Anne Wilson
(Class of 1951)
When I was at school my name was Anne Robson. I attended George Watson's Ladies' College for my entire secondary school education, starting in September 1945, when we returned to Edinburgh after my Father was demobbed, and leaving in July 1951 to go to Edinburgh University. My identical twin sister, Sybil, left a year earlier to start her five year apprenticeship as a Scottish chartered accountant.
Here follows a potpourri of recollections and events some of which I hope you will find useful in this very worthwhile project you have undertaken.
Contents
Scottish National Party Election
Milk and Scott-Lyons the bakers
Teachers
I often seemed to be in Miss Swinton's class for maths. I always felt I knew her better than I knew most teachers, and have since realised that we understood each other because we were both mathematicians so we thought in the same way. She was also my form teacher for one year.
Mr. Miller (English) was a great Shakespearean scholar. The curriculum included one Shakespeare play each year, and he made them come to life, including the most gruesome parts of King Lear. We used to learn great chunks by heart, invaluable ever since for crosswords and quizzes.
Mr. Langdon (music) trained us to perfection for the closing concert in the Usher Hall. We had to be word perfect, and all breathing had to be in the correct place. He wanted The Lord's my shepherd sung to the tune Crimond to be something for which the school would be known. When singing it these days I am still aware if people breathe in the wrong places!
in 1945 Mr. Jenkins taught physics; he should have retired years earlier but stayed on until the war ended. He started teaching, probably in Victorian times, training as a pupil teacher, not a college graduate. He had written the text books we used. He taught me a lot about presentation of scientific results, which I still adhere to this day. When Mr. Bogie replaced him I was so upset that I sulked so obviously that Mr. Bogie thought I did not understand the subject – luckily a fellow pupil told him I was top of the class in physics – after that I reverted to my usual interested self!
The 4 male teachers had their own staff room.
We never knew the Christian names of teachers.
Scottish National Party Election
Traditionally, at the time of general elections, the Literary and Debating Society had a debate with members standing as candidates. For the February 1950 election Sybil Robson (my twin) was the Scottish National Party candidate, and she was a very good and convincing candidate for that party. The amusing background was that (a) she was always very party political as a Unionist (in Scotland) or Conservative (when in England), at the time of the election she actually belonged to the Young Unionists ; and (b) her family were very English coming from the London Home counties. She even looked the part as she was lent a proper kilt to wear.
Bouquets for form teachers
In no school were teachers given presents by pupils. Except there was a tradition at GWLC that at the end of the academic year (most) pupils brought in 2 or 3 flowers from their gardens. These were left in the Admiral's kitchen where they were made into bouquets and presented to the form teacher.
Remembrance
Remembrance used to be commemorated on 11th November at 11.00, which would often be a school day. We just sat at our desks, very still, for the silence; I think the bell marked the start and the end of the two minutes. The war and the losses were very real to us. The fathers of two girls in our class had been killed in the war and the brother of another one had never returned.
Outings
As WWII was just finished there were absolutely no idea of going away anywhere to stay.
The only outings I had were to (1) Edinburgh Crystal works (2) North British Rubber Company (3) to see a trial in a court, possibly a Sheriff's court. We must also have visited the theatre for performances of Shakespeare plays because I do remember seeing them.
Presumably the sports teams did play other teams, but only relatively local ones.
Geography not History
From 1945 to 1948, when I was in forms I, II and III, we studied the political history of Scotland from 1645 to 1745. Up until then all pupils had to continue with history in forms IV and V as a subject to take in the Highers, but some of us wanted to do geography instead (I was thinking of a career in meteorology). Three of us, who were continuing with maths and science subjects, bravely put our case to drop history and keep on with geography – to our amazement and delight our request was granted. There after pupils were given the choice of history or geography.
Presumably because it came in the Highers history exams there were the famous three line answers, which were learnt by heart; a good way to remember a large number of historical facts in a concise way.
Sports and Games afternoons
One afternoon a week was for games, which entailed going by tram out to Liberton. It was not compulsory so in the summer my twin sister and I went home and played tennis at our local tennis club; this was more convenient for us as we lived in Trinity the opposite side of Edinburgh to Liberton.
Can you have an unfair advantage in sports days? Yes, if you are paired with your identical twin for 3-legged and wheel barrow races; in the former your partner is hardly any hindrance and in the latter you both feel and react the same way so act in unison; despite not being athletic we won them both.
Dining hall
Until 1950 the dining hall and the kitchen were woefully too small. We sat at long tables, sitting in the order in which we came in. Due to lack of space we had to sit with our elbows tucked firmly into our sides. The poor kitchen staff coped by cooking some foods, such as soup and custard, with less liquid and then adding water before serving it. Before we started eating grace was said by an apparently random pupil picked by the teacher on duty.
The new dining room was spacious in comparison, no tucked in elbows nor watered down soup.
Milk and Scott-Lyons the bakers
Bottles of milk, a third of a pint, were provided free for all school children. These were drunk in the Admiral's kitchen.
