The Five Ways Magazine of Spring 1939 gives few explicit clues to the fact that by the end of the summer of that same year, the nation would be at war with Germany and the school would have been evacuated from Birmingham to Monmouth.
The advertising in the magazine is abundant and the style of the adverts as well as some of the products on sale help to date the publication. Young readers are encouraged to purchase (or persuade their parents to purchase more likely) a Len Hutton cricket bat made by Gradidges; a Flobot British built folding boat; a Basset-Lowke gauge 0 scale model railway train; or a carton of Bassett's original liquorice Allsorts ("everyone soon gets my trail" announces Bertie). For the more industrious student there is the Millionaire's Pen from Parker; school stationary from Moule and Co of Broad Street; or selected Scientific Instruments from Philip Harris & Co (also in Birmingham).
We might have expected to find hints about the impending global crisis in the editorial, but instead there is an ink sketch by the artist known as F.F. of a weary master leaning against his desk with the accompanying words:
"In the matter of the Editorial, I regret
I have had no inspiration, as yet
But since the cacoethes scribendi is dead,
Here's a portrait instead.
W.R.S.
The next few pages are taken up by a rich array of poetry, penned without doubt by aspiring young talent from amongst the pupils, followed by short stories and creative writing. One ode goes as follows:
May luck attend the magazine
And all the staff who serve it;
Good luck to all the editors
And surely they deserve it!
Zealously they serve, and well,
It's done with precision;
No magazine in all the world can
Ever equal this 'un.
G.C.B
One imagines the English master might have considered adding the comment "Shows great promise throughout... ending needs more work". Though perhaps the final line tellingly reflects the Brummagem dialect of these particular grammar school boys.
Glancing through these inspiring works of literature, one wonders what became of the authors, how many perfected their craft and became authors, novelists, researchers, journalists or editors?
The first big clue to imminent world events is a public information article from the A.R.P. entitled WHAT EVERY HOUSEHOLDER SHOULD KNOW and starts:
"In the event of an Air Raid, whistles will be blown in the vicinity of explosions as a warning that an air-raid is in progress. If high-explosive bombs are being dropped, Wardens will sound rattles to awaken all householders in the immediate neighbourhood."
The article goes on to describe three different types of bomb which "may be expected" including the Gas Bomb, the Incendiary Bomb and the High-Explosive Bomb and concludes with a resume of precautionary measures.
What is interesting is how this potentially alarming public information notice is slipped in between two short stories authored by pupils, one a ghost story about a deserted house and the second a tale of espionage set in 18th century Boston. The A.R.P announcement has no introduction or preamble, no explanation as to whom might be about to drop high-explosives on the homes of the school boys and their teachers and parents or for what reason. Very factual and understated, almost as if there has been a conscious policy to keep everything low key to avoid panic or a case of, in the words of Basil Fawlty, "don't mention the war".
The second section of the magazine contains reports about school activities, including a detailed review of the school G&S opera The Mikado performed during December 1938:
"It is difficult to avoid an excessive use of superlatives in giving one's impressions of a performance which will long live in the memories of those who were privileged to be present. The writer had the good fortune of being able to attend each evening, and his enjoyment increased in geometrical progression, until the final curtain".
But it is the next report which finally provides some interesting clues to the wider historic context of school boy life in 1939. Astonishingly, in January 1939, nine months before the start of war with Hitler's Germany, a group of boys and masters from Five Ways went on a ski-camp to Kassel and the hills of Sauerland in Germany. Under the stewardship of Dr King and Mr Christian, the group traveled by train and boat, then train again over the German frontier at Aachen and onwards into the very heart of Nazi Germany. The report is adapted from the log of D.Asdell.
An idyllic time was spent skiing, walking and climbing and German hospitality is described in warm and open-hearted terms:
"The young German people already there made us completely at home; our masters were chatting with Herr Schroter about old times; we played games and looked at journals, tentatively tried to sing but soon hushed it up - the Germans sang so well - then went to bed happy."
