Punishments at CH

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Fitzsadou
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Punishments at CH

Post by Fitzsadou »

Punishments varied from house to house in the 50s & 60s. Some house punishments, used then in several houses, were ‘quick changes’, a ‘mile’ and a ‘post office’. These were: (1) present yourself to a monitor in housey dress, run to the changing room put on games clothes (shorts, rugger jersey, games socks & shoes), return to the monitor then repeat the change in reverse. Four minutes was the allowed time for this. If one was late, either it was considered one’s own waste of time, or some nasty monitors would add an extra qc, (2) run round the mile (a mile long circular path), (3) do the first half of a qc, run to the PO, return and complete the qc. Twelve minutes were allowed. The latter two depended on ‘honour’ for their proper completion, but monitors would occasionally surreptitiously check. Corporal punishment from monitors (usually girdles on the buttocks, while wearing breeches) was rare and was slowly discontinued in this period, but without any official edict. That was an interesting development - spontaneous post war humanitarian feelings? In principle any one could punish a more junior boy (typically with a ‘fotch’, or hard slap with the palm on the back of the neck), but this too was very rare and slowly vanished, except from the sadistic (and stronger) boys, again without any official edict. House master’s punishments were principally beatings with a cane. Most sen housemasters would beat (MF Cherniavsky was one who didn’t), but few jun housemasters did so. (Rev LF Whitfield was unusual/unique in using a backhand caning technique). Official school punishments were school drills (continuous running for 30 min, conducted before lunch by the school sergeant) and detentions (4 30 -5 30) on a Wed or Sat. Expulsion was very rare, perhaps one every five years almost all (as was said elsewhere in this forum) for the usual reasons.

In a thread about the Armed Services, RSMs Cooke and Usher were mentioned. One of their duties was to visit all classrooms in the second period to carry messages and collect names of those absent, or who were to be punished with a school drill. Memories of those duties and one particular incident inspired suggesting this topic. When RSM Usher, who was very affectionately regarded, retired, for his last punishment drill, the usual number of miscreants’ names (typically between 5 and 10) was on his list. However over 80 boys turned up to honour him and all completed the drill (including Grecians, who of course were never punished in this way, and others). At first Sgt Usher could not understand what was happening and when he realised why they were there, he had literally tears in his eyes.

Were there other punishments? Were the girls ever punished? How? What is the current situation, or are all punishments, especially corporal, now forbidden?
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postwarblue
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by postwarblue »

Usher was highly regarded? I thought he was just a thick thug.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by pierre »

My memory from the sixties was a four minute quick change as being games clothes to housey to games clothes, but I could be wrong! We also ran Eight minute miles. I remember Pongo Littlefield in Barnes A as being a beater with the cane for very little reason. But on transition to the New senior house system in Thornton A, I don't recall Carrington ever using the cane.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by LongGone »

a minor punishment was having to get up, strip and fold the bed and be dressed in two minutes after the morning bell. It was often not that bad since the monitor who gave it was often barely awake and could be persuaded that you had made it in time.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by sejintenej »

LongGone wrote:a minor punishment was having to get up, strip and fold the bed and be dressed in two minutes after the morning bell. It was often not that bad since the monitor who gave it was often barely awake and could be persuaded that you had made it in time.
If you were on 'trades' the bell rang at 6.55 and you had to be in the dining hall at 7.05. Two minutes or so became a daily routine and heaven help anyone late to do their work.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by J.R. »

Both N.T. Fryer and R.A. Hewitt, (Senior/Junior housemasters, Coleridge B), used the cane, though not that often.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by seajayuu »

Hertford punishments were never physical in my time, they used psychological warfare instead! Silent beds (silence from the end of prep until the rising bell next day), silent meals, marching in solitary splendour leading the house to meals, eating at the top of the house table in dining hall (we sat in seniority order so ................), detention (always on Long Saturdays, when our parents were allowed to visit), conduct marks which involved the removal of your house tie ("no longer fit to be part of this house"), removal of your BA (black apron a hard earned mark of privilege), removal of your GA (green apron only bestowed upon the chosen few). Yes I had them all and many more trivial ones like cleaning the fish knives and forks when it wasn't my rota, the list goes on!!!!
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by Fjgrogan »

