The hostel was the first of its kind and opened in 1962 as a halfway house for ‘delinquent’ boys leaving the Herts Training school at Bengeo.
The house, originally called ‘Murree’, was bought by the County Council for £10,000 to house fourteen boys aged between 16 and 19. The aim was for the boys to work for local employers while still under the care of the school managers. It closed in the 1980s and was a nursing home until it was suddenly demolished in 2019.
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I was a resident here from 1963 to 1964, I boxed at the school and was the only one to win my match against Hitching amateur boxing club and I played football for the school. I worked at the furniture making factory in Ware.
I was at the Hostel from Nov. 63 – May 64 and can honestly say that Pop’s Mr. Morgan & Mrs. Morgan were like a Mother & Father to me. I’ll always remember them with great affection & once in 1966 went back to visit with my Cousin in tow and they let us play Snooker I got Married in 1969 and wished I’d taken the time to take my Wife there but it was a hectic time and I never returned.
I have just realised the lady in the photo in the kitchen is Mrs Morgan. Lovely lady just like a mum. ARG:
I was moved to the hostel from HTS in about 1968-1969 and had got a job with building supply company ironically named Crook Bros, they had a yard just off the top of the high street. I not sure if I got the sack from there but I went on to work for one of the builders that used that merchant, his name was George Best and was about 60 yrs old. As I remember it at that time the hostel was run by Mr and Mrs Jim Marshell. I remember them with fond memories. HTS was a very tough place to be in and at the hostel. I am now 66yrs with children and grandchildren and will always remember the friends I made and the ones I didn’t. I hope others that was there at the same time read this and get in touch……Many stories good and bad……..
I spent months in this hostel with Mr and Mrs Morgan and Mr and Mrs Pye and there son Philip. I can honestly say I was treated like a son by all of them. I regained my health there after a tonsil operation made me feel really bad. All thanks to Mrs Pye who nursed me through my infection.
I worked at Concrete Utilities in Ware wiring street lamps. I wish I could have stayed in Ware but when my time came to leave I was shipped of to Stevenage where I was paid £7 per week to paint council houses. This I detested and bought a motor bike so I could go back to Ware every weekend. I can say with all honesty I enjoyed my time in the Approved School and then the Hostel. I felt safe for the first time in my life. ARG:
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