The 'Farewell to Bow' event last Sunday was well-attended, with Old Bowites coming to take in the school for the last time before the current cohort is amalgamated into the Chorister School. Tea, coffee and refreshments were available while the children availed themselves of the bouncy castle in the Adamson Building. I had put out a display of various archive materials, with the student-written Bow Times from the 1990s garnering the most interest. Of considerable interest to many alumni, however, was the announcement that we would be digging up the time capsule that had been buried in 1986 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary.

A plaque built on the side of the wall read that the time capsule was thirty-eight feet into the cricketing field, and then fifteen feet to the right. Our initial attempts on the Friday to dig on that spot were fruitless; instead, the capsule had been buried much further down in a concrete container, necessitating the use of a digger. In this, we were ably assisted by Old Bowite John Dylan Walker, who was able to fulfil a childhood dream of digging up the Bow School playground. 

In 2013, while he was still in Year 3, John Dylan Walker had given a presentation on tractors and diggers. "Using a slide show, he guided us through the names for different parts of the attachments that are available. Rather than simply showing us photos, John-Dylan had requested permission for his own mini-digger to be brought outside and [he] tested the children on the names of parts and invited them to sit in it. Fortunately the engine had been disabled so that it couldn't be used, otherwise John-Dylan would have been very keen to demonstrate it." No such obstacles met him on Thursday, and he was successfully able to use his digger to unearth the time capsule. 

When we opened this box, we were dismayed to find that water had got in; the side of the wood and lead-lined time capsule had split open, causing much damage to the contents. The paper had turned to mulch, and had to be left on the playground lawn to dry. All of the cloth items- particularly the Bow cap- were likewise in the process of disintegration. To find out more, I was forced to consult newspaper archives on what the box had contained. 

The time capsule was buried after Speech Day on the 5th July 1986, which, according to the programme, took place between 11.30 and 12.30 in the Appleby Lecture Theatre. Peter Baelz, the Dean of Durham, acted as Chairman, while the speaker was Professor G.R. Batho, the Professor of Education at the University of Durham. The central role of Durham University was due to the fact that an exhibition of Bow School's history was taking place to commemorate the centenary, with the publication of C.D. Watkinson's excellent history of Bow also serving to memorialise the event. Lunch took place at 12.30 in the School Dining Hall (£1.50, with children free), while the Time Capsule Ceremony took place at 2pm. The evening concluded with a cricket match between the 1st XI and the Fathers' XI. 

The 7th July 1986 issue of the Sunderland Echo provided an overview of the occasion. "The capsule was sunk under the turf on the outskirts of the school's cricket field following the school speech day and prize-giving. Inside the capsule was a booklet detailing the school's 100-year-plus history, prepared by Dr Watkinson, secretary of Durham University library. Also included was a school photograph and items of the boys' work." The booklet from Dr Watkinson—no doubt Bow School: A Centenary Record, published 1986- was not in the capsule, or if it was the water damage had made it completely unrecognisable. The "items of the boys' work" were there, however. 

These consisted of:

• A rugby sock

• Panini football stickers from the 1985-1986 season. Of these, the names of 'Hull City' and 'Carl Valentine' are visible. 

• An old-fashioned light switch 

• A Bow cap 

• A Bow tie.

• A Bow School badge 

• A photograph. The actual image is not visible, but on the back, written in pencil, are the words 'Well you go and try it then!', Richard R--- (Centre), William Burgess (Foreground with Shirt)' 

• The most recent issue of The Northern Echo. 

• The 1986 Whole School photograph (albeit very distorted) 

• A small metallic object of uncertain origin. 

Several Old Bowites I spoke to remembered the sock going in. It was observed that much of the other material had been assembled by the Bow School students at the time, and so the exact meaning of some of the items (such as the light switch) are likely lost to time. 

Putting aside any disappointment- I was asked several times by Bow School students as I was digging if I was "looking for treasure"- the items do paint an interestingly personal image of life as a Bow schoolboy in 1986. For what can more perfectly encapsulate the Bow School experience than a cap, a tie, a school badge, and a collection of football cards?