A fascinating snippet of school history.
Alan Trinder submits photos of these 2 pages of the school acceptance register for September 1940.
These are fiendishly hard to read so we include a transcript of the relevant entry. If you wish to read the original then we recommend you enlarge them as much as possible on your screen.
The first page is Ronnie’s. Entries were made in alphabetical order, with his entry open the second line:
- Admission number 2
- Date of admission 3/9/40
- Childs name in full Barker, Ronald William
- Date of Birth 25/9/29
- Address 23 Church Cowley Road
Alan adds this second page because the name “Norman Fletcher Taylor” appears (in the middle). He wonders if this name might not be the inspiration for the name Norman Fletcher that Ronnie used in “Porridge”?
Ronnie and he were definitely at the school together, but probably not in the same year. Norman is recorded as born on 4th March 1928 and having been accepted on 29th April 1938 – so in the previous year to Ronnie. They were not neighbours either, living well apart at the north and south extremes of town – Norman living off the Banbury Road at the turning to Marston Ferry where the playing fields were and Ronnie off Rose Hill ways up by the Iffley Turn.
One does wonder nevertheless if Norman F Taylor from the year above ever noticed in later life this comedic use of his name?