POST-WAR YEARS
0057- Birkenhead Prep School
My second school was Birkenhead Preparatory School, which I went to at the age of seven. It was very different to Bromborough Prep, being the offshoot of the main public school to which I graduated later. It was very much in demand, and I had to have a tough interview to get in; not least because, for the very bright children it taught, it was almost a guaranteed route into the senior school. I immediately respected the headmistress, Mrs Bendall, and my 'exam' was a great success. Indeed, she saw me as being very bright and was delighted to take me. In fact the exam was simply a friendly conversation, though with her asking me quite difficult questions. I can't remember any of these, except the one question I got wrong. She asked me what women wear round their necks and, instead of saying necklace which was what she expected, I said pearls - but I guess that was a more upmarket version and she liked that.
The school itself was in an old building in the upmarket area of Birkenhead. It comprised two large semi-detached, four-storey Victorian town houses. It had been converted, with the two knocked together, but was less than luxurious; though the rooms were an ample size for classrooms. In any case, we only had 15 or so children in each class - a much better ratio than in state schools.
My life changed
almost overnight, and I bl
ossomed
when I went to there. I put on weight, where I had previously been as thin as a
rake, and I enjoyed the work to such an extent that I was soon top of the form.
Indeed in my first term, just before Christmas, when the teacher asked us what
we wanted to do as a special treat for Christmas, I asked for some more tests.
This was not appreciated by the rest of class.
My school uniform and me in 1948
It was an very academic environment. I can remember the tests on words. Where I have always been good with my vocabulary, as I have been with mental arithmetic, I blossomed.
I also remember our art classes, in the art room at the top of the house. I can remember, in particular, enthusiastically making very lopsided clay models which I proudly took home to show to my parents. My parents enthused and said how lovely they were, don't all parents, but in reality my hand-eye co-ordination was never very good. Even in art there was some academic content, because we used to make models of towns and villages. So even this was, I suspect, as much to teach us about geography as art itself. In any case I enjoyed it - as I always have - creating worlds of my own.
When I first went there I also continued my piano lessons. Unfortunately I regressed, though still doing reasonably well. However, in the much more academic environment, I eventually had to give up these lessons to allow time for the academic subjects. Now I cannot play a note on a piano, or even read the notes of a musical score. But I do love classical music and jazz.
At Birkenhead Prep School I was not bullied that much. There was one big child, Morris, who bullied almost everyone but that was spread around so I didn't feel to brand. On the other hand I hated the lavatories in the basement. I guess they were nice and clean but the lavatory stalls were surrounded by screens which were quite high off the ground so people could see underneath if they wanted, and of course the children did want to do this. I had an inordinate sense of personal privacy then, especially about such functions, and that has been with me for all of my life. Perhaps it was because I was an only child, or perhaps it was the prudish society within which I lived.
I guess my friends there were the people who were at the top of the school with me. There were two of us who competed to be top of the form, myself and a boy called Nicolls. We were head and shoulders above everyone else and were very close to each other in our performance. Nicolls eventually went off to another school. My other friend there was a boy called Rockhill. His father owned the local laundry, which we were shown around one stage. Unfortunately, he failed to get into the senior school so I lost him at that stage. Indeed, my progress through my time at school was marked by a regular succession of friends who disappeared from my life.
I know I was in the cubs. More important, I was then also in the school football team. I know these facts because I have a photographs of myself in uniform for these activities, but I can't really remember them. I can, though, remember the school dinners, which were brought across from the kitchens in the main school. I enjoyed them, though at that time I enjoyed any food and unfortunately have ever since.
Cubs Football
Everything was geared towards the entry exam for Birkenhead School, and all the teaching was directed towards this. This was quite different to the entrance exam for the local grammar schools; so we, better prepared, were given something of an unfair advantage over other children.
For the record this also worked the other way round, since in taking the state entry exam to the grammar schools I had to be coached by my grandfather. He was of course an excellent teacher. He did a good job, so I was also successful in getting into the best grammar school (which of course I never attended).
Our own exam was not just the usual IQ test. Instead it revolved around essays. I remember that we had to write an essay which started off with the information that there were large holes being dug around the countryside. Everyone else did the standard thing, and talked about people digging for gold etc. I, on the other hand, told a story about a giant rabbit digging the holes. We also had to do a form of written treasure hunt, where the clues were given out in the form of crossword questions. All in all, it must have been much more challenging than the IQ tests set for the 11 plus, especially where candidates had not been specially prepared for it as we had been. But it had to be, where there were more than 1,000 applicants for just 90 places.
Anyway I passed, as did a number of people I was at school with. In the last term, after we passed, we had great fun being taken round all the local factories etc. I remember going to the local gasworks, then an essential part of any town, and paddling through pools of chemicals, with all the strange creosote smells they held. I was impressed with the sight of the red hot coke, after the town gas had been taken out, being pushed out of the ovens ready for to be sale - where many households (including our own) then used it as their main fuel. We also went to the local leather works and saw them treating the skins in very smelly vats The skins came from the abattoir next-door - a very efficient system. And of course we went to my friend's laundry which was also a fascinating. We learnt a lot, at a time when manufacturing industry was the main employer of labour; but we also had fun and it certainly stimulated my passion for industry.
The conclusion was our school play, or at least an operetta by Gustave Holst. I wanted to play the Ogre, but had to settle for the rear part of the dragon! When we performed in the school theatre the front part was transformed into the queen. In the blackout I had to rush the dragon costume off stage. We also gave a performance at a school for handicapped children. As this was in the open air there was no blackout so I had to remain hidden in the dragon for the rest of the performance. I got the loudest applause of all when I eventually emerged at the curtain call.
Me as the rear half of the dragon!
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