The report recalls the special warmth shown to the Five Ways group by their hosts, none other than the local branch of the Hitler Youth. Reading that name today, one can be forgiven for feeling a shiver down the spine as images of patriotic young Nazis vaulting and gamboling in front of the Fuhrer in Leni Riefenstahl's epic propaganda films come easily to mind. But in the context of the long, uncertain prelude to war, one can also feel a sense of deep poignancy for what must have been rare times of apparent innocence and optimism, when adolescent young men on both sides were allowed by fate a final opportunity to meet and bond as brothers united by the vigour of youth in the shadow of war:
"Our thanks are due above all to the Gebbietsfuhrer, leader-in-chief of the Kurhessen division of the Hitler Youth. We made our first acquaintance with him at a "Heimabend" in Willengen. In a large hall the Hitler Youth of the district and ourselves were gathered to sing and spend an informal evening. The Gebietsfuhrer had come especially from Kassel and welcomed us in a speech - which Dr King translated. We sang to him - "John Brown's Body", "The Mermaid", "Ten Green Bottles" - and strange to say he liked it! And from this meeting until the time we left Germany, he did all he could to make us feel happy."
The magazine continues with many more reports of school activities such as holidays at the school farm at Evenlode, lectures and school societies. The first meeting of the Foreign Affairs Society on February 15th took the form of a debate on the motion, "That this Society prefers Democracy to Dictatorship" with Mr Swale outlining the evils of Dictatorship whilst Dr King "dwelt on the deficiencies of the democratic electoral system and contrasted the whole social and economic organisation of a democracy with the efficiency of a totalitarian state. He concluded that the practical advantages of Dictatorship outweighed the high-sounding theories of Democracy".
Dr King may well have made a convincing case, but the motion was carried by a majority of 64 votes and we can feel relieved to say that democracy appears to have won the day. However, the antagonists were clearly not about to lie down and the report finishes: "At the next meeting of the Society on March 8th, Herr Heerde will state "The German Point of View" in the form of considered replies to written questions from members on recent happenings in Germany".
Whether messrs. King and Christian fostered genuine sympathies for the "German point of view" it is difficult to say conclusively just from this evidence, but as the neutral reader progresses through the pages of the school magazine of early 1939, it is certainly the case that they felt inclined to play devil's advocate on more than one occasion. At a meeting of the Literary and Debating Society in March 1939 the two men gave a joint lecture on "The aims and organization of the German Youth Movement" with Dr King stressing the priority of the Church over Youth Meetings in Germany:
"Another point made clear by Dr King was that there is no military training in the Movement, especially in the use of arms. There is no compulsion to belong to the Movement he added".
At the same meeting, Mr Christian gave a talk on the history of dictators.
"He spent a long time showing the merits and defects of such men as Richelieu and Napoleon. He also showed that the petty dictators of South America and Mexico can cause as violent a repercussion as the more powerful rulers. He ended an interesting lecture by giving the characteristics of the Movement".
Other societies who get a mention in the magazine included the Photographic Society, the Natural History and Scientific Society, the Fencing Club , the Boxing Club and the Chess Team. What is also interesting is that reports and articles from the Old Boys Club are included in the school magazine and just like the Five Ways Old Edwardians Association newsletters of today, there are some great anecdotes, including this light hearted memory from the 'Misty Memories' of old boy Clyde Higgs:
"Another landmark is the occasion when a class-mate fell from the back of an electric tram in Ladywood Road, and was reported fatally injured. For about three days our thoughts were with him - distressing thoughts, moreover - when he suddenly appeared in the class, bright and early one morning, as impudent as ever, none the worse for his mishap, and prepared to revel in the temporary hero-worship which was his due."
The magazine finishes with an article encouraging boys to consider a career in agriculture and some more adverts, two of which reflect the sign of the times in promoting careers in wireless operation and navigation. The very last advert in the magazine provides a lovely piece of miscellany to finish on:
"Giant Moths of the Jungle"
How to obtain and rear them in England
by Pentland Hick
This booklet tells you everything you need to know in order to be able to breed Giant Moths from all over the world, and to rear their very strange caterpillars.
Price 1 shilling - Post Free
Pentland Hick
Athol House, Scarborough
In the anxious build up to global warfare, it is comforting to know that Birmingham school boys were quite possibly preoccupied with breeding giant jungle moths in discarded Bertie Bassett cartons!
