Teachers World Letters 1942

[Judith Crabb]

True crime (if it is a crime in this case) is certainly as fascinating as anything 'cooked up' (I couldn't resist that) by writers of fiction. I never ate mushrooms, or rice, as a child, as my father came out of a Japanese POW camp and I suspect his aversion to mushrooms was connected with hungry prisoners taking risks with unknown varieties, not just poisonous but contaminated in other ways. His aversion to rice is easily explained as it was his staple diet for 3 and half years

[Boodi 2]

I'm not surprised that your father had such an aversion to mushrooms and rice after his experiences in a Japanese POW camp.

My husband is now considering downloading a smartphone App that can apparently identify mushrooms, which would be a great idea if it works!

[Anita Bensoussane]

Six more hens are coming to Green Hedges, and Enid is looking forward to their brown eggs.

I like hearing about Kenneth Tapping, the cook's little boy. His grandfather, 'Old Tapping', was the gardener whom Enid dismissed:

Kenneth, my cook's little boy, is funny when he sees two plums joined together by their stalks. "Look!" he says, "they are holding hands!" Sometimes I take him out in the car with me for a treat, and then he is very thrilled. He winds the window up and down in a very business-like manner, and puts the car key in and out for me. He is quite certain he could drive the car. He is three now, and has some nice manners. If I go down the garden with a basket, he comes up and says, "I'll carry your basket for you." I must say I do like good manners, don't you? People with good manners are always the most loveable - but we are not born with them, unfortunately - we have to learn them!

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=1903

[Anita Bensoussane]

Enid is preparing for a holiday to Swanage, and Gillian and Imogen are excited as they haven't had a holiday for three years. Gillian is to start boarding school as soon as they come back - "so that will be another thrill," says Enid.

What readers of The Teachers World didn't know was that, despite a holiday and kittens and new hens, the summer and autumn of 1942 were a time of sadness and upheaval for Gillian and Imogen.

Imogen writes in A Childhood at Green Hedges:

I do not remember my father leaving for the last time in June 1942. It is likely that the incident in the coat cupboard [where Imogen hid to jump out and surprise her father when he returned from working with the Home Guard in Dorking, only for him to react angrily rather than with pleasure] occurred quite close to his departure. He left for America, where he was to advise on Civil Defence, and my sister went down to the station to see him off. He never returned. What happened during the next eighteen months says much for my mother's shrewd and ruthless management of her personal affairs...

...In the autumn of 1942 my sister was sent away to board at Godstowe Preparatory School in High Wycombe. This was my mother's own decision. My father had left and my stepfather was still only an occasional visitor. My sister believed that my mother was clearing a part of her old life away in preparation for a new one to come. My loneliness increased and I became more aggressive at school. Several times I was punished for fighting with boys and in an unconscious imitation of my mother's own childhood feelings, I identified for a short time with George, the churlish tomboy of the Famous Five. I was both surprised and gratified when a teacher complained of my scowl; for this was a habit with the fictional George.

Enid writes, "We now have nineteen hens, but we shall have to reduce the number soon because of the food. Everyone is very kind to us and brings us all their scraps, and we have plenty of potato parings for them." I suppose "reducing the number" meant eating some of them!

It's interesting to learn which stories the schoolchildren in Sutton liked. They were lucky to hear Enid Blyton telling her own tales! Apparently they had Brer Rabbit, Mr. Twiddle, Shadow the Sheep Dog and Mister Meddle, so she must have been there for quite some time. I'd probably have asked for a Mr. Pink-Whistle story.

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=1904

[Anita Bensoussane]

We're in Swanage this week, and Enid mentions that a section of the pier has been cut out (presumably to prevent any enemy invaders making use of it).

'Nanny' is caring for the pets at Green Hedges. I think that would have been Sarah Aynsley.

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=1905

[Anita Bensoussane]

Having returned from holidaying in Swanage, Enid Blyton has a lot to catch up with. She says to her readers, "I didn't do any work whilst I was away, so now I am very busy indeed, getting on with my stories for you, and all my new books."

