The War Years.
As was common throughout the country the school was called back a
few days early for the beginning of the September term in 1939. Then
came a vast influx of strangers from the Birmingham area. There were
mothers and young children to be billeted as well as virtually the
whole of Yardley Grammar School and its Staff. As things began to settle
down a system of schooling was evolved in which the Lydney children
attended lessons in the mornings and had games in the afternoons. The
Yardley children had games in the mornings and lessons in the afternoons.
This strange system continued until about Easter of 1940 by which time
many Yardley people had returned to Birmingham during the"phoney" war.
From this time onwards the remnants of the Yardley contingent, about
20 in number, were absorbed into Lydney classes and all of the Yardley
Staff had disappeared. All went smoothly throughout the Summer term
in 1940 and continued so for over half of the Autumn term. But, when
the blitz really hit the Yardley school and its surroundings in October
and November of 1940, there was a second but smaller evacuation. About
one hundred and twenty Yardley children, mainly juniors, came to Lydney
at the end of November accompanied by eight members of their Staff.
In the first four year groups, Yardley forms were established and
continued to run until the final breakdown of evacuation in the Summer
of 1942. The Yardley people were treated as a fifth house in the school
house system. After Summer 1942 the few remaining Yardley pupils were
absorbed into Lydney forms completely.
Now that is the purely factual statement about evacuation in the early years
of the war but many friendships made at this time have lasted right throughout
the years. A number of Old Yardleians still visit friends and foster parents
in the Lydney area and are greeted as grown up members of the families. There
was much comradeship and working together. Yardley children played in School
teams. Members of Staff spent whole days out in groups walking - we had no
cars - sometimes just Staff, sometimes with bands of the children.
Buses to and from Gloucester were at two-hourly intervals in the daytime but
were non-existent after 6.30pm. Local routes were cut to three hourly or four
hourly services with no evening buses. There were no special school buses:
children walked three or four miles, or cycled (the bicycle sheds were always
full), or came by train from Newnham, Tutshill Halt, or from over the river.
Naturally the few rooms in school which had proper blackout were the only ones
usable in the evenings and even then lighting was restricted to four one hundred
watt bulbs per per room.
Food was rationed and the provision of meals at school was not easy even though
school dinners were helped out by vegetables grown locally on allotments. Jam
was made in the Domestic Science room by squads of sixth formers, using the blackberries
and crab apples, which whole year groups from the lower school were sent out to
gather in the Autumn. One strange fruit appeared at school dinners - the guava,
an African fruit sent in large tins by an Old Boy who was serving in Central
Africa. At one stage there was even a potato shortage, and so for a time they
were served up scrubbed and in the skins.
From January 1941, for about eighteen months, it was mandatory that there should
be a fire-watching system. For both boys and girls of fourth form upwards it
provided some good extra fun. A squad of twelve were on duty each night, weekends
and holidays included, with two members of Staff in charge. Supper and breakfast
were provided, but the people concerned had to do some of the cooking as well
as the clearing away. Part of each squad slept on mattresses in the Geography
room and part in room three. One of the Staff was in the Head's study and
one in the Mistresses' room - there was a phone in each. When the ‘amber' warning
was given the phone raised the Staff. When ‘red' warning was imminent
the squad were raised and two took up observation in the little hut by the wall
while the remainder patrolled in pairs. All these squads had instruction in fire
fighting and in first-aid. Naturally there were many nights with no warnings
at all. Many practical jokes were played and much communal fun was enjoyed. One
such Summer night sticks in my mind. We had had supper and gone to bed. At about
11.30, I was awakened by a lot of noise from the direction of the Hall. I got
out to investigate and discovered the two halves of the squad testing hoses and
stirrup pumps by waging a watery war on the corridor. Having called for peace,
I looked round and pointed out a stream of water about to pass under the Study
door where the Headmaster was. The Head Boy's face was a picture and he
did not take long in organising a mopping up party. In the hottest weather some
of the boys slept just outside on the field (or did they sleep - more than one
lot admitted to midnight bathing).
School Christmas parties were great events at this time. Children cycled home
after them, or walked home in groups gradually diminishing in number as members
were left at their homes. Senior boys took charge of all such groups and pupils
living in isolated places were taken right to their homes.
School games matches were few in number: for the most part only opponents who
could be reached easily by train were possible. The girls had one hockey and
one netball team in winter months and one tennis and one rounders team in the
summer. The boys had one rugby team and one hockey team in the winter and one
cricket team in the summer. The great day for the boys was the trip to Bath for
the rugby match. We left Lydney Town station at about 6.50am, and after changing
with long waits at Berkeley Road and Mangotsfield we arrived in Bath at about
10.30am. After looking around Bath, there was dinner at the School followed by
the match at about 2pm. After high tea we caught the 4.25pm train to arrive back
at Lydney Town at about 8pm, after more long waits at the same isolated stations.
The came the problem of getting home. Some walked, some cycled, and a few from
far out stayed with friends in Lydney.
Perhaps one of the dominating figures of these years was"old" Joe
Ellison. Not only did he teach handicrafts, mend games equipment and other things
which were irreplaceable, organise school fixture-lists, coach hockey, but he
also ran a scheme of contact with Old Boys serving in the Forces. He wrote hundreds
of letters and sent out parcels with odds and ends of combat for those overseas.
He organised dances and whist drives to raise money for all this, and one of
his most regular supporters was Mr. Thomas (our ‘Dit').
One remarkable thing was that the school never ran short of basic materials,
chalk, paper, ink, soap, chemicals, etc., because of the far-sightedness of the
Head who laid in huge stocks of everything during eighteen months before the
war as he saw it approaching. Other local schools even ‘borrowed' some
of these materials from us.
A strange period, yet one with many good features, most especially the wonderful
spirit of comradeship.
A. W. Barlow.
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