Box School Sports Day 1931 Alan Payne, Photo courtesy Julia Romain and Cliff Lovell, March 2020
I have been seeking this photograph for a very long time even though it seems to be just a group of school children in Box. It was taken on the Rec in front of the old cricket pavilion and shows the children wearing their athletics kit on Box School Sports Day 1931.
The 1930s were a time of re-assessment of the role of children. Previously, many children had been considered as a source of family income, either by assisting with parental in-house work such as weaving, or by placement out of the home in domestic service. Instead, childhood in the 1930s was being perceived as a stage in human development which, if influenced correctly, could determine the beliefs of the adult and their abilities both mentally and physically. This seems to be a very progressive comment but we shouldn’t necessarily think of this as a positive step. In Nazi Germany physical education was used to toughen boys for military service and for girls to become good Aryan breeding stock.
The situation in Britain was very different to that in Germany. Most local children had been affected by the unemployment levels of the 1920s which averaged over 10% nationally only to worsen in the early 1930s with levels up to 25%. Fighting against hardships caused by malnutrition and poverty were some generous Box residents keen to put children’s education at the forefront of the local agenda.
Circumstances in Box
The years around 1931 were times of great change in the village. The Bassets bungalows were built in 1929 and Box Mill Railway Halt a year later. The site of the New Box Schools was gifted by the Northey family in 1875 and in 1918 the minimum school leaving age was raised from 12 to 14 years old. A further development came in 1925 when the farmland adjacent to the site (now called the Rec) was donated to the village through the generosity of George Edward Northey who owned the land and George Jardine Kidston who bought it and donated it for the enjoyment of village residents.
Mr Henry Arthur Druett became headmaster at the Box Schools in 1922 at a time when they were in severe decline. The number of pupils had fallen from about 400 before the First World War to under 240 in 1924. Equally concerning were the Haddow Reports of 1923 to 1933. These proposed many recommendations which were implemented such as test of educable efficiency, separate infant and nursey schools and better maths and physics for girls. Of most concern to Box, was the 1926 Report proposing a separate system for the Education of Adolescents with the creation of Secondary Schools. This would have meant a reduction of Box school numbers by a further 80 pupils aged 11 to 14 years.[1]
Mr Druett planned to reverse the decline in Box by raising the level of education at Box, starting with the holistic education of children mentally, morally and physically.[2] He started the annual sports days in the schools in 1922 and also made considerable efforts to improve the infrastructure of the Schools from a rather low base. This involved installing radiators in classrooms, improving toilets and repairing rotting floors. The annual Box Revels had raised funds totalling £792.3s.5d (£36,000 in today’s values) for the Schools in three years from 1927 to 1930 until it was cancelled in 1930 owing to the poor health of Rev George Foster.[3] Undeterred, parishioners rose to the cause of improving the muddy dirt-playgrounds by raising £108.5s.9d from door-to-door collections and a marvellous donation of £184.2s.8d by GJ Kidston.
Box Sports Days
From the outset in 1922, Mr Druett planned Sports Day to be an important part of the annual curriculum. He organised for the local council to be involved and in 1931 John Brooke, postmaster at Kingsdown, took over responsibility for managing the event and involving the parents of schoolchildren in fundraising for prizes, judging events and marshalling.[4] The school was organised into two houses called Highlanders (meaning the children from Box Hill) and Lowlanders (Box village and the hamlets) attired in house colours.[5]
The situation in Britain was very different to that in Germany. Most local children had been affected by the unemployment levels of the 1920s which averaged over 10% nationally only to worsen in the early 1930s with levels up to 25%. Fighting against hardships caused by malnutrition and poverty were some generous Box residents keen to put children’s education at the forefront of the local agenda.
Circumstances in Box
The years around 1931 were times of great change in the village. The Bassets bungalows were built in 1929 and Box Mill Railway Halt a year later. The site of the New Box Schools was gifted by the Northey family in 1875 and in 1918 the minimum school leaving age was raised from 12 to 14 years old. A further development came in 1925 when the farmland adjacent to the site (now called the Rec) was donated to the village through the generosity of George Edward Northey who owned the land and George Jardine Kidston who bought it and donated it for the enjoyment of village residents.
