Description:

When did you go to Newton school?

I went to Newton from 1931 to 1940.

Where did you live and who with?

I lived at the Little Green with my parents,, sister and brother.

How did you get to school?

I walked to school with Vera Sayce but Mr. Dunabin used to take his son to catch the bus at Vowchurch because he went to high school in Hereford, so Mr. Dunabin would give us a lift on his way back.

Who was your teacher?

Infant teacher was Miss Jordan and Mrs. Dunabin, later it was Miss Willetts.

What did you do through your school day?

We waited for the bell to ring and then lined up to go in to school, we would sit in twin wooden desks with a seat that lifted up, the day started with prayers and a hymn, Mrs. Dunabin played the piano, I enjoyed math's, english, drawing and listening to ‘Travel Talk’ on the radio but the reception was not very good. It was a good job we had the pamphlets to look at so that we could follow it as well. We all had the same books which we all read together, we chanted the times table together, the teacher would write on the blackboard and we would copy it. Mrs. Dunabin would take us for sewing, I made a tunic and a blouse to match when I was about 12 years old. Around that time the girls would go to Longtown Hall for cooking, a lady from Hereford came to teach us to make cakes, stews and tarts.

What did you have for lunch?

I took sandwiches with meat and jam. I used to take two and a half penny a week for horlicks, besides you could have water from the pump.

What did you wear to school?

As a little girl I wore a pink dress and a coat in the winter, mother would knit me a body suit which was a knitted skirt with a bodice and a jumper to match. I would wear Wellingtons to school and change into shoes at school. Mother bought me a pair of boots which I only wore one day when I got home from school I threw them in the cellar and said I am not wearing them ever again, the trouble was I was the only girl wearing boots. After that I had to wear my best shoes to school until mother bought me another pair. I can remember washing my hands at the pump but I was always getting in the dirt so I was always dirty.

Did you have any jobs to do before or after school?

After school I would try and get out of doing any jobs. Sometimes I would feed the hens but I would run as quick as I could and throw the food down on the ground then rush back to the house for my tea so that I could go and play with Vera at the Green.

Can you remember any local event or any thing else about your school days?

In the war we would have air raid exercises, you would take a small child and run out of school and hide in the field across the road in Mr. Gundy's coppice. We pretended to play hide and seek with the small children so as not to frighten them, this was in May of 1943. The inspector came once, he asked questions and all the children were too frightened to say much, then he decided to come round and look at our books. I think he was quite pleased. I left Newton school in 1940 then I went into service.

Observations:

This contribution from Gwen Lloyd maiden name Powell, Interviewed by Joan Davies and Mary Powell, January 2003