I’ve been researching the contribution to the First World War made by schoolchildren because everyone did their bit. I contacted several schools with great success and am gradually writing up exhibition panels. One of the schools was Liverpool College which merged with their sister school Huyton College in 1993. One of my former school teachers – Miss Vera Blennerhasset – went on to become a Headmistress of Huyton College, so, eager to pick up on the coincidence, I contacted the Headmaster of Liverpool College and he put me in touch with Jane Rooney of the Huyton College Old Girls Guild.
Jane
kindly searched through the Archives of Huyton College and photocopied me the
School’s 1915 Magazine which is fascinating.
Jane also kindly checked with the Liverpool College Foundation that it
would be in order for me to share the information, which I will try to do over
the coming weeks. There are accounts
written by former pupils or members of staff who were on the Western Front in
the early days of the war, as well as contributions by school pupils at the
time.
The
girls of Huyton College were very busy knitting and in the Autumn Term 1914 “Sent
to Sister Matthews, Casulaty Clearing Hopsital at Ypres – Mufflers, mitttens,
socks, helmet. Sent to Mrs Collingwood
for R.N. – Mittens and mufflers. Sent to
Loyal North Lancashire Regiment – Mittens.”
Here
is a taster from the magazine:
Page
25 A letter from Miss Hunter a volunteer at The Soldiers’ Coffee Stall, St.
Sever Station, Rouen dated 3rd March 1915
“Here
one gets really in touch with the men who have been out ever since the war started,
and who have been up in the trenches several times. They come down here to the
base camp for a rest, after having been out at the front. They much appreciate anything we do for them. They all say it is one of the best canteens,
or, in fact, the best canteen they have come across over on this side.
Cigarettes they never seem to have too many of, and the amount of “Woodbines” that “Tommy” consumes in incredible. We have to limit the packets to two or else we should always be out of stock. Peppermints and cough lozenges they also love, and the latter are especially acceptable, as so many have bad coughs and colds with being out in the damp so much.
We
have been very busy at the stall lately as a good many troops have been going
through. Just before a train starts for the firing line, we have to feed as
many as a thousand or fifteen hundred in about an hour. It is what we call a “rush”, and one sees
only a mass of khaki and a blur of faces, all clamouring for food or drinks on
the other side of the counter, while one hands over sandwiches, cake, and
coffee as quick or quicker than possible.
I am
on night duty this week, so am writing this at 3 a.m. – which is rather a slack
time, as only a few men come in between 1 and 5 a.m. However, we make a point of having the stall
open night and day, so that the men know there is some place where they can
always get a hot drink – of course, the men on guard in the station here come
in at all hours. Also, there is always a
fire – or at least a hot stove – round which they can sit, and we provide as
many illustrated papers as possible, and forms and tables, where they can read
or write. An officer told me the other
day that a warm place where they can write is so much appreciated by the
men. We can never have too many illustrated
papers – so if any of you have any you have read and finished with, they are
most acceptable.”
