Hilary's Diaries - Hilary Townsend President of Stalbridge History Society
February 2021 Hilary Townsend
I wrote last month about how babies were dressed in my childhood and this led to my being asked what it was like to start school in Stalbridge in the 1930s. We started at the age of five in the school in Duck Lane which was then much smaller - you can see the outline of the original school will quite clearly. It was heated (very well) by enormous coke fuelled `Tortoise` `stoves with the motto `Slow but Sure` picked out on the iron lid.
Dear, motherly Miss Farthing taught us to read with our finger on the line of words and to write using the alphabet and slates. Yes, we had child -sized slates and wrote on them with chalk in vivid colours - mine was a ferocious raspberry pink and I always managed to get pink chalk all down the front of my clothes.
Miss Pope taught the next class. She was very pretty and lively and Enid Blyton, who was just becoming well-known then, wrote a weekly newspaper for children about her life and work. Miss Pope secured a copy for us every week and one lesson she encouraged us to write letters to Enid Blyton- a pile of grubby, rubbed out little offerings.
In those days at least one teacher was recruited who played the piano well. This was a boon for, as well as hymns and Christmas carols, we had much more community singing as a feature of the curriculum. Folksongs and rounds were greatly featured in our early years and I loved them. Miss Pope entered our class in the Dorset County Council Choral Competition for schools and we won second place. We did not have any sort of school uniform in those days. We were sent to school in whatever our parents decided we should wear. My mother made skirts for me in a serviceable colour, usually grey or dark blue. She was aware that little girls of five did not have a waist so she added a cotton top which made the skirt hang well. She then made jerseys or cardigans in a matching colour. Our devotion to singing at the little school in Duck Lane had consequences for me. I have loved folksongs and joined folk clubs wherever possible in the rest of my life. © Hilary Townsend
March 2021 |
Discover Dorset – Blackmore Vale Dovecote Press 2004
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Blackmore Vale Childhood Dovecote Press 2006
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One Woman’s Fight for Architectural Heritage 2012
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Stalbridge to Siberia and other places - Silk Hay Books 2018
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Titles by Hilary Townsend
Hilary, from a family of yeoman farmers, grew up in Dorset. As a personnel manager in industry, and later lecturer in management subjects, she wrote magazine and newspaper features for UK and North American markets.
Hilary, from a family of yeoman farmers, grew up in Dorset. As a personnel manager in industry, and later lecturer in management subjects, she wrote magazine and newspaper features for UK and North American markets.
