Tributes to Muriel who taught for generations (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Tributes to Muriel who taught for generations

11:00am Wednesday 13th January 2010

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A TEACHER, who was an important link to Basingstoke’s past, is being mourned and remembered after she passed away over Christmas.

Muriel Pink, who for more than 40 years ran the Victoria Preparatory School, in Richmond Road, died at a care home in Sherborne St John, aged 97.

Among her charges at the school, for three to seven-year-olds, were people who, as adults, went on to become doctors, dentists, members of the clergy and even a professor. Clearly, Muriel had played a crucial role in the early development of their lives.

Muriel’s cousin, James Preskett, and his wife, Jennifer, who live in Odiham, became particularly close to Muriel and her late sister, Edith, during the last 20 years.

James said Muriel taught around 300 pupils over four decades, running the school until 1981. Many of these still live in the Basingstoke area and she was very proud of them.

“She had a larger family than most of us would ever dream of,” said James. “The old piano in the front room had family photographs on, but of course they weren’t all of us and our family – they were her extended pupil ‘family’.”

Jennifer believes Muriel started her career when the Victoria Preparatory School was based at May Place, in Basingstoke.

She said: “She was a teaching assistant there during the start of the war, but the upstairs got commandeered for wounded soldiers.

“Her father did not think it was appropriate to have young children seeing war wounded, because he had anticipated it was going to be like the war wounded of the First World War. So he suggested they move the school to their home in Richmond Road.

“At the end of the war, Muriel suggested that, perhaps, they should move back to the premises in May Place, but the pupils’ mothers said they preferred the atmosphere where they were because it was a lovely environment with its garden, and so it remained there.”

Fortunately, some of Muriel’s and Edith’s memories have been recorded for posterity, thanks to the Basingstoke Talking History project run by Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society in conjunction with the Willis Museum.

On one of the recordings, Muriel said that the school originated in Victoria Street in a hut by All Saints Church, in Basingstoke.

Jenny Rutt, along with Lesley Sams, interviewed Muriel for the St Michael’s Church Cottage Heritage Open Day in 2006. The recording has since been passed to Basingstoke Talking History.

Jenny recalls Muriel as being a jolly lady. She said: “Edith and Muriel were lovely. They were great to interview and they laughed a lot.

“Muriel was devoted to the children and certainly believed in the three Rs and old-fashioned values.

She loved the kids and they loved her.”

Some youngsters thought Muriel had eyes in the back of her head, especially when she was playing the piano. With her back to the children, she still knew what the scallywags were up to.

Muriel said: “They used to go home and tell their mothers ‘I don’t know why it is, but when Miss Pink plays the piano, she can always see what we are doing.’ I kept the front of the piano polished and I could see if the boys were misbehaving – doing things boys do.”

Muriel touches on the importance of good discipline and its positive results in one of her Talking History Interviews.

She said: “Children would say that the beginning they had with me had helped them on. No child ever left this school without being able to read and write.

“I went for discipline – strict discipline. They loved it. They come back now and say they have never regretted the discipline.”

With classes of 16 pupils, the Victoria Preparatory School proved to be very popular with parents. Muriel said: “There was a long waiting list, but I never advertised.”

Memories of school trips going down to Church Cottage, behind St Michael’s Church, in the town centre, were discussed in Jenny and Lesley’s interview, recorded in Richmond Road.

Muriel said: “I used to take the children to Church Cottage on their annual prizegiving, the Christmas party and also, most Christmases we had a nativity play.

“We always walked them from here to Church Cottage and by Junction Road – a very uneven path – and they always managed to fall down and scrape their knees on prizegiving day.

“And I used to warn them before we started, ‘Now, remember that rough grating by Junction Road,’ but we never failed to have somebody fall down and arrive at Church Cottage with knees bleeding.”

Muriel’s funeral took place at St Michael’s Church last Friday, where many friends and former pupils had the chance to say farewell.

While she will be much missed, her memories can still be listened to at the Willis Museum.

For information about listening to Muriel’s and other Basingstoke Talking History memories, call the museum in Market Place, Basingstoke, on 01256 465902.

And anyone who is interested in being interviewed by Basingstoke Talking History can call Barbara Applin on 01256 465439.

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