Resident's homework unearths old school books (From Stourbridge News)

Resident's homework unearths old school books

11:39am Monday 25th February 2008 in Local By Martyn Smith

A PENSIONER has been reunited with school work he last saw 67 years ago after a Kinver homeowner turned detective.

Householder Julijana Zappia unearthed essays dating back to 1940 as she prepared to sell her home which was previously the village School.

Julijana was keen to return the books to their rightful owner and, after finding the name C Butler in the work, she included an appeal in advertising for the sale of the house.

Amazingly, Julijana's estate agent was contacted by Wollaston man Charles Butler, aged 80, to say he was a pupil at Foley Boys School during that time.

Mr Butler, from High Street, grew up in Kinver as part of a family of 14 but lived abroad for many years before returning to the region to set up his own business.

He recently visited the Foley Street property to collect his school work which was discovered under a sitting room floor.

Mr Butler said: "It's amazing to look around the building, it still has some of the original flooring, the kitchen used to be a classroom."

Returning to his former school brought memories flooding back for Charles about how different life was for youngsters in days gone by.

He said: "If someone reported you for doing something in the village you were brought in and got six of the best, a big day out was a trip to Dudley."