The advertising in the magazine is abundant and the style of the adverts as well as some of the products on sale help to date the publication. Young readers are encouraged to purchase (or persuade their parents to purchase more likely) a Len Hutton cricket bat made by Gradidges; a Flobot British built folding boat; a Basset-Lowke gauge 0 scale model railway train; or a carton of Bassett's original liquorice Allsorts ("everyone soon gets my trail" announces Bertie). For the more industrious student there is the Millionaire's Pen from Parker; school stationary from Moule and Co of Broad Street; or selected Scientific Instruments from Philip Harris & Co (also in Birmingham).
We might have expected to find hints about the impending global crisis in the editorial, but instead there is an ink sketch by the artist known as F.F. of a weary master leaning against his desk with the accompanying words:
"In the matter of the Editorial, I regret
I have had no inspiration, as yet
But since the cacoethes scribendi is dead,
Here's a portrait instead.
W.R.S.
The next few pages are taken up by a rich array of poetry, penned without doubt by aspiring young talent from amongst the pupils, followed by short stories and creative writing. One ode goes as follows:
May luck attend the magazine
And all the staff who serve it;
Good luck to all the editors
And surely they deserve it!
Zealously they serve, and well,
It's done with precision;
No magazine in all the world can
Ever equal this 'un.
G.C.B
One imagines the English master might have considered adding the comment "Shows great promise throughout... ending needs more work". Though perhaps the final line tellingly reflects the Brummagem dialect of these particular grammar school boys.
Glancing through these inspiring works of literature, one wonders what became of the authors, how many perfected their craft and became authors, novelists, researchers, journalists or editors?
The first big clue to imminent world events is a public information article from the A.R.P. entitled WHAT EVERY HOUSEHOLDER SHOULD KNOW and starts:
"In the event of an Air Raid, whistles will be blown in the vicinity of explosions as a warning that an air-raid is in progress. If high-explosive bombs are being dropped, Wardens will sound rattles to awaken all householders in the immediate neighbourhood."
The article goes on to describe three different types of bomb which "may be expected" including the Gas Bomb, the Incendiary Bomb and the High-Explosive Bomb and concludes with a resume of precautionary measures.
What is interesting is how this potentially alarming public information notice is slipped in between two short stories authored by pupils, one a ghost story about a deserted house and the second a tale of espionage set in 18th century Boston. The A.R.P announcement has no introduction or preamble, no explanation as to whom might be about to drop high-explosives on the homes of the school boys and their teachers and parents or for what reason. Very factual and understated, almost as if there has been a conscious policy to keep everything low key to avoid panic or a case of, in the words of Basil Fawlty, "don't mention the war".
The second section of the magazine contains reports about school activities, including a detailed review of the school G&S opera The Mikado performed during December 1938:
"It is difficult to avoid an excessive use of superlatives in giving one's impressions of a performance which will long live in the memories of those who were privileged to be present. The writer had the good fortune of being able to attend each evening, and his enjoyment increased in geometrical progression, until the final curtain".
But it is the next report which finally provides some interesting clues to the wider historic context of school boy life in 1939. Astonishingly, in January 1939, nine months before the start of war with Hitler's Germany, a group of boys and masters from Five Ways went on a ski-camp to Kassel and the hills of Sauerland in Germany. Under the stewardship of Dr King and Mr Christian, the group traveled by train and boat, then train again over the German frontier at Aachen and onwards into the very heart of Nazi Germany. The report is adapted from the log of D.Asdell.
An idyllic time was spent skiing, walking and climbing and German hospitality is described in warm and open-hearted terms:
"The young German people already there made us completely at home; our masters were chatting with Herr Schroter about old times; we played games and looked at journals, tentatively tried to sing but soon hushed it up - the Germans sang so well - then went to bed happy."
