A period of nearly three years elapsed before we at Bablake had absorbed the history of this ancient city, had come to know its gentle time-discoloured limestone buildings, its castle, built by William the Conqueror in 1068, at the top of the ever memorable Steep Hill; the Stonebow at the head of High Street, the principal gate of the early city; the Bishop's Palace, of which more anon; Steep Hill itself, cobbled, rough pavemented, lanked as it then was with antique shops now sadly bulldozed away in the name of development, shops where a hardly rich fourth-former could purchase envelopes bursting with foreign stamps for good value. Almost daily in term time we travelled the length of the High Street, crossing two railway lines of what were the London and North Eastern Railway and the London Midland and Scottish Railway which ran east to west. Those of us pupils who cycled to School from billets in the high point of the town, recall the exhilarating dash down Lindum Hill in summer, straw boaters flying, (boaters purchased for 2shillings a lid in a store behind the Stonebow), and the challenge of the ride up Lindum Hill from bottom to top without dismounting; recall the buses with an open staircase; the raw weather of snowy winters with those very buses sliding down Lindum Hill. And we marvelled at the great fortune of Mr. Barter, who on a snowy winter day, whilst attempting to cross the railway track ahead of the closing gates, slipped and in the sitting position while attempting to stand, was pushed firmly by the closing crossing gates to the other side of the track, where, having gained his feet on to none too steady legs, he launched into a denunciation of the weather, the gates, the railway company, and the world in general or so we believed, all spoken in rapid French in none too complimentary terms. But this narrative of Lincoln rushes ahead of itself, and if it is to assume its rightful place in the text of this volume, one must seek a starting point.
In the summer of 1939, on the occasion of the final assembly of the school term, Mr. Seaborne cautiously reminded us of a very delicate political situation that existed in Europe. We were not surprised, when on September 3rd 1939 the British nation found itself at war with Germany. The first term of school commenced in memorable fashion. We were told that there would be no schooling until air raid shelters had been built on the field at the front of the School. Our bliss was short-lived, for a tutorial system was evolved that required our attendance at School on one half day a week, that attendance being made merely to collect homework for the week ahead, and to submit work that had been completed in the previous seven days. This system of tuition was not to the liking of all pupils, but private study benefited some. However, the air raid shelters were at last ready to accept us when necessary, and in the Spring term of 1940 we were once more behind our desks.
Normal schooling proceeded, interrupted at times by air raid practices. 'At such times,' one former pupil recalls, 'we all trooped off to the newly built shelters and the lesson would proceed, often under conditions of stress. It must have been disconcerting for the Physics teacher who was manfully struggling to evince some interest in the erg to have to address 30 pupils sitting with gas masks on, who at a signal would as one all exhale through the rubber sides of the mask, so creating a deafening and thoroughly Chaucerian noise.'
After the major air raid of November 14th 1940 the news of the offer of help from Lincoln quickly spread, and hurried registration along, so that by the morning of November 23rd 297 boys and Staff left Foleshill station by special train. For most pupils the departure that morning was the first occasion that they had left home with the prospect of living with other families for not just a week or two but for an unknown period of time, a period of time that for many extended ultimately to more than eight school terms.
At first examination Lincoln, a city surrounded by low, flat terrain most suitable for the many R.A.F. bases that were stationed close by at Scampton, Waddington, Swinderby and other villages, seemed to be a most unsafe reception area for evacuees. It was supposed that the squadrons of Bomber Command would provide principal targets for the Luftwaffe, but this view was proved to be largely erroneous as little was heard of the Luftwaffe during our three years in Lincoln, the greatest inconvenience to its citizens being the occasion of an air raid by the Germans that produced damage sufficient to affect 200 or so Lincolnians. Fortunately none of those involved were Bablake boys, though loss of homes indirectly affected numbers of billets available in later months. The danger from aircraft activities stemmed from our own planes whilst taking off for, and returning from bombing missions, and on training flights. Many pupils will recall the horror of seeing, at one lunch-time, two fighter aircraft collide in mid air and fall to the ground, and of witnessing the headlong plunge of a Wellington bomber into fields off Nettleham Road to the north-west of the city. Should the School have required us to leave classrooms because of air raid warnings, air raid shelters were made available for use in the grounds of the School, together with two shelters in the grounds of an adjoining open-air school, and in addition there was a public shelter close to the School on South Common.
