Stonehenge and Avebury: My First Time

Postcards to friends of the Stonehenge and Avebury World Heritage Site

Mr Connor at Stonehenge, early-mid 1960’s. Kudos to my old friend Peter Appleton for unearthing and supplying the photo.

I always recall that my first visit to Stonehenge, and the thing that started my fascination with the past, was a school trip there in the early to mid 1960’s. But I’d never had any tangible evidence from that first trip, other than my failing memory, until now.

I was recently contacted via email, by an old friend from my primary school years. He had been having a clearout, and chanced upon some old photos of that school trip, which he thought I’d be interested to see. Sadly, the only photo in which I’d featured was multi-exposed, with shots of a coach/charabanc superimposed over three of us standing by one of the stones. Other shots showed classmates, many of whose names have themselves now been consigned to history, posing in front of the imposing trilithons and other major uprights.

But the picture I’ve chosen to share here, is of our form teacher, Mr Connor, spending a quiet moment alone to study a brochure, with the great stones as a backdrop. You can see some of the children among the stones in the background – no ropes to keep us out, or paths to stick to!

Alan S

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This is part of a series of short “postcards” that anyone with something to share is welcome to submit, whether that is a digital snap and a “wish you were here” or something more involved. Please do join in by sending your postcards to theheritagejournal@gmail.com

For others in the series put postcards in the search box.