Village Sign
I read with interest the article in your June magazine on the North Elmham Village sign. I was 10 years old in 1964 when our small village school closed at Billingford. I therefore spent my last year at primary school in North Elmham, My three children sent all their primary school years at North Elmham and I was quite convinced that Mrs Dawson, the Head Teacher when I was a pupil, was still haunting me whenever I attended a school function during their year there. Yes, that year spent at North Elmham was the worst of my school life. Thankfully things had changed somewhat by the time my children attended.
From North Elmham I went to the secondary school at Dereham for a year where I was lucky enough to pass the 11 or 12 plus as it was called in those days to then go to the grammar school at Swaffham where I spent 7 years from 1966. The maker of the North Elmham village sign, Mr Harry Carter, spent five years in vain trying to teach me Art. However he and I both knew very early on that it was a complete waste of time so I spent most of every art lesson doing very little. As a choice subject I also did woodwork for about a year and "Harry" as he was affectionately known (although not to his face), covered that subject as well and I do remember the village signs standing in his workshop. These were not only ones under construction at the time but also those he had back to refurbish.
However my main point of writing to you is that I also quite clearly remember our English lessons when it was drummed into us at a very early stage that there was only ONE "M" in Hamonds and TWO in Grammar (see page 5 June's News).
Arthur Lake
Following the report in the last edition of the Elmham News reference our village sign, the sign was actually replaced in 1999 by Norman Lowe as an exact replica of the original. Reg Neve and helpers removed the original sign and post. Reg re-painted the post and Norman carved and painted the new sign. George Keeble carved and painted the Bishop which is still attached to the post.
The sign is sadly in a poor state of repair, and as reported in the Elmham News, the Parish Council is looking to replace it once again incorporating designs from children at North Elmham School
Caroline Payne
Ed's Note: We have recalled that Mr Ernest Horstead also repaired the village sign some years prior to Mr Lowe doing likewise. Also, our apologies for misspelling Hamonds, as in Hamonds Grammar School - only one M, not two!
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