We have been sorting out some stuff at dad’s flat because my nieces are going to move in for a while and need WFH stations and the bookshelves harbour some interesting things. My dad was born in December 1933 which of course meant that he turned 11 in 1944 which put him in the first year of free grammar school education. He and a girl in his class passed the 11+ exam (he says he never understood it because she wasn’t very bright 😂) and they went on to the grammar school which completely changed their prospects in life. His father had been at school in the morning and the cotton mill in the afternoon from the age of 11 and his mother was also a weaver and although his parents couldn’t afford for him to stay at school past 16 his ‘School Certificate’ made him eligible for an apprenticeship and he became an aeronautical engineer. My mum was born in July 1933 so she was in the previous school year but the government allowed that year group to take a ‘12+’ and she went to the same school but they had boys’ and girls’ sections which didn’t really mix. He has a set of year books from school (I don’t know which of them kept them) and there are several sad obituaries of alumnae and staff who were killed in the Second World War. On the other hand there are also the usual photos of the rugby, cricket and netball teams and end of year plays. So despite the war education was simultaneously continuing in age old fashion and completing transforming.
Weather: still not summer or even spring really
Covid: feels normal down south
Good thing: I was allowed in to dad and we set up iPlayer. His neighbour was telling me about his leg amputation (conscious under epidural)and that he was disappointed he couldn’t watch it as he felt it would have helped with his phantom leg. I sent dad some info on reducing the effects of phantom leg that I got from Rachel - there are exercises you can do with a mirror apparently!
My mother was born in 1924, and her college classes ended up mostly female as all the fellows were off at war. The reunions I attended with her were quite poignantly gender biased. So many did not come back and so many lives were affected. Your parents’ lives took some pretty neat turns!
Did your parents go to school in Preston Judith? The Latin is very typical of Grammar schools in those days....I could never understand the purpose of Latin except if you’re a gardener!
My dad was born the same year as yours. September 1933. Like you, on going through dad's things, we have found some interesting stuff. Dad was a policeman, and he has kept every one of his 'black books' with his notes in them. Each one identical, filed in date order, with his police number, rank and station written at the front. What on earth to do with stuff like that?!
@jamibann indeed - how do you throw those away?! I’d be glued to those! We’ve brought dad’s stamp albums home - British stamps collected as they were issued since about 1970 - and they are beautiful (basically a history of graphic design). Mind you now he’s saying after a few months he’ll be fit to go home so we’ve had to slow down the ‘sorting’ just in case!
May 15th, 2021
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