I am David Smith - "Smudge" to everyone at The Tech.

I joined in 1959 along with one other from Spring Gardens, Roger Newell. I recall walking to Rogers house in Spring Gardens Road and walking to our first day at the Tech, proud to be in the uniform and our first long trousers.

In our Spring Onions days I recall many an evening with Roger and Stewart Osbourne “playing” guitars and drums in a spare upstairs at Rogers to the music of the shadows on his records player. When I say playing it was certainly not the “right notes in the wrong order” as far as I was concerned it was just nice to occasionally hit a right note. Little did I know what Stewart and Roger in particular would go on to achieve. I lost touch with Roger when I left the Tech and then moved to Herefordshire.

My first class was under Mr Hewinson (Froggy).

We all sat in classroom in alphabetical order and of those that I recall the front row started with Tony Ambrose, Malcolm Newman, David ? Newman, and the back row consisted of

David Robinson from Flackwell Heath, David (Smudge) Smith from Hazlemere, Alan Tilley from Hazlemere, David Wingrove from Holmer Green, and Alan Yardley from Beaconsfield.

I soon discovered the fives courts and they were a continuing source of exercise and competition throughout my time at the Tech. Other advantages included the closeness of the Paddington to Birmingham line.

I was lucky in that my only visit to Wards room was to fill in a report when during metalwork Mr Stibbons was teaching me how to change work in the chuck of the Colchester Student lathe and the chuck which was in neutral suddenly rotated with the force of him pushing on the chuck key and his little finger was cut off at the top by the cutter in the toolpost as his finger was trapped by the chuck rotation.

Mr Stibbons was accompanied in metalwork by Mr Lucas of who I have two lasting memories. The first was that we were having fun hanging a hook shaped piece of metal in the rear of the tie ups on others aprons and unfortunately it was me who he spotted and I was given a whollop with a tee square. The other was his enthusiasm for photography and his Rank Mamiya 35mm camera. This was to fire up my interest in photography a hobby I have to this day and one in which you never stop learning.

As for Mr Ward, my lasting impression of him is calling up on stage a pupil from the year in front of mine and showing him up in front of the whole school for being dressed in a Aubergine coloured suit? to go to an interview for a job as I remember it for the local electricity company.

As reported by others my Tech memories are of the cross country runs up Keep Hill along Daw’s Hill Lane past the US base and down Marlow Hill back to the Health Centre on the Rye.

Queuing for stationary, long queues for injections, usually by the tuck shop and the queues for the Tuck shop. The race to get a fives court, many a trip out at lunchtime to the Rye and a wagon wheel chocolate from the wooden hut on the Rye.

The school diners which I for one loved especially going up for seconds of pudding.

Snowball fights in the playground when it was covered in snow.

I also remember and wish to be excused for any of my schoolmates who I miss.

Micheal Rowe and his rapidograph pens, Ernie Rivett, trains football and after we had left school, golf at his Grans in Fraserburgh. His brother Gerald, my brother Geoff who sadly died two years ago. David (Chick) Saunders from the Wycombe and District football team for whom I was the goalkeeper.

Clarrie Haynes football, Terry Wilshin and our frequent trips to London by train and bus, visiting bus depots and loco sheds. London was certainly different in those days.

Terry (Bog) Marsh, football both at the Tech and afterwards, Terry Kelloway who shared goalkeeping duties with me in the District teams, John White toolmaking, Jeff Trendall, Jonathan Sworn, Alan Dredge and Alan Birch.

I could not wait to leave the Tech and start work as an apprentice in a plastic toolmaking company P.J. Brion Ltd Hazlemere and get to as it was then Wycombe College of Technology and Art studying for an HND in Engineering.

To get up to date I have lived in Herefordshire from 1972 until 1989 when I moved to Worcester and am still here. I have had a varied life from owning both Plastics and Toolmaking Companies, working in a Worldwide American Company as Engineering Manager, making and fitting solid oak furniture for narrowboats and even now at 72 still involved in a plastics development project as a consultant on all technical matters for a group of financiers in London.

It all started from – “The Tech”. Thanks.