Our first view of Lincoln was from many miles away, as we sighted the magnificent Cathedral from our carriage windows, and soon, disembarking from the train, we were met by the Mayor of Lincoln, and the Director of Education, who was the officer responsible for billeting. We were marshalled from the train with a gas mask, ration books and suitcases in buses to the City School at the bottom of Lindum Hill, whence we were dispatched to our allocated billets all over the city. Undoubtedly the placing of 297 boys and Staff would have presented enormous difficulties, but such was the sympathy and solicitude of the citizens of Lincoln that all were accommodated, and the appropriate gratitude of all pupils to their hosts and hostesses is a matter of record.
With expedition and enthusiasm the preparation for resuming our education in the accustomed Bablake manner proceeded apace. Bablake School, Coventry was to be sited in a building allocated to us at South Common, a common of a hundred acres or so located at the south side of the City flanking one of the main roads to Newark, twenty-three miles to the south. The building had served its purpose as a school twice already, latterly as a High School for Girls, and lay vacant until Bablake's adoption of the premises on December 2nd 1940.
The design of the school was simple. A central corridor twelve to fourteen feet wide ran the length of the building and eight rooms each sufficiently large to accommodate about 30 pupils opened from the corridor to left and to right. The entrance to the school was gained through half glazed double doors, opening into a vestibule off the left side of which was a moderately sized room that doubled as a stationery office for Miss Marian Twigg, the School secretary. From the right of the vestibule ran a short corridor from which opened the Headmaster's study. At the end of this short corridor were two more classrooms. A cloakroom with toilets off opened from the left side of the main corridor just beyond the office. The whole building was surrounded by a small, grassed area and stood in South Park Road in a sparsely wooded coppice with an open-air school as a neighbour. From the rear grassed area a pedestrian bridge ran across a single-track railway to reach the lower slopes of South Common. The single-storey building itself was constructed of timber and corrugated iron. Its flooring was of boards on joists, and in consequence forever creaked and resounded under the feet of Bablake's many pupils.
The rooms were heated by hot-water radiators, supplied by a solid fuel boiler system, that was clearly as old as the building itself, a system that frequently broke down and required careful nursing by a conscientious caretaker. Not unknown was it, that at times when the caretaker was absent ill, the Staff including the Headmaster and some boys set to and stoked the boiler. Overall the premises were not of a size sufficient to house all boys who needed tuition, and arrangements were made, at a cost of three guineas per session, for the use of the hall and classroom at St.Catherine's Church nearby. Handicraft classes were arranged to be held at Sincil Bank Senior Boys' School a few hundred yards away, and laboratories and classrooms were made available at the City School. For use of the senior Sixth Form in the Arts, Lincoln Grammar School kindly made available its library.
To provide alternative accommodation and to ease the problem of any future difficulty with the provision of billets, the question of a School boarding house was examined. Greestone House, in the lee of the Cathedral, was acquired. Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson were appointed to be in charge and the scheme was put into operation on January 7th 1941. 35 boys were accepted as residents and were to enjoy the communal life so provided. Mr. Dilks and Mr. Barter were appointed to assist Mr. Atkinson and originally Greestone House contained only boys who had not left Coventry with the main party in November. Seven of the sixth-formers in Greestone hostel were given bedrooms in the adjacent Bishop's Palace, sleeping in the gable rooms, where, pre-war, maids would have been accommodated.
One former pupil recalls: 'We went to these rooms each evening after homework had been completed in the dining room, and there we stayed until the following breakfast time, when we would return to Greestone House. Part of the agreement was that we would carry out fire-watching duties for the Palace, as the Bishop was of advanced years. This meant that for one and a half hours every night, each of us in turn would stand watch at the top of the tower. To be awakened at 2 a.m. and then to stay aloft in icy weather was no sinecure, and in a total blackout of the city and in a silence punctuated by the deafening boom of the Cathedral bell every hour, the eerie experience was highly character-building.' Greestone was a success and seen by many as an attractive virtue, so much so, that many pupils, disenchanted by billeting arrangements with private families for one or other reason, expressed preference for residential life.