I agree - always psychological warfare, which of course leaves far longer-lasting scars than a quick caning or run round the mile! That's why so many of us Old Girls are so screwed up!
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by Martin »

Although Usher was certainly not too bright (probably only a Sgt and not a RSM) he seemed kindly and not particularly thuggish. When his drill squad once included a young and very obese boy who struggled to keep up, that boy was allowed to walk for a while. Also “Tush” sent away those jeering boys who had gathered to watch this spectacle. So his affectionate farewell seems possibly deserved.
House punishments were given by monitors and in at least one house the house captain would visit the senior housemaster weekly for a general discussion and to present the punishment book. Perhaps these books are still preserved in the archives. A punishment was once given for “ambulatory loquaciousness”, or as the hapless house captain had to explain, “talking on parade”. Another school punishment was a “bring up”, in effect a detention for a complete class, usually earned for an almighty noise and even semi-riot during class time, when the teacher was absent.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by Katharine »

One of DR's favourite punishments was to be made to learn a psalm, you could tell how cross she was by the length of the psalm given. I think she believed in always backing up her teaching staff but ... When we went into the Lower V we had a new Maths teacher, one of her first questions to us was "Does anyone know what logs are used for?" None of us knew anything about logarithms so Anne-Marie answered "To put on the fire". She was sent to repeat her remark to the Head, and came back saying she had been given 117 to learn. That is the shortest psalm with just 2 verses.

I can remember being made to learn poetry by 6s Study for some misdemeanour, one time it was some Gerard Manly Hopkins which ended with a line "Betweenpie mountains ..." We didn't understand it at all, and put most of us off Gerard Manly Hopkins, which was difficult for those who went on to study English Literature.
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by Fjgrogan »

'When the sweet showers of April fall and shoot down through the ? of ?to pierce the root .............' the first part of the Penguin translation of the Prologue of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, as imposed by somebody in Sixes study - no idea what the offense was for which I was being punished! I also have a pretty good memory of Isaiah 53, which doesn't really impress anybody these days because it was in the King James Version and everyone uses NIV these days!
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by Angela Woodford »

Sixes Study!

There seems to have been a period of years in Sixes when the Study were allowed free rein in dishing out punishments. I feared and dreaded them '64-'65. when I was made so utterly miserable. I couldn't cope with always being in trouble at all!

But I've written enough about those days, I know. However, I always felt amazed that DR turned a blind eye. She must have known!
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by Fjgrogan »

Several decades later Miss Mercer used to try to persuade me that having been forced to learn stuff by heart was actually a Good Thing, because otherwise 'what would you have to pull on, on a black Tuesday?' - I think she had a point!
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by fra828 »

How miserable for you to go through all that Angela. I could never bear to dish out any puinishments when I was a senior, I thought it was very cruel, and who were we but mere pupils, just a few years older than juniors? Punishment , I believe then and now-is the job of school staff to administer. Pupils what ever age SHOULD NOT be expected to do this. Surely only the most unkind and sadistic seniors actually agree to doing it.In any case I couldn't have cared less what juniors got up to. Aged 16 or 17, I was probably breaking far more of those petty school rules myself!
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Re: Punishments at CH

Post by postwarblue »

There were also Dining Hall punishments like having to move down the table and sit next to the Down Bottom Mons (the 4 junior monitors as opposed to the Up Top Mons at the other end) and having to eat your meals standing up at the serving table.

As to seniors and juniors, in the 50s a Horsham house basically ran itself under the monitors, the housemaster seldom interfered - even when, as AH Buck remarked after being disturbed by dormitory noise, what had passed was 'the culmination of years of disgusting bullying'. But it hadn't disgusted him enough to do anything about it.
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