eddie Gray’s son (Dad was in the Crazy Gang) and Jinks (Robert Impey, who was residing in Texas until last year when he passed away).
My education was so so! The only thing I got on my piece of paper at the age of 16 was a distinction in Mathematics. The story is: I got chicken pox three days before the exam took place and got put into the isolation dormitory! That’s my excuse. I was told that I would have to wait 6 months to take the exam again! Our Matron, the lovely Miss Watts, arrived on the exam morning and said “Here you are”, no paper, no pen, no logarithm tables, calculators had not been invented, and yes the paper was 4 hours of Mathematics! And yes it consisted of Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry! How do you do geometry without instruments? The secret I used was my own scales, coins, a comb for a scale and my book as a ruler. And no logarithm tables meant long calculations on scrap paper. I got 99% for ingenuity! Science, Physics, French, Mechanics were failed due to not being able to do the practical work and Geography and History were not my subjects.
I was very active in the 7th Shoreham by Sea Scouts and as a patrol leader, two stories about scouts! I was on a scout camp on the Isle of Wight when one night, around midnight, there was a terrible scream and the entire campsite was woken. Several of us got out of our tents and all I could really hear was a dog screaming. I followed the sound and found a dog caught in a gin trap by its leg. The dog stopped when I spoke and allowed me to release its leg, which was obviously broken. I carried it back to the tent and splinted the leg and the dog just slept in the corner of the tent. The next day we changed the dressing and the dog seemed well enough to eat and exercise gently on three legs, a pee and a poop! Within four days, it was walking on four legs and after a week we removed the splint and off it trotted! We had no idea who it belonged to or where it went, all I knew was it was a very quick cure! The other scouting episode saw me saving up my pocket money (2s 6d a week). I saved enough to go on the 1952 Jamboree to Elsinore in Denmark. In those days you could only take £25 out of the country and I was gone for a month and had to buy presents for Mum and family as well as tuck for me - not a lot to spare. Whilst under canvas, with some 2000 other scouts, I pallied up with an Ethiopian Scout called Hal. As scouts, we swopped badges, talked about knots, sailing and all things that 15 year old boys did. He suggested we hired a bike and went exploring the countryside - sounded like a good idea except I could not afford it! Hal said he was coming to London to see the Coronation in 1953 so he would lend be £20 and I could pay him back in England. Sounded like a good idea to me and to add to the idea, I suggested he stayed with us whilst he was in England. He agreed the terms and we had a good time and when I returned to London, I told Mum and she was amazed! I knew him as Hal - I did not know his address, his surname, when he was coming and worst of all, was he on his own! Severe telling off! 6 months went by and I received a telegram - for those of you who can remember telegrams, they were ticker tape messages, very short and to the point. It had my telephone number on it CUNNINGHAM 2071. ARRIVING LONDON AIRPORT THURSDAY 4TH MAY 2pm. HAL. So Mum, her new boyfriend and I went to the airport and we met Hal! Black as the ace of spades! I forgot to tell Mum; in those days black was Oyvez! The only white part of him was the extreme tips of his fingers. Even the whites of his eyes were black! He was welcomed and soon fitted in and we had a fab time! He had arrived bringing fantastic gifts for my Mum and for me, gifts like perfume and gold trinkets for her and a knife for me - these were sheer luxury in those days. We also had a television in those days - it was a Cossor radiogram, very posh, it was a 13” screen, mauve picture and of course we were going to watch the Coronation on TV. The day came, curtains drawn in the lounge, lights out, TV on and Mum’s boyfriend comes in, in a hurry and sits down, unfortunately on Hal. I did say he was black and yes you could not see him in the dark! We all had a good laugh and enjoyed the Coronation and then we watched the parades in the Edgware Road fireworks and generally had a good time. I even paid Hal the £20 back! As all good things come to an end, it was time to take Hal back to London Airport to catch the plane to Ethiopia. We parked the car, and went to Terminal Two (there was only two in those days!). And in the lounge outside departures, a bomb hit us! Hal said suddenly “You will never see me again!” Silence. Eventually Mum said “Why?” Hal said he was the son of Emperor Haille Selassie and we would find out sooner or later and our relationship could never be the same! We were, as they say, gobsmacked! We had no idea of his position, why should we?! He was a scout, a friend and a good sport. No one said where do you live, what does Dad do for a living? Things were simple in those days. We hugged each other, there were tears and he left us, with wonderful memories. As you may recall, the Selassie Family en masse were executed. I never saw him again. I will never forget him!
Back to school and I have wonderful memories of Luke making fighting kites and flying them!
I have taught so many scouts the art and although there is a winner and a loser in kite fighting, there is also the fun of making them.
So I left Shoreham in the summer of 1952, with a wonderful schooling and one GCE. Even though it was a good one, it did curtail my job seeking results and, as my Dad did not return to the family after the war, I had to go to work to bring in some money. I managed to get an apprenticeship with Dunlop and stayed there until I was called up for National Service in the RAF. Many stories here! I was demobbed and had a job for 4 months apprenticeship as a Quantity Surveyor. Maths? Counting bricks? Flooring Company! 6 months in Dunlop Rubber Company and I knew little about flooring but I got the job and stayed there for 26 years.
I retired from Scouting 12 years ago at the age of 65. I had been Assistant District Commissioner in Hertfordshire and Norfolk, built with my own hands a large scout premise and arranged jamborees! Two years ago I was fortunate enough to go to Elsinore in Denmark; it was there in 1952 Willy, as we all called him, took a bunch of Scouts to a Jamboree. The guide in the Castle where we stayed in 52 asked if anyone had been there before. I replied “On a Scout Jamboree in 1952 and I lost my penknife here and decided to see if anyone had found it!” Laughter all round. The camp site is still there but no scouts.
I moved out of London in 1978 and had a lovely house in Barley, North Hertfordshire. I continued Scouting! In 1983, I decided with my wife Brenda to make the break and bought a small holding in Wiveton, a mile from Blakeney, North Norfolk and absolutely isolated!
I thought I had the good life and was truly retired….how wrong can you be! I was called back to work as my knowledge of my industry was unbelievable! So I became a Consultant. My title was Forensic Flooring Technologist and I worked in 2010, making a fortune! I travelled the world with my wife and played hard after work!
I have written a book on my business cases, available on Amazon. I have a book waiting until I die to be published; I have had an incredible life and had a good grounding at a funny old school in Sussex! But I am very proud to be an Old Shorehamer.
David Mostyn (Nelson of course)
L to R: David Mostyn, David Gibbs, Robert Impey & Edward Gray, taken at Long Furlong in 2008.