HOW did they all fit into one room Western District Boys class of 1938 had no less than 39 on the roll and among them was young Graham Britton.

He was a pupil at the Shirley Road school until 1939 when the Second World War meant he and his class-mates were evacuated to Bournemouth for the next six years.

His sister, Jean Webb, 68, of Avenue Court, Southampton, said: "We had moved to Shirley Road from Malmesbury Road and were living just opposite the school.

"Graham ended up staying in Bournemouth after the war as he wanted to stay with the family who he was billeted with. They had horses and he loved that. He got a job at the airport after leaving school and then joined the Army.

"He married a Bournemouth girl and spent the last 25 years of his working life with British Airways as an aeronautical engineer."

"I lived with my mother Nora in Bournemouth and we returned to Southampton after the war with my eldest brother John."

John later married and moved to Leamington Spa but Jean, an ardent Saints fan, has never dreamed of leaving the city.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.