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More Inter-Schools Fights
In around 1965/66 a small fight developed between some of our lads and some boys from Whitefriars Secondary Modern. It started in the fish and chip shop and both groups made a date to finish the fight the next day. It escalated because each group brought more of their chums along. The third day it grew even worse and on the fourth day schools from Kenton and Hendon and other parts of Harrow had become involved. They met by arrangement in the streets behind the SC, in an area bordered by Kodak, Whitefriars Glass works and the railway line. It began to get every serious because on the fourth day the police were alerted to what was a near riot of nearly a hundred schoolboys (armed with metal bars and bits of wood) in an often violent confrontation. As I was one of the wimpy quiet ones the nearest I came to it was when there was a search of all the boys at the school, in which many offensive weapons were confiscated.
In the end it just petered out, a few days of post exam madness during a hot summer.
Whitefriars School - the exceptionally deprived secondary modern that in itself was a justification for the comprehensive system. I think I was in the 4th year when Whitefriars planned a massive ambush of our 5th year, but I might have got the years mixed up. The ambush was discovered, unbeknown to Whitefriars, by a 6th former and the tables were turned via a pincer movement. There was a major brawl, won by the Salvos. The police did not succeed in pinning anything on anyone.
The following morning in assembly Monty got up on stage and mentioned the previous evening's disturbance. Expecting a major bollocking we were surprised when his only comment was 'well done!'.
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