TWO former pupils are organising a reunion for Turton and Edgworth children who attended Crowthorne Secondary Modern school between 1947 and 1953/54.

Doreen Hough (nee Pike) of Barlow Court, Edgworth, and Marlene Topham (Fishwick) of Wellington Road, Turton, are expecting more than 60 people to turn up from all over the country and overseas.

The social is at Barlow Institute, Edgworth, between 2pm and 5pm on Saturday, June 12.

Crowthorne, the former National Children's Home complex on the moors above Edgworth, provided secondary schooling during that period for both home children and those from Turton and Edgworth.

Mrs Hough said work on building the Turton school at Bromley Cross had started before the war, but was not ready when she was old enough for secondary education.

Children from the village who passed the 11-plus went to either Darwen Grammar School or Darwen Tech. The rest attended Crowthorne until the Turton school was completed.

Mrs Hough and Mrs Topham hope one of the guests at the reunion will be a former Crowthorne teacher, Alfred Baron, who is now 90 and lives in Lincolnshire.

Mr Baron's son Billy, who attended Darwen Grammar around the same time, will also be there.

He would like to meet some of the others who travelled on the school bus to Darwen or attended the Methodist Junior School with him.

"It has turned out to be two reunions in one," Mrs Hough said.

Anybody who is interested in attending the event can contact Mrs Topham on 01204 852544.

Picture: CLASS OF '53 - This is a Crowthorne Secondary Modern School group from 1953. Doreen is fifth from the left on the front row and Marlene is second from the left. Mr Baron is on the right.