TIMEWATCH reader Andy Hoskins has been in touch with his recollection of a school photo taken in the 1960s outside the old school on Alexandra Road.

Andy writes: “The photo of the group of schoolchildren is one I have myself, and Kelvin Jones’ recollections are probably as good as, and as flawed as, my own.

“I took the 11-Plus in 1961, and I recall this photo was taken in that year, and before we were all sorted into two social groups and went on in the September to either Ardwyn or Dinas schools.

“After the exam, in what was left of the summer term, they didn’t have much for us to do. One of the things they taught us to do, sitting out in the playground in the June sun, was knitting...

“The Alexandra Road school was a primary school, divided into a half where the teaching medium was Welsh, and the English half. There was a fence down the middle of the playground! The Welsh half was alongside the railway station. I had previously attended an infants school at Penparcau.

“Kelvin’s naming is pretty good but there are a couple that need correcting, and I can remember a couple of others.

“The bespectacled teacher was I think called Mr Roberts, the other being the extremely smartly dressed Mr Morgan. He didn’t just dress for the camera that day- he was always like that!”

Andy’s list of names is as follows: Rear row, left to right: fourth Hubert Rees (a near neighbour of mine in Bryn Road); yours truly; and next to me Commander Peter Norrington-Davies; next to him, John Stanley Davies; then Michael Melczek,

Middle row, last right was Michael Widdowson, a pal of mine at the time.

Front row, fifth right, Catherine Davies; next to her Effie Richards, who lived next door to the Ardwyn school gates; and Lynne Brewer is last on the right.

He adds: “A sobering thought: many years ago, I was discussing the 1964 Ardwyn Grammar School whole-school photo with someone, and they pointed out to me something which hadn’t occurred to me at that time. Most of the teachers, and some of the pupils looking at the camera are no longer with us, it’s called old-age, and statistics!

“We’re all about 67 now, but an interesting social group; baby boomers who grew up in an Aberystwyth which was a discrete borough in its own right, still earning well from the tourism industry and agriculture, and with a modest university contingent.”

Can you name anyone else in the photo? Write to Dylan Davies at Timewatch, Cambrian News, 7 Aberystwyth Science Park, SY23 3AH or email [email protected]