The mystery of the school sports shield being held by pupils of the long-since-closed St Clements School, which we carried in Yesterday Once More on December 29, has been solved.

Pam McGarrigle - at least, that was her name in her schooldays - posted a comment on our website from New Zealand to explain.

"York school sports were held every year and most of the schools in York entered," she wrote. "The photograph is when St Clements won the shield for the third year running."

Pam is actually pictured in the photo, second row, third from left.

"I lived in Lower Vine Street and went to St Clements from four years old until eleven years old, (and) had some of the happiest times of my life there with some great friends," she wrote.

Reader Ann Shepherd, from Kexby Avenue, also got in touch to say how delighted she was to see her old school hadn't been forgotten.

"I started there in 1945 and left in 1953," she wrote.

"When I first started, the cloakroom had a large coal fire in it, as well as a doll's house and wooden rocking horse. The 'baby' classroom, as we called the first class, went off the cloakroom and Miss Garland was the teacher. She was loved by everybody.

"In the first class there were large cards on the wall with numbers and letters on them which we had to repeat parrot fashion."

She, too, is in the photo with the sports shield, front row third from left, with the plaits. "I know the names of all the children in the photo except two," she wrote.

She also remembers the 1947 floods in Clementhorpe. "Children in Clementhorpe and Lower Darnborough Street were brought to school by boat. They all thought this very exciting."

David Wardell, meanwhile, who originally contacted us with his researches about his old school, has managed to identify the names of most of the children in the photo with the shield. Reader Ron Garnett, from Dunnington, also got in touch with details of many of the names.

So we reproduce the photo today, with as many of the names that David and Ron have been able to supply. We hope the picture with the names jogs a few more memories...


PICTURE: The St Clement’s School winning sports team, back row, from left, Brian Rex, Peter Robinson, Jeff Marley, Michael Hustwick, Michael Taylor, Ron Garnett.

Middle row, from left, Valerie Hodgson, Judith Evans, Pam McGarrigle, Pat Ward (behind Pam), Ann Archibald, Pat Cammidge (behind Ann), Norma Grant, Margaret Fennel, Maureen Bulmer, Colin Cook (holding shield), Stan Newsome, Malcolm Storey, Peter Sawdon, Paul Winspear, (behind Peter), Alex Blackie (right of Paul), Tina Birch, Archibald?

Front row, from left: Jean Newsome, Pauline?, Milly Kay, Pauline Bell, Pam Hills, (shield), Ken Garnett, Leslie Brown, Terry Jackson, Pauline Fennel, and Terry Woodward