Bray Court, Maidenhead - 12
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Bray Court
A group picture of the children from Bray Court in Basque folkloric costumes.
A picture showing Bray Court from the rear of the building showing part of the grounds.
Outline to follow soon.
With your help, we hope the name the children in the main group picture.
A school class at Bray Court looking at the camera for a photo opportunity.
   In Southampton there was many people when we first came over, about 5,000, it was really too big and too impersonal.  I didn't know anybody, quite frankly.  I came with my sister but we were separated immediately we came off the boat, and quite frankly I hardly saw her at all, in fact I don't recall if I ever saw her in Southampton.  I don';t even know how long we were there but I have a feeling it must have been something like two months.
    Some people started leaving earlier than others.  Some people stayed much longer.  From there we went to what I think must have been a transition camp, I don't know because we were only there for two weeks and it was in army sheds.  It must have been somewhere around Surrey because afterwards we were taken to Bray Court, which was the first solony that I really remember at all.  Bray Court was near Maidenhead.  I do remember we were there for some months.  This was quite a biggish colony.  We were in a house that used to be a hotel at one time, with very imposing grounds and all that.  It was very, very nice indeed.  We were there about six months, in Bray Court.  It was a mixed colony and I was there with my sister.  We both went to that colony and they used to organise concerts from there and my sister used to be in the dancing group.  They used to give concerts in different places and once they went to Belfast and my sister in fact stayed there, in Belfast.  She was adopted there and subsequently a little bit later she took me over there and I spent two years in Belfast...

From Ship of Hope by Oliver Marshall North Kensington Community History Series No. 4.
  Then the M4 sprung up directly behind the house, which now stands on an island between the motorway and its slip road to the Windsor Road.
    Archers, the Slough stationers, were the last people to occupy then building.  They used it as a warehouse until Cookham Rural Council bought it five years ago.
    Since then Bray Court has been empty save for the occasional tramp, vandal or film crew.
    Its final fling -- the auction which take place at Maidenhead Town Hall on December 16 -- promises to prove a lively affair.
    The site has outline planning permission for 26 houses and garages and with land fetching higher prices every week no-one is guessing as to what Bray Court will fetch.

From an article Farewell to haunt of the horror film men from the Evening Mail, Maidenhead, 27 November, 1971.
Motorway
Bray Court
This picture which we obtained from a Basque nina is not very clear, but is a joy to see Basque young ladies dancing together in what must have been an celebration of some sort.  This event took place in Bray Court.
A group of Basque children.
Although rather unclear, this is a delightful picture showing two little Basque children amusing themselves in a corner of the Hall during a dance which took place at Bray Court.
Eduardo Martinez says...

   Mr Cooper of Pepperd, with the cooperation of other sympathizers, was able to secure the lease of Baydon Hole Farm near Lambourne early in May for five months, and generously paid the rent.  A Berkshire Committee, with Mr McIlroy as Chairman, had already been formed.  Major Tomkins was appointed Superintendent and thamks to his military knowledge and energy, three large huts and several other smaller buildings were erected with such speed that it was possible to receive 25 children on June 7th, and a further 75 five days later, a total of 100, in thefirst voluntary home in the country.  During a glorious summer, these children regained their physical and mental health, but the site was not suitable for winter quarters.

    After great difficulty, Bray Court, near Maidenhead, was found, and a lease was signed for a year.  On October 16th, a foggy day, the children were moved by coach, a distance of fifty miles, to their new home.  Just in time, for the weather broke the next day.  They soon settled down under Miss Burke's care, and although about forty of the original number have returned to Spain, their places have been more than filled by children who have come from other homes which have been closed.

    During the twelve months at Baydon and Bray Court, there has been very little illness.  No cases of infectious disease have arisen, notwithstanding the prevalence of measles, mumps and chicken pox in the neighbouring towns.  The condusct of the children has been exceptionally good, and they have endeared themselved to all who have come in contact with them.

    Space will not permit the mention of individual helpers, but thanks are due to the Boy Scouts from Reading and Leighton Park and the many who have adopted children.

By Dr S. Gilford (from "Story of the Children" in a pamphlet Recuerdo de los Ninos Espanoles published by the Berkshire Council Basque Children's Committee, July 1938).
   Activity begins early in the home for the Spanish Children.  At the tingle of the bell, there is a sudden rush for the bathrooms, where the little ones are washed and cared for by the older girls.  At 8.45 am inspection takes place in the dormitories, at 9 am the children file downstairs to the dining room for their breakfast of cocoa, bread and butter.  At the sound of the school bell, the boys form up for a few minutes' open air exercises before they march to their classrooms.  The girls scramble with brushes and dusters, finally...

(by Margaret Burke in the pamphlet Recuerdo de los Ninos Espanoles published by the Berkshire Council Basque Children's Committee, July 1938).
A Day at Bray Court