大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War website by a volunteer from Lincoln CSV Action Desk on behalf of Eileen Naylor and has been added to the site with her permission. Mrs Naylor fully understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

In Walkeringham all the village children attended school from 5 鈥� 14 years unless they passed the scholarship at 11 years. All the teachers and pupils lived in the village and either walked or cycled to school. Lessons started with assembly and prayers in the hall at 9.00 am. Most of the pupils went home for dinner from 12.00 til 1.30. Those from outlying areas took a packed lunch and stayed at school. Usually maths and English lessons were held in the morning each day till playtime 鈥� spent out of doors in good weather 鈥� and perhaps dancing and singing if it was wet!

After the war started and we were issued with gas masks we all took these to school and had 鈥渄rill鈥� to help us to get used to them. The school day finished at 4 o鈥檆lock. Usually skipping ropes, whips and tops and marbles came out for play on Shrove Tuesday. At playtime we played leapfrog, bat and ball, tiggy and conkers in the autumn. School holidays were organised around land work. In Spring it was potato setting and sugar beet, Summer was for fruit picking and in October it was the potato picking holiday. The boys at that time all wore short trousers and knee socks and the girls wore gym slips or skirts.

I passed the scholarship in 1940 and went on to school at the High School for Girls in Gainsborough. As most of the pupils at Walkeringham school went on to leave at 14 years there were no special school buses out of the village the pupils like myself were given passes to travel to school on the regular service bus. This meant leaving home to catch the 8.25 am and returning at 4.50 pm. Buses in those days carried far more passengers regularly from the outlying country areas and were usually very crowded. I remember school children often sitting four to a double seat and passengers were allowed to stand down the centre aisle. Al buses had a driver and conductress. The aisles were often full to the door with the conductress standing behind the closed door in the stairwell. Children in those days were expected to give up their seats for senior citizens, mums with babies, etc. There was little or no trouble with this in those days and it was the expected norm.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.