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An Obituary and Memories of Olga Reay (née Hyde)


Our oldest member, Olga Reay, passed away recently after reaching the grand age of 100. She was still quite a character, had an excellent memory and, like a lot of us, had great affection for and pride in the school – she attended from 1931-37. We send our condolences and best wishes to her family. She was a great old lady. If you have a copy of '100 - Not Out', you'll see her on the cover.
Elizabeth Hawkins

Thoughts from Olga Reay (Hyde)
I liked Miss Nicol and Mr Westgarth, who took us for modern poetry – very enjoyable.
I recognised Miss Thompson (Fifi) when I went to Tanfield because her father used to teach me when I was in the Scholarship class at South Moor school, and during her holidays she would come in and stand behind his desk.
I spent one year in the sixth, which was a bit of a waste of time for the teachers as I subsequently took a commercial course with book-keeping, Spanish, German and shorthand.
My future husband, Arthur Reay, was in the VI form when I was a first year. His name is the second one down on one of the Honours Boards. He specialised in Woodwork with Mr Mabon.
I started teaching in 1939 and taught for 23 years, starting at Dipton School (Seniors) and spending the last seven years of my teaching career at Langley Park Infants’ School.


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