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Q. Is there anything that you can remember
about your own personal memories of the school?
A. You know that little farmhouse by the council house. There
was a farmer had that, used to keep cows, now when you get
further along there, there is a long field runs right up into
the woods. This girl had to get the cows in of a morning, before
she came to school. I remember quite distinctly one morning she
came in – she was a fat little girl – and she was rubbing
her eyes and all the tears was dropping, she was late, and
Meyers said to her, ‘where you’ve been this morning
Annie?’ She said, ‘The couws wouldn’t come sir; the couws
wouldn’t come.’ You see when she went to the gate side of
the road, in the dip you know where it is don’t yer? They was
right in the woods. It was no use |
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calling them. She had to walk through all
this wet grass, and it’s a long way up that bottom. I remember
that well.
Q. What about meals? Did they bring their own?
A. Yes. Poor little runts.
Q. There was nothing at all like that, no milk?
A. No, nothing provided whatever. These family allowances even
only a shilling a week per child would have been a godsend to
the parents in those days. 16/- a week was their wages, 6.00 to
6.00. They left off early on Saturdays – 5.00. In winter time
the farmer would stop them two days wages; wet weather, and send
them home. |