Gillian, aged eleven, is going off to boarding school for the first time (Godstowe) and is taking some goodies in her trunk, including her month's rations of sweets and chocolate. She will join the school train when it stops at their local station. I've just checked online and the journey by rail from Beaconsfield to High Wycombe takes 7 minutes these days. It would no doubt have taken a little longer in the 1940s, but Gillian wouldn't have had much time to chat to other girls on the train! I hadn't realised until now that the school was only five and a half miles from Green Hedges!

The school's website contains some interesting information about school life during the Second World War:

The War Years

The First World War did not affect the school as much as the Second World War with all its bombing raids and severe rationing. During the Second World War, the School had three air raid shelters, and fire drill involved girls abseiling down the side of the School buildings from their dormitories. The school uniform was in short supply too, and rare items such as the red hatbands and cockades had to be 'bagged' from a leaver. It also saw the introduction of Siren suits as part of the school uniform. The harsh winter of 1946 also saw compulsory tobogganing for all girls instead of games as all the pitches were snowbound.

https://www.godstowe.org/about-us/godstowe-s-history

Gillian left Godstowe for Benenden in 1945, but Imogen was still at Godstowe in 1946 (having started in September 1944 when she was only eight).

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=1906

[Courtenay]

That's fascinating that Gillian's boarding school was only five and a half miles away from her home! I'm sure I would have found that maddening if it had happened to me — to be so close to home and yet not be able to go back there, except one day a month and for holidays. Reading Enid Blyton books as a child, I was always so glad that boarding schools were a thing of the past and I would never be made to go to one. I mostly enjoyed school, but I couldn't think of many things more horrible than having to live there all the time!

I did have a bit of a pang just now, though, reading Enid's line about how her girls, on coming home and seeing their pets and their toys and the garden, "soon forgot to long for the sea." There was another great and welcome disparity between my life in 1980s Australia and the lives of most of the children in Enid's stories. As a very young reader, I was always amused and slightly baffled by how exciting and momentous it obviously was for the children in these stories to go for a holiday by "the seaside". My family moved to a seaside town when I was only about 18 months old, too young to remember living anywhere else, and so I grew up only a short walk from an incredibly beautiful beach that we could visit ANY time, all year round, usually every day! (And how glorious it was at the end of the summer holidays when all the tourists went home and we locals had the beach all to ourselves.) And much though I love where I live now, in Cheshire — I have a home I love and a job I love and there are so many beautiful places to visit in the area — one of the few drawbacks to it is that it's nowhere near any beaches. And unlike Gillian and Imogen, I don't soon forget to long for the sea. But other than that, I could hardly be better off, so I don't complain too much.

Back to Enid's letter, one can tell the climate has changed since the 1940s — "Aren't there a lovely lot of blackberries this year...!" Enid tells us at the end of September 1942, but all the blackberries are well over now at the end of September 2023. I think the first ripe ones I found this year were at the end of July!

[Boodi 2]

Yes indeed, the blackberries are long gone here...I think I picked the very last ones about two weeks ago!

Although I enjoyed the school stories, like Courtenay I hated the idea of boarding school and would not have wanted to attend one. On one or two occasions when my marks were not good my parents said that if I did not study harder they would have to send me to boarding school and I was absolutely terrified!!!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I actually asked my parents if I could go to boarding school, as I thought it would be fun to go somewhere similar to Malory Towers, St. Clare's or Whyteleafe. However, they told me it cost too much money and it would probably be very different from the boarding schools I'd read about anyway!

[Boodi 2]

In retrospect I don't think my parents really considered boarding school for me due to the cost, as even in those far-off days the fees were very expensive. Those I knew who were sent to boarding school were usually considered "difficult" and either had poor marks or engaged in undesirable behaviour such as under-age drinking and smoking or worse (i.e. drugs). The daughter of one of my mother's friends was sent to a very exclusive and expensive boarding school in the hope that she would "turn over a new leaf". At first her mother was full of praise for the school and claimed that her daughter was really taking an interest in the various extra-curricular activities offered by the school, which included a sort of social work project where the pupils visited and helped disadvantaged families in the vicinity, including a traveller/gypsy family. Unfortunately for her parents, the girl took such an interest in the traveller family that she later eloped with one of the young traveller men and like Aunt Rose in The Six Cousins series, her mother was so shocked and distressed that she was unable to cope and ended up in a nursing home. As she was so ashamed of her daughter's behaviour she broke off contact with all her friends so I never heard the end of the story and whether the daughter and the young man remained together!

