The following postal address is one from the recent past, including the old telephone number!

LINTON CAMP SPECIAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL

LINTON in CRAVEN

GRASSINGTON

Near SKIPTON

WEST RIDING.

(Tel. Grassington 756) 

On these pages I will  include a selection of my memories of days spent at this school, some from 1957/8 and a second stay in 1960 until I left school in July 1964 age 15. I will include some photographs to illustrate, where I can, but sadly I have few of these, as a camera in those days was not just an expensive item, but a rare luxury for a poor Bradford lad. (Sob, where's the violin?) I have some pictures from the early 1960's right up to date, with some from the begining of February, this year, 2008. I will also include links to planning offices where details of applications relating to the old school have been deposited.

Since closure, a number of plans have been submitted to build on the land occupied by the school, ranging from homes, to timeshare holiday lets. It seems to me that what is left, should be retained, and the latest application reflects that view, rebuilding existing buildings and upgrading to meet present legislation. There are not many, if any, of the pre-war National Camps properties still standing, and if the latest plans for Linton Camp School, are accepted, then further use could be made of an interesting and historic site, perhaps providing some useful local employment. If the site is left to further decay, the pressure to return to farmland, of which we have an abundance of right now in the UK, and a lot not very productive, will gain added momemtum. The Yorkshire Dales is a trully wondeful landscape, and Upper Wharfedale is no exception, these school buildings have been standing for nearly 70 years, would it be too  detrimental to the area, to refurbish, and to reuse? I think not!

I will also present some stories and photographs relating to the delightful hobby of model railways. I have drifted in and out of this hobby over the past 40 years, due to an assortment of other interests taking a precedent, one of them was a flirtation with Tetley’s and a mild love affair with the fine products of Webster’s.  Now that I have been divorced from both of these, totally, for some years now, I have returned to a more sober outlook, and revisited some of my old hobbies. One interest I have had is film making, being a member of Mercury Movie Makers, who meet in Rawden, near Leeds. They are truly a lovely bunch of people, and they have produced some real masterpieces. I will publish some details here. I also intend to write some thoughts of past times while I was a Bus Conductor with Bradford City Transport. At the Sandtoft Trolleybus Centre, near Doncaster, there is a trolleybus that I actually worked on as a working conductor, on the number 8, Duckworth Lane route!  Some of the younger generation do not even know what a trolleybus is! Lastly, I must mention my lovely family and particularly my grand children, who I cannot possibly leave out. 

Right then, if you are not an enthusiast of personal web pages, be prepered to be bored, be very prepared!