The only snacks available to buy were buns which came from Scott-Lyons. The big bakers trays were on a table in the Admiral's kitchen and you put your money into a container.
Painting on newspaper
There was a grave shortage of paper in the years following the war, so we had to use it sparingly (small sheets) and carefully. Then in an art class one day we were given whole sheets of newspaper on which to paint. We were told to use the print in an almost Impressionist way as part of the composition. It was amazing and liberating to have this enormous "canvas" on which to freely express ourselves.
Charity and Making models
I was at GWLC in the days before the idea of raising money for charity by sponsorship existed – we would not have been comfortable with asking people to pay us to enjoy ourselves. However, we were aware that ex corde caritas had a deep charitable implication that we were meant to embrace in our lives; the address at the annual Founders Day service often emphasised the meaning of caritas.
One autumn term a member of the science staff ran a project making paper mâché animals for some, I remember not what, good cause for Christmas. A few of us used to go to her lab at lunchtime and made models of animals, shaping a wire frame, covering it with paper mâché we made from newspaper, and finally painting it.
Buying text books
The wartime paper shortage meant that school text books were not being printed until well after 1945, so it was necessary to sell on from one year group to the next. I cannot remember the logistics involved with the books changing hands, nor how the money was dealt with, but it was well organised and took place in your own classroom. We were issued with a list of the books needed for the next year and on the appointed day brought in our old books and, probably the following day, bought those for the next year.
The next task was to take the books home, cover them with brown paper and label them. Because Sybil and I (identical twins) had the same books we distinguished them with a band of "butterfly tape" round the centre, hers was green and mine was orange. Our Father wrote our names and the subject on the covers in his exceedingly precise printing. These were the days before sellotape so the act of covering required neat manipulation of the paper.
French knickers
If you were in the more academic stream you only did one year of needlework.
The form I project, that we spent a whole year over, was making that most glamorous of all item of lingerie – french knickers. Embarrassingly, because it required clothes coupons to purchase the material, they could not be discarded, but no one admitted to wearing them. A very high standard of sewing was demanded, for example the precise tacking stitches had to be the correct length with the top stitch twice the length of the underneath stitch; if these tacking stitches were not exact they had to be redone. The yoke had to be joined on with precise gathering that had to be stroked. French knickers rely on a neat fit with a button at the side opening, no elastic but a handmade buttonhole. In retrospect I can appreciate how many techniques were involved resulting in several skills and a useful item, but as twelve year olds we were not amused.
Researching
In those days the only sources of information were teaching (word of mouth) and studying books especially encyclopaediae, so our access to facts was limited. The emphasis was on teaching and pupils were not expected to find facts out for themselves. So it was a new experience when one Christmas holiday, form III, we were tasked with finding out facts for an essay to be written in January. My topic was about the development of religion starting with primitive people and the Sun God; this has led to my life long interest in how different religions are connected. To maximise my chances, essay writing was not one of my strengths, I learnt my essay off by heart and just needed to transcribe it in the lesson; I am sure others did the same.
After the Highers
The Highers (exams) were in March, which left the whole summer term without a goal to work towards. For those in form V staying on for the sixth form this was the time we started on the syllabus for the next year. However, in form VI there was no such goal; and we were able to choose what to do to use our time profitably. My two choices were firstly research into the schools founded by the Edinburgh Merchant company, which involved visiting Merchant company hall in Hanover Street as well as reading about the culture of the period I found this social/cultural history far more interesting and enjoyable than political history, and it is still an interest of mine. There was also an opportunity for those in the academic stream to do a practical subject, and I chose (touch) typing and shorthand; touch typing eventually proved invaluable when using computers. N.B. There was not a single computer in Scotland until about 1955.
Prizes
Back in those days there was less emphasis on sporting prowess and more on academic achievement. Every year there were several form prizes and in the sixth form prizes for most subjects as well as dux. Along with the form prizes there were some very small bursaries towards fees. Prizes were always books, and came from from Baxendines. You choose your own book(s), but it was from a limited selection already picked by the school. The books were all laid out on a table, and one must have known which ones were available for your prize(s). As a class prize in 1949, aged 16, I chose The Essays of William Hazlitt; it remained unopened until 2019 when I eventually started reading it, better 70 years late than never!
Having chosen the books you did not see them again until the Usher Hall Closing concert when, after the singing, the prizes were presented. I still remember the feeling of elation I had at my last concert as I was awarded the mathematics prize given by George Watson's Boys' College, the physics prize and one as proxime accessit (runner up to the dux), a lovely end to my six years at George Square.
Bursary comp
I went to Edinburgh University in 1951.The university had an annual bursary competition open to all, with exams in subjects relevant to the student's future course. This was before there were grants for students so a bursary was very welcome. We had absolutely no preparation for this, although I suspect some schools may have coached pupils. Two of us won university bursaries that year, in the general list Kathleen Ritchie was 29th and I was 30th and I was also on the John Welsh mathematical bursary list and that was the bursary I was awarded.
Anne D Wilson née Robson (Class of 1951)