Curious photographs

Here are some photographs from my collection that I downloaded over the years but couldn’t find out where they came from and what was happening. If anyone knows the answers, please share with the rest of us.

 

This first one looks like a headmaster striding through a city street. Judging by the people in uniform it might be during a time of war. I suspect this is a photo taken during the making of a film. Maybe they are on a break and the headmaster is on his way to find a cup of tea. Who knows for sure?

I’ve shared this following photograph before. Nobody was able to help identify it but since then I’ve done a bit of digging and found the picture online among archives of the late David Webb (1931-2012), described as a ‘time-serving’ actor, which I think means he appeared in small parts in lots of films and plays. The archives include ‘a massive collection of ephemera related to the theatre.’ Here’s the link if you want to find out more.

Still on the theatre, here’s another photograph I’ve shared before. I’ve seen it used in newspaper and magazine articles about schools and / or caning. To me, it looks like a publicity still from a film or a play about an English public school. Perhaps, it’s from one of the many stage versions Ian Hay’s Housemaster (See here). Certainly, the “schoolboy” looks to be pushing thirty if he’s a day (as was typical with films back in the day).

I managed to track the photograph to the Getty Images archives where it had this caption,: “The Cane Again. September 1949: A schoolmaster administers a caning to an errant pupil. (Photo by Denis De Marney/Hulton Archive/Getty Images).”

This final photograph looks like it might be a still from a comedy film of some sort. Even from this angle you can see the “schoolboys” are way out of their teens. To my mind the master has the air of a comedian about him. The way he has his victims lined up reminds me of the Jimmy Edwards’ film Bottoms Up! which we met here.

Help with details of any of these photographs would be much appreciated.

Traditional School Discipline

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