Ultimately two additional hostels were opened - Witham View on May 7th 1941 and Brentwood on November 15th 1941. Witham View, which was in the stewardship of Mr. and Mrs.Duffield, was able to accept 24 boys, and Brentwood, in the charge of Mr. and Mrs. Dilks, provided room for 11 boys initially, and within five months expanded its facilities to take 20 boys. Living at hostel was by all accounts very enjoyable. Community spirit flourished. In addition to work, many varieties of extramural activities were arranged, and hostel rivalry was expressed as inter-hostel cricket, soccer, bowling, chess, table tennis and tennis during the summer months. In spite of the close proximity of one pupil with another imposed by communal life, infectious illness rarely troubled. One case of diphtheria became evident, but cases of chicken pox and mumps never reached epidemic scale, in spite of the fears of the Headmaster.
The Bablake Staff was by now depleted, and those remaining to teach at Lincoln included the Headmaster, Messrs. Atkinson, Bandy, Barter, Bourne, Core, Curt, Dilks, Duffield, Finch, Harrison, Hargreaves, Jacques, Lanham, Lewis, Phillips, Raine, Rice, Vickery, Wootton, and Miss Lucas. E. J. Sutton had been called to military service prior to the evacuation to Lincoln, but was discharged from the Army, and returned to Bablake on May 12th 1941, later to be appointed Senior Physics Master at Leamington College in July 1942. W. Jacques, in the same month, left to teach Maths at Priory School, Shrewsbury, and W. L. Hargreaves was appointed Senior Chemistry Master at King's Norton Grammar School, Birmingham, and took up his duties there in September 1942. His replacement was Dr. S. A. Pearman of Loughborough College, who was a former pupil of Bablake School. Many were the stories of infelicities of expression "Just watch the blackboard while I run through it" or "If you haven't got a rubber, use the boy's behind" were later to be told of John Falla.
Mr. Core also returned to his native Yorkshire in July 1942 after many years of service to the School. No replacement was arranged until after the School returned to Coventry and then Mr. L. F. Fuller assumed the post of P.E. master. Mr. E. Davison replaced Mr. Jacques, but due to a misunderstanding about his contract never took up the appointment, and Mrs. E. C. Brown, for one term only, taught Mathematics. Mr. J. F. Ractliffe was ultimately appointed and remained on the Staff until 1946. Mr. L. Finch and Mr. Lewis were called for military service during the period that Bablake was at Lincoln. Thus did the numbers and composition of the Staff available to teach vary over the duration of the stay in Lincoln, but much as morale was put under stress by factors such as fire-watching duties, teaching under unusual conditions of accommodation, and necessarily adjusting to new homes, the Staff remained steadfastly loyal to the boys and supportive of the Headmaster, whose own difficulties in administration were increased many-fold by the far from uncomplicated life in Britain in wartime. Foci of stress could be identified as the fluctuating availability of billets, the health problems of a few pupils, the uncertainty of Staff numbers, and the admission of new pupils from fee-paying lists of L.E.A. schools in Coventry.
Maintenance of adequate numbers of water buckets in the main corridor for fire-fighting purposes, was insisted upon by the terms of Circular 42/56, and the Headmaster was required to influence his flock to observe that sandbags placed at the base of lamp-posts should remain undisturbed by the terms of Circular 40/80. Circular 40/73 that offered immunisation against diphtheria was gratefully received, but the Circular touching upon the outbreak of verruca (warts of the foot) acquired by swimming in the local baths, in its comparativeriviality, not so. The relaxation of the need to carry gas masks at all times produced an outward sigh of relief by the terms of Circular 42/52. The grant claims form, submitted in 1940, too late, resulted in a nil payment in that year. In consequence charges of bank overdraft of several pounds were paid. The Headmaster was not pleased!
Throughout January 1941 the work of arranging and providing still better accommodation proceeded. Miss Twigg's various trips to Coventry had resulted in the provision of further supplies of furniture, books and stationery, so that the routine of school began to approach normal, and by January 27th 1941 the re-organized School was working to a normal routine and regular timetable.
