Chapter Thirteen

Entertainments and Celebrations

In the early years it was common for the children to be absent from school to attend various entertainments. The Masters and Mistresses grudgingly tolerated this. Before the days of cinema and television much entertainment was in the form of travelling shows and the children seized the opportunity to see them when it presented itself. Causes of absence by large numbers of children in the 1860’s include The Glassmakers and Cutters Fete in Hagley Park, a fair, a circus, Wordsley Races, the Glassmakers Picnic at the Heath, travelling menagerie and various references to Lye Wake [a fair]. The children were prone to use any excuse not to attend school. Mr. Fowler wrote in exasperation 28^th September 1865 ‘Thin school toady – some gone to see a wedding, others a procession of ordinary workmen. Some away for mere trifles’. Sometimes the school itself provided the entertainment. In November 1893 there was a magic lantern show in the school. On 4^th April 1904 the children were given a half-holiday to enable them to attend ‘Buffalo Bill’s Show’ in Stourbridge.

In addition to absences for purposes of pure entertainment the school has often been closed to celebrate or commemorate local and national events. In April 1864 one of Henry Corser’s daughters was married. On 11^th April the first class girls ‘went to present Miss Corser with two vases as a wedding present this morning and so missed two of their lessons’. On the following day both Boys’ and Girls’ Departments had a holiday to celebrate the wedding and in the afternoon there was tea and cake in the school. There was a further holiday and a treat in January 1866 to celebrate the marriage of a second daughter when the boys specially learned a ‘Bridal Song’ entitled ‘Bring Flowers’. On 14^th November 1887 a holiday was given on account of the opening of the Stourbridge Town Hall and another on 1^st October 1901 for the opening of the new Stourbridge Junction Railway Station. In the early years many children also stayed away from school to celebrate Bonfire Night and May Day.

Many celebrations related to lives of royalty. There were holidays in 1887 and 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilees. In February 1901 a half-day’s holiday was given on the day prior to the Queens’ funeral on Saturday. In June 1902 there were several days holiday for the festivities to celebrate the Coronation of Edward VII. In June 19909 there was a half day’s holiday due to the visit of Edward VII to Birmingham. There are also references to Royal marriages. On 26^th April 1923 there was a ‘holiday today by express command of HM The King on account of the Royal Marriage of the Duke of York to the Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon’ [now better known as the Queen Mother].

In May 1935 there were celebrations for the Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary. The children were given a tea and souvenirs [spoons and pencils] followed by an entertainment in Mary Steven’s Park. On 28^th January 1936 the school was closed in the morning and opened in the afternoon when the children proceeded to church for a memorial service for the late King George V. In May 1937 we are told of the proposed festivities to mark the Coronation of King George VI on 12^th May. ‘The school will assemble at 3:15pm. They will them receive a souvenir provided by the Borough Council, afterwards they will have tea in school. At 5pm all the departments will march down to Mary Steven’s Park to sing songs and be entertained until 6:30pm. In connection with these celebrations the school had been gaily decorated inside and out. Major G. H. Greendale also presented to the school a 35’ flag pole and flag’. November 20^th 1947 the school was closed for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to Prince Philip of Greece. May 22^nd 1953 the school was given a day holiday in celebration of the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation and on 23^rd April 1957 a half day’s holiday on the occasion of the visit of HM Queen Elizabeth and the Duke Of Edinborough’s visit to Stourbridge. 3^rd June 1977 there was another one day holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The School’s celebrations for Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee included an afternoon and evening of entertainment by the children on the school field at which one thousand three hundred people attended. All the children were presented with Commemorative Mugs provided by the Parent Teachers’ Association.

In the 1920’s there were also celebrations connected with various achievements of Mr. Cook, the Boys’ Head Master. On 29^th June 1927 there was a holiday to commemorate not only the eclipse of the sun but also the success of the Lord Mayor’s carnival Appeal in aid of the Corbett Hospital. The mayor, or course, was Mr. Cook. In September 1928 there was a half-day holiday in recognition of the Boy’s Department having won the Stourbridge Swimming Gala Shield. On 9^th November 1928 there was a half-day holiday in the Boys’ Department ‘to commemorate the fact that the Head Master was elected Mayor of the Borough for the third year in succession. At the Reception in the Town Hall during the afternoon 24 of the lads gave a concert’.

Entertainments were sometimes provided by, as well as for the children. This was often in connection with fund raising efforts. The parish Magazine of 1899 waxed lyrical about a performance of the Infants’ Department in April. In March it read that the little ones ‘are going to provide their elders with a little fun and amusement: there are a few things more charming to witness than these chubby mites exhibiting their musical, rhetorical and muscular powers’. The May edition went even further ‘Few entertainments, if any, have surpassed that which was given in the Schools on April 11^th, by the Infants, assisted by some from the Girls’ School. That it was popular the crowded room testified, and that it did not come below what was expected the increasing applause and bursts of laughter most clearly proved; perhaps the best test of all is the fact that the noble sum of £5 has been handed over as clear profit to the Piano fund’. The magazine went on to print the full Programme, which included Songs, Recitations and instrument pieces on the Pianoforte and Violin.

In the twentieth century many schools became involved in the celebration of Empire Day. The first mention of this in Old Swinford is on 24^th May 1909. Mr. Sutton wrote in the Boys’ Log ‘The morning was taken up with the observance of Empire Day. The boys, girls and infants formed into a procession, marched round the village, carrying flags and singing Patriotic songs. They afterwards were addressed by the Rector and Mr. King. The children were exhorted to honour the glorious renditions of British History and to be true to the mission which the British race strives to discharge throughout the world. After the National Anthem had been sung the children were dismissed for the remainder of the day’. By 1924 the celebrations were less jingoistic, but still enthusiastic. Mr. Cook, the Boys’ Head Master wrote ‘being Empire Day the Upper Standard boys erected stalls in school representing parts of our Empire, Canada, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, East and West Indies and East and West Africa and containing products, curios, pictures etc. of each. They had drawn maps and diagrams and in several instances made huts and dwellings in various materials for exhibition from friends far and near. The result was astonishing and a splendid show of real educational value was produced. Parents and friends were invited to inspect the exhibition from 6:30pm to 9:30pm and they came in crowds. The place was packed almost uncomfortably but everything passed off well’. The observance of Empire day became less important during the twentieth century but many remember it as an important feature of their school days.

Monday 21^st May 1900 the schools were closed in celebration of the Relief of Mafeking. 2^nd June 1902 there was a half-day holiday to celebrate the end of the Boer War.  The Schools endured two further wars and at the end of each they were celebrated with holidays. 11^th November 1918 the Infants’ Log records ‘News came at 11:15am that the Armistice was signed, so sent the children home for the day’. In September 1919 the schools closed for a week in connection with the Armistice Celebrations. On May 8^th 1945 Mr. Round wrote ‘On this day, called VE Day, a public holiday was declared to celebrate Victory in Europe, school was closed for 2 days as each was a public holiday’.