Your very own tasty memories of Hartlepool school dinners

Yum! It pretty much sums up what most of you thought of school dinners in the 1970s.
We got a huge response to our story about school dinners in 1970s Hartlepool.We got a huge response to our story about school dinners in 1970s Hartlepool.
We got a huge response to our story about school dinners in 1970s Hartlepool.

We recently ran a feature on the meals which were served to schoolchildren in Hartlepool more than 40 years ago and, bar a handful of you, the general consensus was it was top notch.

Your replies to our post on social media had our taste buds going, so here’s a sample of some of your comments.

Tucking in to a school meal.Tucking in to a school meal.
Tucking in to a school meal.
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Hayley Hakansson clearly loved the reminder of school dinners and said: “Ooh chocolate cake and pink custard and the best cornflake cake ever with custard too.”

Rea Brookes said her school dinners were ‘just like home cooked’ while Caroline Armstrong commented: “Nutritious food and always a choice of vegetables and unless you had eaten all of it , no pudding.”

Chocolate cake and pink custard still sticks in the mind of Kevin Guffick while Beverley Yeoman Glover was such a big fan of school dinners, she listed many a favourite from times gone by.

“Ours were great,” said Beverley. “Proper dinners with hardly a chip in sight and never pizza or sandwiches. Sliced beef in gravy with turnip and mash or beef stew were best.

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“Also roasties, sausage, mash and beans, Christmas dinners, ham salad, cornflake cake, bakewell, ginger, chocolate or jam sponge, custard, blancmange, or lemon or raspberry syrup.”

Bev gets our thanks for some great memories and she had more reminders of the custom which surrounded a school dinner session.

“You had to eat everything you asked for – but we used to regularly go for seconds at Seaton school and Jezzy. Yum!”

Michelle Butterfield said: “We still have cornflake cake and the kids still love it x” while Kay Davison remembered: “Burgers in soggy buns with onions.”

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Other fans included Susan Knight who said: “Loved my school dinners “ and Chris Naylor who commented: “Better than they are now.”

Terry Hegarty even gave a shout out to “Mrs Speed at st joe’s. Great cook.”

Chris Leslie told us: “I loved school dinners even going for seconds,” and Janine Leslie said “me too”.

Another to reply was Aly Lloyd who said: “I didn’t mind them, hated semolina and tapioca but loved pink custard and cake mmm.”

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Vicky Hainsworth said: “I loved school dinners at Fens!!! I missed being able to go home like other children but the food was great.”

Our story reached more than 6,000 Hartlepool Mail followers on social media and was liked by Julie Hansford, Joanne Harvey, Sandra Robinson, Arthur Brown and James Lupton.

It was also liked by Lucy Pollin, Susan Dobson, Pat Wray, Lorraine Bingham, Susan Knight and Mark Taylor.

Thanks to everyone who shared their memories of school dinners.

If you have recollections of Hartlepool in times gone by to share, email [email protected]