Towards the end of January relaxation from school work was provided by the organization of School entertainments of an improvised nature by the pupils themselves, and by some members of the Staff. These entertainments were held in the Chapel Hall of St. Catherine's Church, and aroused much enthusiasm among the boys. The performers had no opportunity to rehearse, and their efforts were therefore quite spontaneous. Sometimes performances lacked polish, but what they lacked in skill they made up in enthusiasm. Several boys acquitted themselves creditably. Shephard fiddled the 'Blue Danube' remarkably well; Donald played a selection on the piano n an exemplary manner; Messrs. Bandy and Hargreaves of the Staff, with their feature as the Western Brothers, were voted top billing. Entertainment by professionals was provided at regular intervals during the stay in Lincoln, concerts being held in the hall at the South Park Girls' High School, under the auspices of the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts, recognised by all pupils of the period as C.E.M.A. The technical performance of the instrumentalists, whilst undoubtedly of very high quality, was occasionally flawed by error, error caused by unintentional overtone in the wind section, or a mis-tonguing in the brass, much to the delight of the audience, who often felt that such imperfections compensated for what was on occasions a standard of programme pitched too high for the average fourth-former. Official School visits were made to the cinema at Lincoln when such films as Major Barbara, Target for Tonight, Kipps, Pimpernel Smith, 49th Parallel and Atlantic Ferry were on view, and such organized arrangements undoubtedly sustained morale.
There had been only two rugby fixtures played in the term leading up to November 1940, and the form of the senior team augured well for the season ahead. It was well into the New Year before Bablake resumed playing rugger again, but because of bad weather, and the lack of local clubs and schools in an area where Association football was the main winter sport, a very limited number of fixtures were played. Indeed, only two fixtures are recorded as having been played in the Spring term of 1941. Our victorious opponents on both occasions comprised Theology students at Bishop's Hostel in Lincoln, with the fixture being played on both occasions on the Lindum R.F.C. ground. Early excursion into Association football by the second and third forms began in the spring term of 1941, when Lincoln Corporation made available pitches on South Park, and in the autumn of 1941 the official winter game of Bablake School, presumably for the second time in its history, reverted to that of Association football. A rearguard action by rugger aficionados was fought on three rugby fields during that same term, an unsuccessful venture, since in October 1941 the School embarked on its first programme of Association football. During that season, which was somewhat curtailed by bad weather early in 1942, eight matches were played, of which only one resulted in victory for us. Our opponents comprised XIs from R.A.F. stations nearby, surrounding hamlets, and two other schools in Lincoln, namely the City School and Lincoln Grammar School. The season 1942 - 43 was a much more successful one. The transition from rugger to soccer was by then becoming easier and the experience of a disappointing previous season had taught hard learned lessons. Results were distributed thus: of a total of 14 games played, 7 were won, 2 were drawn and the balance of 5 were lost. Our games against Lincoln Grammar School and the City School accounted for two of these defeats, but even then our play showed a great improvement on that of our earlier standard in 1941. It has been often claimed that given another season playing the soccer code, even the two Lincoln School games would have resulted in wins for Bablake.
The Summer term of 1941 saw Bablake embark on its first cricket season away from home. Our friends at Lincoln Grammar School very kindly made available practice wickets and areas for training, and although fixtures were necessarily restricted we acquitted ourselves well losses were by a small margin, of 9 runs in one instance, and by one wicket in another. The School as a whole was fortunate in obtaining two pitches on South Common adjoining School premises, and weekly form games and inter-hostel games were played there. Inter-school cricket in the summer of 1942 was restricted to 2 games only, 1 of which was won and the other lost, whilst the record of games played in the summer of 1943 appears to have been lost. Memory prompts recall of an averagely successful season.
Swimming had always been a popular sport with Bablake pupils. It continued to be thus whilst the School was at Lincoln. Lincoln Education Committee provided swimming facilities at the Schools' Baths in the City throughout our stay in Lincoln, and the kindness was much appreciated by many pupils. The School sports calendar throughout our stay in Lincoln was generally very much restricted, notwithstanding the help given by a variety of local interests.
By April 1941 there were 306 boys attending School in Lincoln, compared with the original 297 who were evacuated in November 1940. 40 more had arrived in January, and 36 had been withdrawn for attendance elsewhere, 4 pupils had left, and 9 had rejoined Bablake late after private evacuation to other areas. 27 boys had been enlisted for the Higher School Certificate, the old equivalent of 'A' level; 60 boys had been entered for the School Certificate, the old equivalent of '0' level. Numbers in July 1941 were 294, attendance having been 98.68%. Both hostels were full and a proposal to acquire a large house to accommodate another 50 boys had been made.
