HERTFORD BADGES

[Katharine]

As I remember it, Dinah, in my time most of us had circular badges with the CH initials on, but if you had won colours in sports then you had the other kind. Mine is certainly a round one with initials, by my reckoning Kerren should have the other kind.

Did we have to go to Miss Jukes to get them before leaving?

[Angela Woodford]

Talking of badges , I have question that has bothered me for years. I thought that when I left in 1977 I joined C.H.O.G. A and I received a badge which had those initials around the edge. I then lost this badge and applied for a new one. When I got it, it did not have those initials on it. My sister then said she had two badges and one of them must have been mine. When she showed them to me neither had the initials on them.Were there any badges issued with those initials on them or have I made this up? I am thinking that maybe Angela or Kerren might have the definitive answer on this . Though I fear if the answer is no, there were no badges like this and I am absolutely crazy as I really remember it.

I just went to fetch my CHOGA badge for a look. Dark blue, CH shield separated by C......H, gold edge. I left in 1971 - perhaps there was a new edition?

[Angela Woodford]

Angela, being in the Flat and also being a Prefect were NOT synonymous when I was at CH.

Who did get to be in the Flat then, if it wasn't the *Perfects?

*Just spotted my typo. A Freudian slip, no? But I rather like it!

[Katharine]

When the Flat started, we were told it was for the Senior Sixth, ie those who had already done A levels and had stayed on to do Oxbridge. This was supposed to be a bit of freedom as all the rest of their year group had already left CH. Gradually fewer and fewer of these stayed on for the full year. We were the first year that even the Head Girl left at Christmas, so after we left there were NO Senior Sixth. That was probably when things changed. When I was in the Flat there were 6 of us, 5 of whom were Prefects but Susan Cottingham wasn't a Prefect but was there by the right of being in the Senior VI.

I think there were only 2 Prefects at the start of my first year, but several more SVI - we had 3 in 6s.

[michael scuffil]

On Hertford Speech Day 1963, the girl detailed to show me and another Grecian round showed us the flats (we were amazed at the luxury, given that life at Hertford in almost every other respect was worse than at Horsham), and I think she said they were for Prefects, which she explained as being vaguely equivalent to School Monitors at Horsham. She then added that there were currently no prefects in fact, because Miss West had de-prefected the lot of them (including her) for some reason which I forget. (I also forget who she was, but the field can't be very wide.)

I always thought the coatfrocks were rather cute. They at least looked a bit distinguished, more like nurses' uniforms. Otherwise the various uniforms looked like very dowdy versions of the teenage dress of the respective previous decade.

[Angela Woodford]

"De-prefected"!

That's amazing. Whatever could the girls have done? Do you remember, Katharine? That must have been a major scandal! Especially, as Senior V1 (I'd forgotten about the Senior V1), they were very very Senior indeed! In 1963, positively grown-up ladies!

I thought the coatfrocks were rather elegant too, Michael. But must have been a bit itchy-and-scratchy.

[Katharine]

Michael there was only the one flat it had three double bedrooms. You had to pass through one of the rooms to reach the third room. It also had a sitting room, kitchenette and bathroom.

I do not remember the Prefects being demoted, but it was possibly the time we were 'rotten to the core'. I think Kerren has said she wasn't a BA which could make it summer 63. As I remember it, someone had been seen posting a letter outside school. Nobody would own up, so we were all deemed to be guilty. BAs had to start wearing pinnies again, GAs had to wear BAs and presumably Prefects lost their badges. However we still had to perform all the duties we had previously or the school would have ground to a halt. I can't remember how long it lasted. As I said earlier in the thread, there was difficulty finding pinnies to fit!

[michael scuffil]

Michael there was only the one flat it had three double bedrooms. You had to pass through one of the rooms to reach the third room. It also had a sitting room, kitchenette and bathroom.

This was at a time when everyone, but everyone, at Horsham slept in dormitories and used the lav-ends (did you ever see one, Katharine?). And the nearest we came to a sitting-room were the two studies per house, each about seven sq. m. There were no legal cooking facilities. But then everyone was allowed to post letters, all seniors could go for country bike rides in summer, etc. Swings and roundabouts.

[MaryB]

Angela, being in the Flat and also being a Prefect were NOT synonymous when I was at CH.

They definitely were when we were in the UVIth - for that year if no other.

[Jo]

Just going back to the blazers, I wondered if the reason for the confusion about dates was because we said the cherry reds were introduced about 1969. Perhaps we didn't make it clear that these were for Sundays and best only, and navy blazers continued to be worn in (was it just in summer?) on weekdays. Before the cherry reds, is it just my imagination or did we have a Sunday best blazer and a weekday blazer that were the same design but one was just a bit newer and smarter than the other? Or am I just remembering two of the various blazers I had during my time there?

[Katharine]

Jo we definitely had two blazers in my day the Sunday best and the other one. As I said, the other one was without a pocket badge when I first went there and until the new badged ones were no longer smart enough for Sundays. Similarly we had macs for everyday and the Harris Tweed for Sundays. Did we wear macs to chapel on Sunday if it was pouring with rain?

[englishangel]

Blazers (only the one I think) weekdays and Sundays in the summer until the cherry reds came in, and macs on weekdays and Harris Tweeds on Sundays in the winter.

[MKM]

Blazers (only the one I think) weekdays and Sundays in the summer until the cherry reds came in, and macs on weekdays and Harris Tweeds on Sundays in the winter.

It really was another world. Why didn't we just wear macs when it rained and Harris tweed when it was cold?

[Angela Woodford]

I agree, Mary!

I didn't really like the Harris Tweeds that much, but they were lovely and warm and very good quality. So hardwearing, in fact, that they could have been worn far more in the cold weather, and made good use of!

[englishangel]

No wonder the men are confused. There are 4 coats/jackets after the cherry reds came in.