jennyo – Page 14 – Bootham School Archives

August 14, 2014March 17, 2022

1914 Register – moths, skating and football

In 1914 the first edition of the Bootham School Register was published. It included (as far as was known) the names, dates and biographies of all the boys that attended the school up to that date. 1988 names were included in all. As well as being a useful way of finding out about Old Scholars, it provides a useful insight into the period, for example what occupations people had, and how they spent their free time. It also includes a number of memories of schooldays. A number of the entries make reference to the character of the individual.

Front cover of 1914 Bootham School Register. — 1914 Register

Below are some examples of extracts from the Register (hopefully the first in a series of posts).

Thomas Henry Allis (Lawrence St 1830-31) Osbaldwick, York, Commercial Traveller … Apprenticed to Jarvis Brady, Leeds, Grocer : later was with Godfrey Woodhead, Manchester : Latterly in shop, and then travelled for Tuke & Co., Tea Merchants, Castlegate, York : Taste – T.H.A. inherited much of his father’s taste as a naturalist – His sister, the late Elizabeth Pumphrey, wrote: “T.H.A. took to his Father’s Collection of Lepidoptera [group including butterflies and moths] and amalgamated them with his own, which was ultimately, I believe, second to but one out of London. This collection was, after T.H.A.’s death, presented to the York Museum. T.H.A. was accustomed to go into the woods with a dark lantern to sugar the trees and fences, and on returning the following evening to capture such moths, etc., as were caught : On one occasion he was accosted as a poacher by a keeper near Heslington. One summer he thought that the Convolvulus Sphinx moth ought to be found about a bed of Petunias that he saw in James Backhouse’s Nurseries in Fishergate, and he persisted in going to the gardens night after night until he was rewarded by finding numbers of what was thought to be almost extinct in the neighbourhood….”

William Henry Broadhead (Bootham 1855-58) An enthusiastic archaeologist and naturalist ; Spent much time in photographing and recording the Templar Marks on old houses in Leeds, most of which are now pulled down : embodied results of researches in paper read before Thoresby Society : Also interested in Egyptology, especially in connection with Pyramids : Hobbies – Photography, lock-mending.

Samuel Southall Burlingham (Bootham 1870-72) Hobbies – A devotee of fen skating and touring on the ice (when there is any in England). In 1881 traversed on ice almost the whole distance from the mouth of the River Nene to the Trent, near Gainsborough, via Spalding, Boston and Lincoln. In 1903 skated nearly 100 miles in one day.

Jackson Ebenezer Day (Lawrence St 1839) Within 5 minutes of his arrival at Lawrence Street he produced from his playbox a football, which he kicked across the playground. Up went a window, and J. Ford called out “Ebenezer Day, we do not allow such rough games as football here.” Many years after [in1862] J. Ford introduced the game himself, giving the ball the first kick.

August 11, 2014

WW1: Arnold H. Jones (B.1903-04) reports from Shanghai

“We are almost beleaguered in Shanghai in these days. The shipping dare not move in case of being received in an unfriendly spirit, trade is at a standstill and we only get about twenty words from Reuter each day dealing with the European situation. To make matters really cheerful the Chinese, taking advantage of the absence of all warships from the port, have indulged in a little gentle rioting. . . . However, our troubles are as naught to yours, and I do trust that you folks at home haven’t been chastened by invasion or lack of food.” From ‘Bootham’ magazine

August 7, 2014March 17, 2022

Bootham as a Hospital – Part 2

“Fifty beds were provided in the Gymnasium and Classrooms by Friday evening, the 7th. Fifty more have been provided since. Friends in York, after a hurriedly summoned meeting, have promised £50 towards the equipment of each of these hospitals.” From Committee minutes 19th August 1914.

August 7, 2014

First World War – News from the Front

The war affected the school and its Old Scholars in all sorts of ways. Old Scholars followed their conscience in different ways, with some joining organisations such as the Friends Ambulance Unit, some being imprisoned as conscientious objectors, and some took up arms. We will be posting about what happened at Bootham and news that came in from Old Scholars on this blog over the next four years. Use the First World War category to find the posts (as far as possible, dates of posts will match the dates of events 100 years ago). You can also follow the news on Twitter (@BoothamWW1). For staff and students, there will be a display in school.

Check the First World War page for more links.

