Nostalgia round-up

Here's another picture of children of the old St Matthew's School, Donnington Wood, who seem to be having some sort of outdoor music lesson. There is something missing – a view of the school itself. Paul Thompson, who e-mailed us this photo, is hoping somebody has got a picture which shows the long-demolished building. This photo is thought to be from about the 1930s. Anyone who has a picture of the school building can e-mail Paul, the archivist of St Matthew's Church, Donnington Wood, at paulthompsonchurch@hotmail.co.uk nextpageA recent photograph in Pictures From The Past showing Mrs Annie Bason, stationmaster at Eaton station, near Bishop's Castle, created quite a bit of interest, so here's another chance to see her in action, thanks to a photo loaned by Ken Lucas, archivist of the Bishop's Castle Railway Society. His caption reads: "Bishop's Castle Railway: Mrs Annie Bason, station master at Eaton Station, handing a letter to driver George Hotchkiss. Tom Cadwallader, guard, at rear of train. Photo taken on February 24, 1932, by General Picture News." Ken says Eaton station was demolished in 1936. He also notes that Mrs Bason is wearing the same dress as she was in the photo we used earlier, even though they were taken a year apart.nextpage Hi Malcolm! This photo was loaned to us by your mum, Mrs Evelyn Corfield, who tells us: "It was taken in 1961, in the ruins of St George's School, in Pontesbury, as it was knocked down. The boys in the picture are, from left, Terry Jones, Andrew Cain and my son Malcolm Corfield (aged nine). Malcolm's workmates are always interested in your Pictures From The Past. I thought it would cause a bit of amusement to see him when he was young."

It must have been early days for The Parade shopping centre at Donnington when this photo was taken. It was published by F. Spiers Newsagent, which is the store on the far left of the row. The photo may be immediately post-war. The stores visible from left are: F. Spiers, then Phillips Stores, then Richards, then Gas, then E. Margerrison, then Espleys, then Smiths, then Jack Boyle, then H.B. Gall. . . (the last bit is off the right of the photo). This picture was e-mailed to us by Paul Thompson, church archivist of St Matthew's Church, Donnington Wood.nextpage Roy Pilsbury, of Shrewsbury, who is the archivist for the Greenhous group, tells us that this photo shows the Vincent Greenhous body works at Harlescott in 1935. Outside is a line-up of Bedford shooting brakes made by Vincent Greenhous. "The site is the old R.O.D. Depot, now owned by Morris & Co, Centurion business park," adds Roy.nextpage We've been carrying some old views of Donnington over the past few days, and here's another one, showing the memorial garden. It was published by F Spiers, a Donnington newsagent – no doubt this postcard would have been sold in the shop. The date would seem to be immediately post war. The war memorial is still there today, although its setting has altered somewhat – for example, the benches are further back these days. This photo was e-mailed to us by Paul Thompson, church archivist of St Matthew's Church, Donnington.