NEARLY a hundred old school friends turned out for a reunion of former pupils of Landseer Secondary School from 1930 to 1960.

NEARLY a hundred old school friends turned out for a reunion of former pupils of Landseer Secondary School from 1930 to 1960.

The reunion has become something of an annual tradition and this year saw the strongest attendance yet, with 94 old-boys congregating at Clapgate Lane Conservative Club and raising cash for the diabetes centre at Ipswich Hospital.

Former pupil George Garnham, now 70, said: “Everyone had a really good time and I saw my old friend Roy Baker for the first time in 50 years.

“We had people there from all walks of life as far away as Manchester, from people in their 30s to those in their 80s.

“Many have contacted me since to say what a wonderful night it was.”

The South Eastern Boys School was opened on August 31 1936. A decade later the name of the school was changed to signify its location in Landseer Road.

On August 31 1968 it became a mixed school and was renamed the Landseer Wing of Nacton Heath Secondary School.

But the date which nobody is sure of is when the school actually closed.

Mr Garnham, who has fully researched the first 21-year history of the school and all its teachers, knows that it was torn down in 1987 to make way for housing but has yet been unable to pinpoint a date.

Mr Garnham said: “I have been to the records office and they tried the education committee, the borough council and the county council but nobody knows the exact date of closure or the name of the company that demolished the school.

“There were many thousands of boys who passed through the school and I would like to put something together which can be given to the records office for future generations to trace their ancestors.

“I have quite a lot of photos and there must be many more out there which I would like to scan and put on to a DVD.”