Dorothy Rose Nash was born on 5 January 1904. Her father initially worked for Royal Worcester as a painter before becoming a curator at Aston Hall and also Birmingham Art Museum. At some point, Dorothy actually lived at Aston Hall for her father’s job! Dorothy attended George Dixon Secondary School for Girls, Birmingham. During the first World War, Dorothy received certificates in lieu of school prizes. Dorothy matriculated in 1919 with school certificates in English, Latin, French, Drawing, Arithmetic, History, Mathematics and Botany amongst others.

Following school, Dorothy undertook book keeping and shorthand and gained certificates. In 1928, she took on a dramatic role at the Midunion Dramatic Society. Dorothy worked at Midland Bank from 1922 to August 1936. She married Allen Clifford Talbott (Cliff) on 29 August 1936 at Aston Parish Church. She and Cliff did not have any children.

Cliff was born 9 April 1903, his father was a railway clerk and they lived at 60 Lancy Road, then 36 Linden Road in Bearwood followed by 96 Willow Avenue, Edgbaston. Cliff was also a pupil at George Dixon Secondary School in the year above Dorothy. He took a degree in engineering and went on to become senior lecturer in Engineering at Newcastle University. This is how they came to live and remain in the North East at Whitley Bay. Cliff had a sister called Vera.

Between 1952-7 Dorothy undertook German classes and passed a number of qualifications. She never

 stopped learning and was still reading books in German and French up to her death. Dorothy had a younger sister called Estelle. Dorothy passed away on 13 April 1996 aged 92.

We found Dorothy’s records whilst in the midst of our archiving project and Dorothy stood out compared to other information we found as there were not only schoolbooks, but photos, school prizes, postcards and certificates etc. These were the records of a George Dixon pupil from over a hundred years ago! It’s been fascinating so far as we’re still researching her and her family members and seeing parallels of what students experience today compared to her time at George Dixon Academy, which is particularly interesting considering Dorothy attended during the First World War. From a historical standpoint, it’s been amazing finding out everything we’ve been able to find out but from a student perspective, although Dorothy is no longer with us, she will always be alive in the history of our school because she walked the same corridors, worked in the same classrooms, and grew up in George Dixon School, just like us.

Rejwan Gareb, 12.1

Special thanks to:

• Friends of Whitley Bay Facebook group
• Whitley Bay & Tynemouth Facebook group
• and Jan Barnes