October 1941 brought the first quarterly report of the first complete year of Bablake's stay in Lincoln, and in that month there were 358 boys in School, 97 new boys having been admitted in September 1941. Of the 358 boys, 300 were in billets, the remainder being accommodated in the hostels. Health had been very satisfactory, and attendance figures recorded a very satisfactory 98.6%. The analysis of the results of the public examinations was published now, the exams having been held in the hall of South Park Girls' School, and with obvious satisfaction the Headmaster reported that the success of the School in public exams had reached a new high level, the percentage of success in Higher School Certificate at 92.5% being 5.5% higher than ever before, and 14% higher than the average over the country as a whole. In the School Certificate 86.6% of candidates had been successful, a figure of 12% better than in the year 1940, 30% better than in 1937, and 9% better than the average nationally. An analysis of occupations and dispersion of those who had left at the end of the academic year, i.e. July 1941, shows the following interesting features:
31% Proceeded to university
19% Became indentured industrial apprentices
17% Became industrial chemists
9.4% Went on to other schools
7.1% Entered the Municipal or Civil Service
4.8% Took up banking or accountancy
2.3% Intended to become architects
2.3% Enlisted in the fighting Services
By January 1942 School numbers were down to 348, 64 of whom were in the Sixth Form. Mr. Phillips had been called up for military service on October 8th previously and Mr. Lanham on 19th November 1941, creating a reduction in School Staff that now began to be of concern to the Headmaster. Health and attendance remained good and at this time there emerged an anxiety concerning the availability of billets, which were becoming increasingly short in supply. The chief reasons would appear to have been:
1) The inadequacy of the Government's billeting fee ranging from 10s 6d to 12s 6d to 15s per week, according to the age of the boy, and its smallness in comparison with the billeting fee for the Services, and the industrial worker.
2) The increased shortage of domestic help, as women were being called up for service.
This difficulty of billet numbers persisted, and in the Spring term of 1942 billets were so short that the return of four boys from Christmas leave had to be postponed until billets were forthcoming. The public examination results published in the summer proved to be disappointing though not surprising, and although the Higher School Certificate results were 11% better than the average over the country, they were claimed not to be of Bablake standard. The dispersion of the 40 boys who left School in July was as follows:
30% University
27.5% Industrial Apprentices
7.5% Industrial Chemist
7.5% Industry
7.5% Other Schools
5% Journalism
5% Merchant Navy Schools
2.5% Civil Service
2.5% Optician
2.5% Architect
2.5% Commerce
The Spring term of 1943 was the most difficult term that had been experienced during our Lincoln stay. It began with a small enemy air attack on January 15th, which resulted in the necessity of rehousing 200 of Lincoln's citizens. There was subsequently a knock-on effect on our own billeting problem. Numbers of boys at 336 was satisfactory, but average attendance showed a slight reduction to 94.33%. The Chairman of the Parents' Association proposed that an appeal for more billets should be published in the local Lincoln paper. This suggestion was repudiated and rejected by the Lincoln billeting authorities, and as far as one is able to ascertain, no such appeal was ever printed in the local newspaper. The pressure from the Parents' Association upon the Governing Body continued, and culminated in a decision to expedite the return of Bablake School to Coventry. Thus it was in April 1943, that the Headmaster urged the Governing Body to take strenuous action to acquire for the School's use the premises at Bablake School in Coventry, including the main block, the gymnasium and the playing fields, and to ensure that shelter accommodation for 500 was adequate and in good repair. The Board of Education reluctantly agreed and Bablake bade farewell to Lincoln.
By the end of July 1943 one of the most successful school evacuations of the war came to an end. Bablake went home to the city that it had left in a smouldering ruin nearly three years before. No doubt for the majority the move turned out to be an experience few Wheatleyans would have cared to have missed, the seniors in particular appreciating the effect on their characters that a relative independence had produced. Bablake boys returned to Coventry inspired by a new sense of reliance and the undying memories of the kindly and generous sympathy and unfailing aid extended to them at the time of their need by Lincoln and its people.