Mr Henry Arthur Druett became headmaster at the Box Schools in 1922 at a time when they were in severe decline. The number of pupils had fallen from about 400 before the First World War to under 240 in 1924. Equally concerning were the Haddow Reports of 1923 to 1933. These proposed many recommendations which were implemented such as test of educable efficiency, separate infant and nursey schools and better maths and physics for girls. Of most concern to Box, was the 1926 Report proposing a separate system for the Education of Adolescents with the creation of Secondary Schools. This would have meant a reduction of Box school numbers by a further 80 pupils aged 11 to 14 years.[1]
Mr Druett planned to reverse the decline in Box by raising the level of education at Box, starting with the holistic education of children mentally, morally and physically.[2] He started the annual sports days in the schools in 1922 and also made considerable efforts to improve the infrastructure of the Schools from a rather low base. This involved installing radiators in classrooms, improving toilets and repairing rotting floors. The annual Box Revels had raised funds totalling £792.3s.5d (£36,000 in today’s values) for the Schools in three years from 1927 to 1930 until it was cancelled in 1930 owing to the poor health of Rev George Foster.[3] Undeterred, parishioners rose to the cause of improving the muddy dirt-playgrounds by raising £108.5s.9d from door-to-door collections and a marvellous donation of £184.2s.8d by GJ Kidston.
Box Sports Days
From the outset in 1922, Mr Druett planned Sports Day to be an important part of the annual curriculum. He organised for the local council to be involved and in 1931 John Brooke, postmaster at Kingsdown, took over responsibility for managing the event and involving the parents of schoolchildren in fundraising for prizes, judging events and marshalling.[4] The school was organised into two houses called Highlanders (meaning the children from Box Hill) and Lowlanders (Box village and the hamlets) attired in house colours.[5]
Sports Day 1935 (courtesy Genevieve Horne)
The event in 1933 was a very grand affair: The proceedings commenced with a parade of the competitors who were clad in Oxford and Cambridge colours, the Olympic salute being taken by Mr GJ Kidston, CMG, the donor of the Recreation Field. Charles Oatley awarded the Oatley Cup to the winning house but this was difficult in 1933 as the scores were tied at 157 points each. Most events had separate races for different ages and sex of children and included competitions such as throwing the cricket ball, long and high jumps, flat races, three- and four-legged sprints, skipping (boys and girls), egg and spoon, sack race, hurdles, blind horse, wheelbarrow, potato race, flower-pot, goddesses (girls), hop, step and jump and relay races.
Involving so many people, the annual event became a village event not just for the schoolchildren. It brought a great deal of pleasure to villagers with parents cheering their children to success.
Conclusion
The story of Box School Sports Day is interesting in itself but this is not my primary delight to have the 1931 photograph.
Involving so many people, the annual event became a village event not just for the schoolchildren. It brought a great deal of pleasure to villagers with parents cheering their children to success.
Conclusion
The story of Box School Sports Day is interesting in itself but this is not my primary delight to have the 1931 photograph.
By enlarging the headline picture, we can see in the centre the Honourable Mrs Shaw Mellor and on her left Charles Oatley, both school governors. Teacher Bert Swan is second on her right and between him and Mrs Shaw Mellor is the man I have been wanting to see: Mr Henry Arthur Druett, Box School’s illustrious headteacher, Box Church secretary and compiler of the Parish Magazine and recorder of much Box history. He is a particular hero of mine.
References
[1] Parish Magazine April 1930
[2] Parish Magazine April 1930
[3] Parish Magazine April 1930
[4] Parish Magazine, August 1930
[5] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 1 July 1933
[1] Parish Magazine April 1930
[2] Parish Magazine April 1930
[3] Parish Magazine April 1930
[4] Parish Magazine, August 1930
[5] Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald, 1 July 1933