The report recalls the special warmth shown to the Five Ways group by their hosts, none other than the local branch of the Hitler Youth. Reading that name today, one can be forgiven for feeling a shiver down the spine as images of patriotic young Nazis vaulting and gamboling in front of the Fuhrer in Leni Riefenstahl's epic propaganda films come easily to mind. But in the context of the long, uncertain prelude to war, one can also feel a sense of deep poignancy for what must have been rare times of apparent innocence and optimism, when adolescent young men on both sides were allowed by fate a final opportunity to meet and bond as brothers united by the vigour of youth in the shadow of war:
"Our thanks are due above all to the Gebbietsfuhrer, leader-in-chief of the Kurhessen division of the Hitler Youth. We made our first acquaintance with him at a "Heimabend" in Willengen. In a large hall the Hitler Youth of the district and ourselves were gathered to sing and spend an informal evening. The Gebietsfuhrer had come especially from Kassel and welcomed us in a speech - which Dr King translated. We sang to him - "John Brown's Body", "The Mermaid", "Ten Green Bottles" - and strange to say he liked it! And from this meeting until the time we left Germany, he did all he could to make us feel happy."
The magazine continues with many more reports of school activities such as holidays at the school farm at Evenlode, lectures and school societies. The first meeting of the Foreign Affairs Society on February 15th took the form of a debate on the motion, "That this Society prefers Democracy to Dictatorship" with Mr Swale outlining the evils of Dictatorship whilst Dr King "dwelt on the deficiencies of the democratic electoral system and contrasted the whole social and economic organisation of a democracy with the efficiency of a totalitarian state. He concluded that the practical advantages of Dictatorship outweighed the high-sounding theories of Democracy".
Dr King may well have made a convincing case, but the motion was carried by a majority of 64 votes and we can feel relieved to say that democracy appears to have won the day. However, the antagonists were clearly not about to lie down and the report finishes: "At the next meeting of the Society on March 8th, Herr Heerde will state "The German Point of View" in the form of considered replies to written questions from members on recent happenings in Germany".
Whether messrs. King and Christian fostered genuine sympathies for the "German point of view" it is difficult to say conclusively just from this evidence, but as the neutral reader progresses through the pages of the school magazine of early 1939, it is certainly the case that they felt inclined to play devil's advocate on more than one occasion. At a meeting of the Literary and Debating Society in March 1939 the two men gave a joint lecture on "The aims and organization of the German Youth Movement" with Dr King stressing the priority of the Church over Youth Meetings in Germany:
"Another point made clear by Dr King was that there is no military training in the Movement, especially in the use of arms. There is no compulsion to belong to the Movement he added".
At the same meeting, Mr Christian gave a talk on the history of dictators.
"He spent a long time showing the merits and defects of such men as Richelieu and Napoleon. He also showed that the petty dictators of South America and Mexico can cause as violent a repercussion as the more powerful rulers. He ended an interesting lecture by giving the characteristics of the Movement".
Other societies who get a mention in the magazine included the Photographic Society, the Natural History and Scientific Society, the Fencing Club , the Boxing Club and the Chess Team. What is also interesting is that reports and articles from the Old Boys Club are included in the school magazine and just like the Five Ways Old Edwardians Association newsletters of today, there are some great anecdotes, including this light hearted memory from the 'Misty Memories' of old boy Clyde Higgs:
"Another landmark is the occasion when a class-mate fell from the back of an electric tram in Ladywood Road, and was reported fatally injured. For about three days our thoughts were with him - distressing thoughts, moreover - when he suddenly appeared in the class, bright and early one morning, as impudent as ever, none the worse for his mishap, and prepared to revel in the temporary hero-worship which was his due."
The magazine finishes with an article encouraging boys to consider a career in agriculture and some more adverts, two of which reflect the sign of the times in promoting careers in wireless operation and navigation. The very last advert in the magazine provides a lovely piece of miscellany to finish on:
"Giant Moths of the Jungle"
How to obtain and rear them in England
by Pentland Hick
This booklet tells you everything you need to know in order to be able to breed Giant Moths from all over the world, and to rear their very strange caterpillars.
Price 1 shilling - Post Free
Pentland Hick
Athol House, Scarborough
In the anxious build up to global warfare, it is comforting to know that Birmingham school boys were quite possibly preoccupied with breeding giant jungle moths in discarded Bertie Bassett cartons!
