ST Chad’s, it seems, holds many memories for a lot of people – including frogs and floating shuttlecocks.

Today we have more recollections from its era, sent in by John Caton, from Scarborough, who remembers his young days in Blackburn.

At one time St Chad’s was an overspill from Four Lane Ends School, which sent its 30 eldest boys there for two years before they moved on to secondary school.

There was just one teacher, Mr R E Sharples, who ruled with a rod of iron or, in his case, a cane.

This photo shows him with the 1950 football team, posing outside the church. Taken 60 years ago, John remembers all his fellow players.

On the back row, from left, are Keith Whalley, Derek Altham, Billy Green, Mr Sharples, Gordon Dixon, Peter Rogers, and Fred Sutton.

On the front row, Freddy Watts, Gordon Driver, David Horrobin, Billy Chadwick, and John. He said: “I can’t say Mr Sharples was the most popular teacher, but he did make us work.

We used to be caned on the hand and the trick was to let it drop at the moment of impact, but if detected, we were then caned on the other hand. He was relentless at winning at sport.”

He continued: “With St Chad’s having no playground, we used Pleckgate playing fields and if you were not interested in sport, you played in the stream at the bottom.

“I did like sport and my mother could never work out why I stayed for school dinners when we lived right opposite St Chad’s – but it was all about playing that extra bit of sport.”

John remembers all the local boys were encouraged to attend church and while they went willingly to Sunday School, were not too keen on evensong.

“We used to hide away until the service had started, then go on to the playing fields and play cricket.”

Before the arrival of television, St Chad’s was a popular centre for whist drives, and there was also a youth club, but it did not last long, because so many turned up, with little for them to do.

Said John: “In the beginning you had to go to church to be allowed into the youth club. However, the lay reader’s father had a very gruff voice and one day at the end of a hymn one voice piped up ‘who let the frog in?’ and that was the end of compulsory church attendance!”

The main activity at the club, he recalls, was badminton, but lots of shuttlecocks used to get stuck in the beams – and always seemed to float down during service.

“I think some of the dances used to get a bit lively, too.”