August 5, 2014

Bootham School as a Hospital

“On Wednesday, August 5th, one of the York doctors asked if it would be possible to use the two Schools as hospitals for the wounded in case of necessity. Those members of the sub-committee who could be communicated with, met and considered the question at once, and found that they had little, if any, choice in the matter, as it was evident that a refusal would have resulted in the premises being formally commandeered either for this purpose or more probably for use as common barracks. Many of the Elementary Schools, as well as St. Peter’s and Archbishop Holgate’s, had already been commandeered as barracks for soldiers, 80,000 of whom it was said would require accommodation in York before being transferred to other places. In the circumstances, the Sub-committee thought it was wise at once to agree to allow the local branch of the St. John Ambulance Association to use the two Schools as hospitals. As the officials thought that a naval battle was imminent in the North Sea, we were asked to have fifty beds ready at Bootham in the shortest possible time.” From the Committee Minutes, 19 August 1914

August 1, 2014March 17, 2022

“Ancient History ended on July 31st, 1914, and on August 1st, 1914, Modern History began.”

Robert Mennell (B. 1897-1900) looks back to the opening of the swimming pool in June 1914.

“As we contrast the atmosphere we breathed at Whitsuntide [Old Scholars Reunion Weekend] with that which now envelops the world, what ages seem to separate that day from this! Looking back to our school days, we shall gratefully acknowledge that the patriotism inculcated at Bootham was in no sense aggressive, nor of the sort that can be held guilty of inflaming any spirit of jealousy or distrust between men of different nations. Many of us will blame ourselves, however, for having too easily acquiesced in the general reliance upon force, which—pursuing in a vicious circle, armaments, suspicion, and fear—is beyond all question the first and real cause of the gigantic tragedy that has darkened the world. It is not easy now to write of the happy days of Old Scholars. The new swimming bath, which was opened and paid for amid expressions of such enthusiastic delight, and loomed then so large on our mental horizon, seems now with all the events of those crowded days ‘swept into the limbo of forgotten things.'”

Photograph of Opening of Swimming Baths, 1914. — Opening of Swimming Baths, 1914

From ‘Bootham’ magazine, December 1914

July 31, 2014

Lads Club Camp Diaries

Many thanks to Claire, one of the volunteers, for researching this post.

The first School Camp took place in 1905, on a farm “on the edge of the cliff near the middle of the sweep of Robin Hood’s Bay”, according to ‘Bootham’ magazine (October 1905 edition). There had long been plans for a holiday camp for boys from York. Before the first camp, much planning took place:

“Mr Sturge and Mr Spencer Smith had given much anxious thought to the careful planning of details. Preliminary tents had been erected in the garden of ‘49’; red and blue bunting had been wrestled with in the making of ‘B.S.C.’ flags; many solemn consultations were held on the merits of penny tin plates, and coloured linens for badges; the resource of the workshop had resulted in an excellent noticeboard; boiled puddings, cakes and vegetables had been sent in by masters’ wives and other friends; and many teas and chats on the engrossing subject had gone on in the Head’s garden.”

The camp was made up of staff, some boys from Bootham, and some boys from York.

We have in the archive a set of diaries for the ‘Lads’ Club Camps’ (as they become known), running from 1911 until 1968 (with some gaps). Here are some extracts from the diaries.

1911 – The very first diary entry was the 22^nd July 1911, in Scarborough. Twelve officers and forty-five lads camped on this occasion.

1922 – The diary describes the layout of the camp along with the camp rules. “No smoking, no spitting about camp, preferably not elsewhere, barbed wire not to be climbed, use styles, no one to leave camp or go to the stream without notification to a commandant No washing in the water drawing bucket, iron basins provided, foul language and swearing discouraged, especially by officers!”.

1933 – The camp took place at Thornton Dale, visiting “Farmer Elliott at Paper Mill Farm. Milk and butter were provided by the farm, water from the stream or spring on the hillside. Farmer Elliott allowed the lads to dam the stream “to make a deeper bathing pool”.

1954 – Camp was held at Bowbridge, Rievaulx. Nine days were spent there with, five staff, twelve boys from Bootham (officers) and twenty-three boys from across York.

The “variety and quality of food was good, Friends of Bootham School donated tinned stuffs, biscuits, cakes and other luxuries”. The accounts give an idea of what supplies were needed.

July 2, 2014

Drama mysteries

We were checking through the box of material about drama productions recently, and came across these photographs, which weren’t labelled, so we’re not sure about dates or productions. If you recognise these productions, please let us know!

The two lower photographs must have been after 1966, as that’s when the new hall was opened. We’re not sure whether the top right photograph was from a drama production, or another event.

