Memories: Caning down to a fine art in those old school days

George Broomhead attended Marton Road School from 1949 to 1959 and vividly recalled his days there when speaking to the Evening Gazette, Middlesbrough in 2003.

The school was old and surrounded by a six-foot wall, while inside the children sat at wooden desks knotted with age and used inkwells.

No two boys were allowed to sit together, so George sat next to the same girl throughout his time there.

“Copying her work was easy,” he commented. “But as it turned out, not such a good idea because unfortunately she got nearly everything wrong.”

George recalled his art and maths teachers, both named Mr Harland, as well as Mr Forrester the PE teacher.

“Mr Forrester, never to be forgotten,” he said. “He was hard but fair.”

George's favourite lessons involved anything to do with sport and his least favourite lesson involved anything to do with maths.

As for discipline, the headmaster, Mr Hurst, was unrivalled in the caning department.

“Sometimes, if you got into trouble, a teacher would offer you the option of being caned there and then or reporting to the headmaster for punishment.

“No one accepted this offer because Mr Hurst had caning off to a fine art. He knew just where to hit your hand, right on the finger tips, and it hurt like hell.”

One of the days George found this out for himself was when he was caught smoking at school by “Peg Leg” the caretaker.

After receiving their punishment from the headmaster they decided to get their own back on Peg Leg – named so because of his wooden leg – and devised a plan.

George explained: “After our encounter with the headmaster we waited until Peg Leg was in the outhouse, stoking up the fires that fed the school boilers, then we all wandered, nonchalant like, across the yard and locked him inside.

“It was bloody hot in there. After two hours we finally let him out. Trouble was he went straight to the headmaster who took a pretty dim view of our cunning plan. He certainly didn't, however, have a dim view of our hands – his cane didn’t miss – again.”

As published in the Evening Gazette, Middlesbrough, 29 July 2015.

Picture credit: Unknown.

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