| Sunday School Memories
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Kensington Mission, Nottingham Rd, Ilkeston
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This is probably the last photograph taken of Kensington
Mission before it was demolished. It was here that both myself
and my wife attended Sunday School.
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Anniversary Day
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The youngest members of the Sunday School
followed the street parade sitting on little chairs on board
the back of a pick-up truck. That's me fourth from the right
sometime around 1950.
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Five or six years later, I'd graduated to walking
- and long trousers too - in the middle of the photo this time
on Orchard Street.
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Everyone got dressed up in their "Sunday Best"
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Here I am, a picture of sartorial elegance
with my dad, Tom. This was taken in my dad's back garden, just
up the road and less than 100 yards from the Mission. |
And this is my mum Doris, her sister Lorna
with daughter Ann and another cousin Peter. Same garden, just
a few years later. |
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The Three Sandras
Evans, Holmes and Wittering
This photo is dated June 3rd 1956. Elvis was just
becoming popular and rock'n'roll was about to make the headlines,
but for these three teenage girls, Sunday School still high on
their list of priorities, gave them the opportunity to dress
in their finest. Notice the fine gloves and jewelry and the fact
that they are all wearing dresses. To this day, my Sandra (Evans)
will still not wear trousers to church. |
As the fifties gave way to the sixties, the numbers of children
attending Sunday School started to decline. It was the beginning
of the end for Kensington Mission but the Anniversary parade
still continued and there were still enough children to fill
a platform from where they sang songs old and new and performed
their well rehearsed recitations. Cousin Ann is second from the
right in the photo on the right.
These two newspaper cuttings illustrate the declining
numbers and a distinct lack of imagination on the part of the
caption writers.
But Sunday School was not just
about the Anniversary.
There was the Christmas Party and there I am again
on the front row (with the spectacles).
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And who would have guessed from this early photo
below what the future would hold.
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Prize Day was also an important event in the year
where regular attendees at Sunday School received a book in  recognition
of their achievements. This photo not only shows a large number
of children in the Sunday School but is also probably the first
photo of the future Mr & Mrs Newton together. Our mothers
Elsie and Doris are also side by side near the back on the right
hand side. |
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