[Katharine]

That's fascinating that Gillian's boarding school was only five and a half miles away from her home! I'm sure I would have found that maddening if it had happened to me — to be so close to home and yet not be able to go back there, except one day a month and for holidays. Reading Enid Blyton books as a child, I was always so glad that boarding schools were a thing of the past and I would never be made to go to one. I mostly enjoyed school, but I couldn't think of many things more horrible than having to live there all the time!

That's an interesting comment. Do you mean that as a child you just assumed that boarding schools belonged 'in the past', or didn't Australia have any while you were growing up?

I don't think I knew of anyone personally who attended a boarding school - it certainly wasn't something that any of my friends or family could have afforded. In fact I only knew of one person who went to a fee paying school (as a day pupil) and that was only because their family was left a little bit of money, and it was only enough to pay the fees for a few years.

There were a couple of schools around here that took both day and boarders, but I don't know how far aware their family homes were. I suppose I just assumed they lived quite a long way away, but in more recent years, I have met a few people who actually lived fairly locally, but either went to or sent their children to boarding schools. Not sure of their reasons though, possibly they thought the general experience would be good for them, or possibly because it made the issue of juggling childcare with careers easier if there was no 'school run' to have to factor in.

I suspect that with Enid's girls there was an aspect of both reasons. I suspect that Gillian went to boarding school aged 11 because it was 'the right/done thing', however I think probably poor Imogen went at an earlier age so that Enid could focus more on her career/Kenneth.

[Courtenay]

That's an interesting comment. Do you mean that as a child you just assumed that boarding schools belonged 'in the past', or didn't Australia have any while you were growing up?

I certainly didn't know of any boarding schools in Australia when I was little. I later became aware there were a handful in Melbourne and presumably the other major cities, but they've never been a popular option except for the very rich, and I gather some (perhaps most) now only take day pupils, not boarders, as there's just not enough demand these days. Boarding schools have really never been a significant part of our culture in the way they have been in Britain.

[Katharine]

That's really interesting. I would have thought that given the size of Australia, that if anything they would be more common than here in the UK.

Your experience suggests that it is more of a class thing than distance.

Did/does Australia ever have something like the 11+ and grammar schools that we have here in the UK?

[Anita Bensoussane]

That's quite a story about the daughter of your mother's friend, Boodi - although if my children made choices I wasn't sure about, I'd still be there for them and I wouldn't give two hoots what other people thought.

I didn't know anyone who went to boarding school, though there was one in Colwyn Bay where I grew up (Rydal). I imagined that if I went to boarding school I'd enjoy midnight feasts, jolly games in the grounds and the common room, tricks and jokes, nature rambles, and dips in the pool. What didn't occur to me was that bullies would be around 24 hours a day, and that I'd probably have very little time for reading. I didn't really think about how much I'd miss my family either.

[Courtenay]

That's really interesting. I would have thought that given the size of Australia, that if anything they would be more common than here in the UK.

Your experience suggests that it is more of a class thing than distance.

It's definitely a class thing! Also, despite the size of the continent, the vast majority of Australians (over 80%, I think it is) live in the cities and larger towns, so most of us are well within reach of both primary and secondary (high) schools. I do know one person (nearly 20 years older than me) who grew up in rural central Queensland and attended a boarding school in Melbourne, but it was run by her specific church denomination and I don't think many other schools provided boarding even in those days (1970s, I think). For children in really remote areas, there are School of the Air classes, which were traditionally conducted over the radio, but they now do them online. We knew about "remote learning" long before the Covid pandemic!!

Did/does Australia ever have something like the 11+ and grammar schools that we have here in the UK?

No, totally unknown as far as I'm aware. If they existed, I would have absolutely jumped at the chance, since I was very good academically and would have loved to take that exam and get into a school that catered for "smart" students! We do use the term "grammar school", but it usually just refers to a fairly posh private school — I believe it originally meant a school where Latin was one of the subjects. My last high school, in Melbourne, was classed an Anglican girls' grammar school, but we definitely didn't do Latin and there were no entrance exams. No boarders, either!