Recollection of time spent at St Hild's College between 1917 and 1919
Letter from Hilda Marian Lawrence (nee Lumsden) recalling her time spent at training college
5 Winnipeg Place
Chapel Allerton
Leeds
LS7 4HR
17. 10. 77
Dear Dr Higginson,
I have given Kathleen the notes I have made on St Hild’s College, but I could not think what happened during the hours after chapel until we went into the hall to hear the news.
I wrote that we had a lecture then but it did not seem quite right. We would never have had a lecture at that time. My erstwhile fellow students did not seem to know anything about it!
It dawned on me this morning that that was when we wrote up the day’s lectures.
During school practice it was the time when we wrote out and prepared lessons for the next day at school.
We then took them to be scrutinized by the various lecturers.
I write in great haste! I hope you can read it! I trust it will be of some use.
All good wishes
HL
St Hild’s College 1917-19
7.30 Rising Bell – dress-strip bed
8 a.m. Breakfast Unappetising fare – Porridge, bread and margarine, War Time!
8.30 Make bed – brush any dust or fluff from floor. Dust pans and brushes kept at end of each dormitory
9 a.m. Chapel
9.30 a.m. Lecture until 1 p.m. lunch
2-4 p.m. Free to leave College grounds or to play hockey, garden etc. We were each given a small plot of land in which to grow vegetables – seed supplied by college!
4-4.30 p.m. Tea – defies description – Bread and margarine and some lumps of gingerbread tasting of bi-carb. – generally went back to kitchen untouched – unless one was very hungry. It was served as pudding the following day when it was also uneaten unless one was unfortunate enough to be sitting near a member of staff.
The staff had to eat it or some of it to show an example but they were given a good evening meal later in the staff dining room where no students could venture to see.
5 p.m. – 6 p.m. Lecture
6 p.m. Chapel service
6.30-8.45 p.m. Private Study
8.45 p.m. I think then we may have gone into the dining room for a hot drink – Cocoa very little, if at all, sweetened.
9 p.m. We went into the Hall to hear the principal reading the news (War and general)
10 p.m. Lights out
First Summer – Flaxpicking on estate near Wellingborough. We had a choice – to go for 3 weeks or 6 – all under canvas guarded by Dads Army like soldiers. Afar off-German prisoners of war were to be seen working in the fields.
Date: 17-Oct-1977
Author: Hilda Marian Lawrence
Reference: D/X 1604/69
Where to find this: Durham Records Office
Contributed by Fiona Johnson
