Former students of Greenhill School reunite after 63 years

The ex-students of Greenhill School, which closed its doors in 2008, met at The Almonry in Evesham to donate pictures and memorabilia from their time at the school.

This Reunion, on July 5, saw ex-pupils come from Bedfordshire, Wiltshire and Herefordshire, as well as the Evesham area.

Major (Retd) Jan Brodie-Murphy, who attended the school in the late 50s and early 60s, was one of the organisers of the event.

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She said: “It was fascinating to see them all come alive, and carry on as if they had seen each other only yesterday, even though some had not seen each other for over 63 years”. 

Jan is soon moving into the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, the home of the Chelsea Pensioners who are all retired soldiers of the British Army, and wanted to find a home for her old school pictures.

Jan contacted the museum manager at the Almonry and set a date to visit, and then contacted a friend and fellow ex-pupil, Ange McNally, who reached out to other former pupils who were keen to attend the visit.

1960s Greenhill students..

Jeni Starkie, Lorna Hanson, Vicky Mustoe, Ursula Key, Marian Jordan, Cynthia Jeffery, Angela Howson and Judy Spiers all accompanied Jan and Ange on the day.

All of the ladies attended the school, with some as boarders but most normal day students.

After hours of reminiscing, the ladies went for lunch and made plans for the next meet-up. 

The Museum holds a few items in the archive which were donated by the head of Greenhill School when it closed in 2008.

The school had become established in the town in the early 1900s and had been very much a part of the town's education system for those 100 years. 

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It closed on Friday, July 4 2008 as a result of falling pupil numbers, and school uniforms' were all sent overseas for charity.

Some of the uniforms went to a small school in Kenya while the resources were sold to other schools.