WWII gas mask, owned by RGS teacher George Pallister (1939). RGS Archives
Penrith Evacuation
On Friday 1st September 1939 the RGS school year got off to a dramatically different start for the school's staff and students.
Picture hundreds of boys all lined up outside of Eskdale Terrace. All wearing their uniforms of a blue blazer and cap, carrying one bag each, labelled with their name and student number, as well as a cardboard box containing their gas mask. For some, this would have been their first ever day at school. For others familiar with our halls and corridors, many would never walk them as students again.
Now to Central Station: a long trail of almost 800 schoolboys winding their way through the city. They board a train for Penrith, Cumbria, and say goodbye to Newcastle – when would they return?
Most boys would never have experienced being away from their families overnight, and certainly not for any extended length of time. How would the boys have been feeling at this upheaval? What must it have been like to leave families behind in a dangerous area? When would they see them again?
Evacuation: The Context
The wartime evacuation of children was a hugely significant moment in British history, leaving a lasting mark on so many people. The RGS evacuation to Penrith was no exception.
Over the summer of 1939 the threat of war with Germany loomed over Britain. Newcastle was classed as a ‘danger area’ by the Government. If war broke out, this meant school pupils and mothers with young children would be evacuated to safer ‘reception’ areas. RGS began to plan for this eventuality, finally choosing Penrith as their evacuation destination. The school was to partner with Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith (QEGS), sharing some of their buildings as well as numerous other rooms around town. Initially, most of the school was to be housed by individual families; later, several hostels across the town were taken over for accommodation.
On 22nd August, a non-aggression pact was made between Nazi Germany and the USSR. Shortly afterwards, the BBC announced the order that all teachers in ‘danger’ areas must report to their schools on Monday 28th August. That week was spent in limbo, with staff and students turning up to school each day, waiting for the full evacuation order to come. Finally, on Thursday, the order was received: evacuation to Penrith was to take place the next day.
Once in Penrith, the students and staff were met by a reception committee. They arranged the logistics of getting each student to their respective billet. Billets were paid 8s/6d per boy, per week. This would have amounted to around £22 in today’s money. On Saturday morning, the whole school assembled in Wordsworth Street Church to hear from the Headmaster, E.R. Thomas. The next day, Britain declared war on Germany and term started on 14th September, just as it would have back in Jesmond.
Ticket for a song recital at Wordsworth Hall in Penrith, 17 Feb 1943. Owned by ON WS Wood. [RGS Archives, ref: RGS/ONS/47]
Photograph of the RGS Main Hall with sandbags, during the 1938 Munich Crisis. [RGS Archives, ref: 147]
Covering letter, briefing document and FAQ's sent to parents of RGS students regarding 'Plans for a possible evacuation' in 1939. Sent from Headmaster, E.R. Thomas. [RGS Archives, ref: RGS/STF/11]
Photograph of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Penrith, 1940s. [RGS Archives, ref: 147]
Penrith School Life
It is safe to say that it took a while to adjust to life in Penrith and each person there had their own individual experience of it, good or bad. As RGS was sharing a building with QEGS, we would only teach in the afternoon at first. Later in the war, RGS would hire other buildings around Penrith, so that school could be attended all day. Various equipment was brought over from Newcastle, such as blackboards, easels and musical instruments. The headmaster’s office was set up and remained in the Wordsworth Street Church.
Lessons in Penrith were similar to Jesmond’s, with the biggest difference being the 15-minute break between lessons to give the boys the chance to get the relevant building for their next lesson. When sharing Penrith Grammar School, the boys had to wear gym shoes, to reduce the noise level and wear and tear!
Certain subjects were trickier to teach, particularly the sciences. The Physics and Chemistry labs were based in a shop called the ‘Gas Showroom’, with a later Biology lab added, which was used to take practical exams. Other than that, life continued in largely the same way as it did in Jesmond. In fact, it was said that rehearsals for concerts and plays were even easier with everyone living very closely together!
Our student magazine The Novo continued to be published throughout and is a vital record of a student perspective of our time in Penrith. The editorial from the first Penrith issue in December 1939 had this to say: "Imagination and intelligence are especially necessary during the present circumstances, and the happy, united state of the school is a tribute to the masters, the parents, and above all to the kindness of the people of Penrith.”
RGS Christmas card from Penrith, 1941. Designed by Head of Art Cecil Marfitt-Smith. [RGS Archives]
Photograph of headmaster ER Thomas, in a field potato-picking during the summer at Penrith, c.1940s [RGS Archives, ref: 147]
Fixtures took place in a range of sports as early as October 1939; rugby was the first of the fixtures until a cold winter changed games lessons to skating and sledging. By 1942, the boys were competing in cricket and gymnastics and were also able to take part in a school sports day – Collingwood won!
The boys had plenty to keep them busy outside of school. Farm camps took place, where boys went to local farms to help with the harvest. The Junior Training Corps (later the CCF) was up and running, with Air Training added in 1941 under the direction of Flying Officer GS Dean. A scouting group was also set up, and the school allotments were used to help with the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign.
The boys did benefit from the system of tutor sets, which is still in place today. This meant that boys were assigned one tutor for the duration of their time at school - during the evacuation, this allowed the tutors to stand in place of parents and help to make their time away a bit more bearable, giving stability in a time of great change. Boys did tend to go home during the holidays, returning to Penrith at the start of each term.
Photograph of the RGS OTC band marching through Penrith, 1944. Captioned: ‘Setting off from the Methodist Hall’
Not all smooth sailing
Whilst the evacuation to Penrith was generally deemed a success, it wasn’t without its difficulties. Some of the boys were housed in unsuitable accommodation, with others moving on more than one occasion - one hazard of a system based on volunteers. There were parents who rented houses nearby and decided that their children would live with them. However, school hostels seemed to provide a solution. Junior School boys were housed in Argyll House and Woodland House, with Sandath House, Beacon Bank, Lynwood and Beaumont being mainly used for Senior School.
Life in the hostel started at 7:15am when the boys would rise and get on with their chores before school at 9am. These chores included cleaning shoes, making toast, lighting the fire or being part of the five-man washing up team – one to wash, two to dry and two to put away.
One problem that was spotted early on was to do with homework. Boys living with billets often didn’t have a quiet space to do their work, meaning the school decided to set up ‘homework rooms’ where the children could go. They were surely a big hit with the boys!
Not all the boys enjoyed life in the hostels – there are reports of at least one who lived a cycle of running away, getting caught and being brought back.
Images of the four RGS hostels in Penrith, from Novocastrian News No. 14, p.21 (1978)
Page from the RGS Visitors Book, for the Newcastle Re-Opening Ceremony, 3rd October 1944. RGS Archives
Back to Newcastle
In late 1943, it was decided that the RGS could safely make its way back to Newcastle, and after a find farewell evening service in July 1944, the boys finally made their way home. A delay to this was the amount of time that was taken for the Regional Commissioner to move out of the school buildings and repairs to be made.
On the return, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle made a special visit to RGS to welcome everyone back. He was accompanied by the Chair of Governors, Sir Arthur Munro Sutherland, who had been an active supporter of the school throughout the evacuation.
Reunions of those evacuated took place in Penrith at various points over the next 70 years, the last of which was in 2014.