June 27, 2014

Insects

Thanks to Claire, one of the volunteers, for researching this post.

It’s National Insect Week!

Interestingly, over one million species and insects have been described and named worldwide. The UK in itself have more than 24,000 species and we can find insects in almost every habitat. They can be pollinators, predators, pests, parasites and prey.

We have, for many years now, had the benefit of a wonderfully active Natural History Society with many facts, figures and information having been collated.

Images of butterflies drawn by students – various species including: Eye Hawk Moth, and drawings of the same in pupa state (H Richardson 1878), Blackhead Bunting, Red Admiral and a small Tortoiseshell butterfly, The Ringlet (from an album probably assembled by Hugh Richardson between 1876 and 1884)

The Ringlet has to be a personal favourite, the detail is astonishing, as are most within this “scrap book”.

The Natural History Journal of 1892 has an interesting piece relating to dragonflies, a lovely story of EW Allen shouldering his satchel and venturing on a 4 mile hike on a hot day to his chosen hunting ground. Interestingly, he states the New Forest as being a very rewarding area to investigate. At Brockenhurst he managed to add 200-300 specimens to his collection.

1947 saw the creation of a wonderful set of Butterfly records, including details of some rare finds. This was the culmination of a 2 year study by the Natural History Society incorporating contributions from new boys, senior boys, Old Scholars and teachers. A very thorough and detailed account including some lovely photographs of paintings by C.J.S of the Comma and Camberwell Beauty. A painting by Douglas. M Sloan of a Brimstone, of the family Pierdae, sub family Coliadinae stands out also as a rare find even though “it lives the longest of all British butterflies”. It has become less rare over the recent years and can be seen reasonably frequently at Askham Bog.

Clouded Yellow

In 1948 a visit to Hutton Le Hole was arranged. 12^th – 19^th April 10 boys stayed at Barmoor, looked after by Mr and Mrs Happold. Whilst lovely pictures and much research took place, the boys were particularly interested in remaining well fed and “taking their candles with them at 10.30pm and shortly after not a sound was heard”. John Mounsey created an interesting report on butterflies and moths which was incorporated into the National History Club magazine.

1951 – 20 boys visited Borrowdale and stayed at CHA Hostel detailing their finds in a log book. We find the following in relation to a stonefly, and their habitat details.

Also in 1951, a visit to Askham Bog gave us a wonderful drawing of the life cycle of pond life in stagnant water.

The Natural History Junior Diary 1969 holds interesting accounts relating to all nature projects at the time, the care of which was managed by the school children. They made diary entries to capture detail. One such account is that of the locust: on the 23^rd January PJ Higson noted the progress the locust had made in terms of development ,feeding habits and “lights out” at 6pm. Following on, MB Barber noted that they were transferred to the adult cage and fed their “white worms”.

May/June1970 saw a visit to Strensall Common. A very intricate and interesting hand drawn picture of a hoverfly along with detailed observations are available “3 pairs of legs like all insects, one pair of wings and a stump of hind wing like all flies”. Also picture is the head area of a Wolf Spider, apparently “Strensall is particularly good for spider enthusiasts”.

May 29, 2014

The swimming pool is 100!

The official opening on 1st June 1914. Those standing at the front are (l-r): R.W. Thorp (Architect and Bootham Old Scholar, 1899-1900), Arnold S. Rowntree (Secretary of Schools Committee and Old Scholar 1883-89), Francis C. Clayton (Old Scholar 1855-58) and T. Edmund Harvey (President of OYSA and Old Scholar 1887-91).

The Bootham swimming pool will be one hundred years old on Sunday. On 1st June 1914 the new Bath was handed over by T. Edmund Harvey, President of OYSA, to the school. According to the magazine, Arnold S. Rowntree ‘was glad…to have the opportunity of embracing the bath to his bosom, and of thanking as heartily as possible all those who by their generous contributions had enabled the Association to make this noble gift to the School.’ He hoped the the bath would be of help ‘in increasing the health and vigour of all those who passed through its doors.’

To finish, here is the first verse from a poem by Alfred Morgan Hughes (Old Scholar 1905-07) about the appeal to Old Scholars. The poem is called ‘The Building of the Bath’ and it was published in ‘Bootham’ magazine in March 1915.

“Frank Clayton, good old scholar,

By John Ford’s tomb he swore

That the ninety boys of Bootham

Should suffer dirt no more.

By John Ford’s tomb he swore it,

And named an opening day,

And sent blank banker’s orders forth

East and west and south and north

To summon in the pay.”