A plea from Brother Martin Azzopardi

[Liz Mardel]

I've just had a message from Brother Martin who we met on our reunion visit to the school in 2005. He teaches at the new school on 'our' old site. He is also the archivist and apparently there is now an archive room in their splendid new '5-star college'. But he has very little from the thirty years of our presence there. I've yet to send him copies of my photographs as I'd promised (one of those things I've been meaning to do ......... !) I'm sure he would appreciate any, with their details, that former pupils would like to include in the archive. (He asks to have them scanned at higher resolution than the ones that go on this site).

I shall will my old school magazines to him for when I pop my clogs!

I think it was Sue Adams(?) who'd made enquiries about where the official school records had gone when the school closed - but without success. (In a series of dusty tea chests in the basement of the Admiralty perhaps??!)

In 2005 a Mrs Linda Fry of Tewkesbury (maiden name unknown) visited the school with her two sisters and told Brother Martin that she had some 8mm film that her father had taken while they were there. Brother Martin has been trying to get in touch with her, but again no luck! Does anyone know her??

Liz Mardel (Miss McMeeking 1957 - '61)

Brother Martin also sent some photos of the work in progress of the refurbishing of the hall. I'll post them into the appropriate bit of the gallery - but after Christmas!

[chrisjenkins]

Liz,
I, too, tried to find the old Verdala records some years ago. At the time, a good friend of mine (now sadly deceased) was the head of Naval Historical Branch, so I thought this would have been a good place to start, but no luck. He suggested that, if they have been retained - and that is by no means certain - they should be at the Public Records Office in Kew.
Chris

[chrisjenkins]

Another OV from my class has surfaced, Jan Walters. We have been in contact, and I mentioned to Jan that we were trying to track down old school records. She immediately volunteered to see what she could do.
I am sure she will not mind if I post her subsequent e-mail to me:

Dear Chris

I managed a couple of hours at the National Archives last Friday, but even after all the palaver of registering, etc. I was able to find very little ....
Previously, I had asked for assistance by e-mail and they had mentioned they had extremely little – in fact only a School Inspection report dated
January 1967 which was quite interesting to read, and I took a copy.
The introduction made reference to the previous School Inspection of 1961, but National Archives don’t appear to have this record...
They had suggested that I contact National Archives in Rabat in case records had stayed in Malta; a rather unhelpful person came back to say they had no records whatsoever on the school, so that makes a dead end there.
The researcher last week thought I could trawl through ADM1 (Admiralty 1
file) to see if there were any mentions, and she didn’t disguise the time it would take me to trawl! Another researcher was sure that because all school records in the UK stay with the Local Authority in which the school is governed, then surely it must be so with the Verdala, but that logic doesn’t really work because it was a British Forces establishment for overseas postings.
When I go onto the MOD website (RN) it doesn’t appear to have a section for primary/secondary schools, only the Naval established schools for ratings. I tried contacting Defence Estates to see if they could tell me when the property was officially handed over to the Maltese Government in the hopes that might create a lead, but no response from them yet.
So really I have drawn a blank but will keep trying to find other routes that might elicit some further information on Verdala – it’s becoming a quest for a bored housewife!
Any bright ideas?

[Liz Mardel]

Hello Chris and Jan

Someone else who has been searching for the records is David Woolfenden (1957-60). I'm sure he won't mind me quoting him -

On 26.02.2010 he wrote -

Just a little bit of info for you.
I have been beavering away trying to find out where all the records are for Verdala school and Tal Handaq when the schools finally closed in 1978.
After many false trails I finally received correspondence from this Government agency (People, Pay and Pensions Agency) under the Freedom of Information act. It looks very much like the records have now been destroyed, and my only hope might be the contact they have suggested BFES / SCS (NWE) / SCE Association. although i think I may have already tried these people on a previous crusade. Never mind I'll just have to try again!

27.02.2010 I replied -
Goodness, you've been busy! Well done you! Funny though, only yesterday I sent a message to the RN Museum here in Portsmouth asking if they could throw any light on where the records might be! (I’ve not had any reply yet!)When I was at The National Archives, Kew, a little while ago I made enquiries and a helpful young man on the enquiries desk went through catalogue after catalogue to no avail! All that came up was reference to an inspectors' report for Tal Handaq!

So it looks as though they must have made a big bonfire - or a big land-fill site! How sad! I suppose there's always the hope they might be in a mountain of tea-chests in the corner of some long-forgotten aircraft hanger!!
Can I forward the letter from PPPA to Sue Adams? She was a pupil in my time and went on to be head of an army school in Germany. I know she made extensive enquiries among her contacts some time ago so would be interested to see your letter.
I saw the message you put on the TACA (The Army Children Archive) website.

20.03.2010 David wrote -
Looks like I drew a blank on BFES/SCE Ass. who have looked into their archives and can find nothing on Verdala or Tal handaq. What a great shame, and how exasperating!!

20.03.10 My reply -
How maddening! There's so much that we'd like to know, isn't there! Still, you've done your best on behalf of us all! WOULD IT BE A GOOD IDEA TO PUT A BIT INTO THE FORUM ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE AND WHERE YOU’VE ENQUIRED TO PREVENT THE SAME PLACES HAVING A LOT OF FURTHER ENQUIRIES? (!!!!!!!!!!)

Looks as if we're running out of options! But nil desperandum, if it stays at the top of people's minds someone, somewhere, some day might remember something!! Good hunting everyone!!