SHAUN MATHER'S SCHOOL INCIDENTALS BILL FROM 1950

Shaun wrote: "I was going through an old scrap book the other day and found an old W/L expense account in the name of my father. I think the handwriting is that of Mrs MacDonald. Would any of you good folk have any idea of what the full term fees were back then? Eve, perhaps your Mum or Dad would know. My guess is around the 60 pounds, of old, mark. Look up to-days school prices and you'll be shocked. We now now know the school photo cost us 4/-. If my memory serves me well, Picture Post was 3d, Reader's Digest 1/6, and muffins 5 for 6d."

Robert writes: "As to expenses at WL, I recall that the summer term basic bill was around sixty quid. All uniform clothes had to be provided by the parents. Otherwise I recall the rough price level of sweets sold in 1945 and '46 to pupils at Saturdays 'sweet shop' in the dining hall. One could get a few (a couple of?) boiled sweets for 1d and licorice 'shoe laces' for 2d perhaps. There were some slightly more costly sweets - a kind of 'coconut puff' (common in Norway today - made with a creamy whip, covered in thin chocolate and rolled in desiccated coconut). The selection was very poor post-war confectionery. Otherwise, I recall buying two cheap pulp editions of boys' books in Horsham Carfax for 9d each in 1948. The books were 'Jungle John' (by Col. John Budden) and 'Mr. Friend Mr. Leakey' (by J.B.S. Haldane)."