Pamela Denny, Hampton College Association

The Pamela Denny, Hampton College Association Collection, consists of documents retained by Pamela Denny, relating to her membership of the Hampton College Association, as well as some documents from her time as a student at Hampton Emergency Teacher Training College. Much of the material relates to reunions of former staff and students of the college.

Beginning in 1945, several emergency teacher training colleges were set up across Britain as part of a national government scheme to cope with a predicted shortage of teachers. This shortage was expected to come about due to a number of factors, including the retirement or death of teachers who had served in the war, the impending raising of the school leaving age to 15, the goal of reducing class sizes, and the predicted increase in birth rate following the end of the war. Hampton Emergency Teacher Training College operated from 1945 to 1950, and occupied the building that had been the original site of Hampton Grammar School in Upper Sunbury Road. The Principal was Hannah Berry. The majority of students undertook a 1-year course and lodged at a hostel in Castle Street, Kingston. Pamela Denny (1924-2008) attended the college between 1949 and 1950, and continued to teach for the rest of her working life. For many of the students and staff, their time at the college was very special to them, and this feeling led to the creation in 1950 of the Hampton College Association, which held annual reunions for those connected with the college. Prominent members of the association included Sue Jordan, a former teacher at the college, and Lucy Bailey, a former student. The final reunion was held on 4th June 2001.

The Pamela Denny, Hampton College Association Collection is arranged in four series:

• DC8/1 Student documents, 1949-1950
• DC8/2 Correspondence, members' lists, reports, 1970-2001
• DC8/3 Reunion documents, 1986-2001
• DC8/4 Reference material, 1992-c1995

This collection is open for access and can be viewed at Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive.
The opening times and address for Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive can be found online at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies
If you would like further information about accessing this collection or have any other queries, please contact Richmond upon Thames Local Studies Library and Archive through any of the contact methods listed at: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/localstudies

A more detailed catalogue of this collection can be found online at https://richmond.spydus.co.uk/spydus.html

For details of the emergency teacher training scheme, see HMSO (1950) 'Challenge and Response', Ministry of Education Pamphlet no.17. For more information about Hampton Emergency Teacher Training College, Hampton College Association, and Pamela Denny, see Bird, G (2013) 'Hampton Emergency Teacher Training College 1945-50', West Middlesex Family History Society Journal 31:2 pp4-7.