South Shields Grammar-Technical School for Boys  
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The Second World War - the Evacuation to Appleby
School at War - Chapters 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

South Shields High School Heads to Appleby
Map of North-East showing ApplebyOn September 3rd, 1939, Chamberlain announced that we were at war; the government had acceded to South Shields' plea to expand the evacuation zone; and on Friday, September 8th, 1939, 147 High School boys (representing about a quarter of the school) arrived at South Shields station to be taken into the country.

Carrying their tiny parcels of essential belongings, and gasmasks in cardboard boxes and string handles, they boarded the steam train. Accompanied by 13 masters, and Mr Newby (deputy Head) and his wife, they left South Shields for Appleby, a small town in Westmorland (now in Cumbria), some 70 miles to the south-west.

On arrival, the boys were probably met by the Reception Officer and assisted in finding their new homes by the Billetting Officer, Sybil Heelis. It seems that the boys were treated much better than those in other areas, and on that first day they were entertained to tea by the staff and Headmaster of the local Central School. How the selection of who would stay where was carried out is not recorded, but from a number of personal accounts, the choices made were generally very happy ones.

Appleby - town planThose who took children in were paid an allowance of 10s6d for the first child, rising to 17s0d for two, and 8s6d for each subsequent child, and they were instructed (according to the Women's Voluntary Service for Civil Defence leaflet) "to care for the children as if they were their own". Healthy nutrition was important, and sample weekly menus were distributed. In some areas, illnesses and infestations were a problem right from the beginning ... but it certainly doesn't seem to have been the case for the Boys from Shields.

Appleby is a beautiful mediaeval town in the sheltered Eden valley. It was small (even now it has less than 3000 inhabitants) yet in 1940 it was well served - it had two railways stations (for the LNER and the LMSR lines which ran through the town), and two schools, the Grammar School and the Central School.

Boroughgate, in the centre of the town plan on the left, was the main thoroughfare, with the 16th century Moot Hall at its northern end. There is a river, a cricket field, a 12th-century castle, and lots of wooded countryside nearby - it is little wonder that many boys recall an exciting and enjoyable time.

Initially, there was some expectation that the boys would be able to use the facilities of the Appleby Grammar School. Unfortunately, this proved impractical. However, Mr Newby was able to negotiate the occasional use of a laboratory and the woodwork room, and boys from the school were allowed to play on the Grammar School field half-a-day a week. This did, however, mean having to play rugby on a pitch marked out for football!

By the Tuesday after their arrival, Mr Newby had hired rooms around the town. The evacuees started their school term with no desks, no blackboard and no books - so the school year began with lots of organised excursions. Other buildings around the town served as classrooms for sections of the school, and the Cinema in Boroughgate was used as a gymnasium. Boys from the 3rd form joined the upper 4th and lower 5th in the Church Institute, located on The Sands, the main road to the east of the river. The lower 4th used the nearby Oddfellow's Hall, and the upper 5th (and presumably the two boys that made up the remove and the 6th) were housed in the Brownie Hut, on Boroughgate.

According to a souvenir leaflet given to the boys, the roll-call on 8th September, 1939, was as follows:

Staff
Mr TE Newby (Head)
Mrs TE Newby (Helper)
Mr E Caffery
Mr J Cherry
Mr H Formison
Mr AS Gaught
Mr L Graysham
Mr Fred G Grey
Mr A "Tanker" Hall
Mr Alf Headley
Mr William M Hunter
Me CW Jefferson
Mr Arnold Josephs
Mr J ("Pa") Petty
Mr H Stephenson
3rd Form Lower 4th Upper 4th Lower 5th Upper 5th
Ayre
Buzzard, George
Cluness, Andrew
Day
Dawson
Donkin
Forster
Gedling
Henry
Howard
Jackson
Jordan
Jordison
Johnson
Loades
Lawson, Donald
Lombard
Maddison
Mandle
Massey
Mitchell
Mulvain
Newsome
Nixon
Phinn
Roberts
Sampson
Scott
Simpson
Teasdale
Thompson
Thorn
Todd
Turpin
Whittington
Willey
Barstead
Bond
Brown
Burn
Burr, Stan
Callahan
Campbell
Coombes
Ford, Norman ("Bugs")
Gage
Guest, Joe
Gunn, Johnny ("Spud")
Hodgson, Ron ("Scats")
Hogarth, Tommy
Keddie, Russell ("Sludge")
Law
Marshall, Ronnie
Monkhouse, Ron
Montgomery, Tom
Nicholson
Padley, Alan
Palmer
Peat, Freddy
Phillips, Ernie
Potts
Prince
Rees, Billy ("Butch")
Shell
Smith, WS
Smith, Ron
Stewart, Frank
Stokoe, Alan
Taylor, Geoffrey
Urwin, Jack
Walls, Stanley
Walton, Jackie
Whyte, Billy
Wilkinson
Young
Anderson
Armitage
Buck
Byers
Collins
Davidson
Dawe
Easten
Errington
Gibson
Halcrow
Henry
Hornby
Jackson
Jordan
Kendall
Magrs
Manson
Milburn
Purvis
Simpson
Southern
Steele
Taylor, AEG
Taylor, A
Wall
Welch
Allen
Bradshaw
Curtis
Carmichael
Donkin
Erikson
Glassburg
Goudie
Hall, Stephen
Hayden
Hayes
Hudson
Ingle
Learmount
Lethem
Orr
Robinson
Readman
Richardson
Robson
Ruffell
Smith
Snaith
Stobert
Storey
Thornton
Wake
Walsh
Watson
Whale
Whitfield
Cowley
Crockett
Evans
Foster
Hall
Hill
Hutton
Lawson
Swainston
Wilkins
Young
Remove
Henderson
6th
Lethem
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