Figure 1.--Here I am at my East Anglian school, looking happy in my uniform. Note the scarf, which we wore a lot, not because it was cold but because we liked them. I'm wearing the grey shirt which was mandatory until you reached the sixth form (16 years old) when you graduated to white ones.

My family returned to England in 1960 and, thankfully, I transferred to another boarding school, in East Anglia. It was a public school like the school in Dorset. I was much happier there, for a variety of reasons. One was the Cadet program was better. By now, it seemed normal to wear school uniform. We had a uniform of gray suits. Now I was back into long trousers – for the whole of each term. Here I am at my East Anglian school, looking happy in my uniform. Note the scarf, which we wore a lot, not because it was cold but because we liked them (figure 1). We wore grey shirts, but 6th formers could wear white shirts. We also had a striped blazer for sports, a jaunty black, purple, and white. School caps were obligatory until you reached the 6th from, then they went the way of grey shirts. We had a ceremonial burning of caps. Sixthformers could wear the boater in summer, and very popular they were. We did possess other, scruffier clothes which we wore for what then seemed like daring escapades on our bikes into the surrounding countryside in search of illicit drinks in quiet pubs. That was, of course, because we didn’t want to be identified. How naïve! I was now beginning to acquire more relaxed clothes for wearing at home in the holidays – a pair of jeans made its first appearance.

Dorset School

My first Englisg secondary school, at least secindary school in England, was a public school in Dorset. I was sent there at age 13 while my parents and younger brothers were still in Germany. I didn't like the school at all and was very unhappy there. I didn't like the uniform or the fact that I had to participate in the mandatory Cadet program. I joined the school in the middle of the year and spent the rest of the school year there.

Family Move

My family returned to England from Germany in 1960 and, thankfully, I transferred to another boarding school, in East Anglia.

New School

My new school was a public school like the school in Dorset. I was much happier there, for a variety of reasons. One was that the cadet program was better.

RAF Cadets

We also had compulsory Cadets at my East Anglian School. I was able to join the RAF Section there, the uniform was a little less uncomfortable than the Army one and we learnt about aviation, which I enjoyed. I eventually became a Cadet Sergeant.

School Uniform

By now, it seemed normal to wear school uniform. We had a uniform of gray suits. Now I was back into long trousers – for the whole of each term. Here I am at my East Anglian school, looking happy in my uniform. Note the scarf, which we wore a lot, not because it was cold but because we liked them (figure 1). We wore grey shirts, but 6th formers could wear white shirts. We also had a striped blazer for sports, a jaunty black, purple, and white. School caps were obligatory until you reached the 6th from, then they went the way of grey shirts. We had a ceremonial burning of caps. Sixthformers could wear the boater in summer, and very popular they were. The uniform at both of my boarding schools was grey suits for the whole year. For younger boys it had to be mid grey of a particular style and was supplied by the school outfitters in a nearby town. Boys in the first 2 years usually wore shorts but it was optional. On reaching the sixth form, as well as dispensing with the cap, you were allowed suits of a superior cloth and most people chose a darker grey, verging on charcoal grey. The blazer was an option for the summer term (semester), You wore it instead of the grey jacket at lessons and generally around the School but it also went quite well with cricket whites or tennis kit and could be worn over other clothes travelling to go sailing, rowing or some such civilised activity.

Mufti

We did possess other, scruffier clothes which we wore for what then seemed like daring escapades on our bikes into the surrounding countryside in search of illicit drinks in quiet pubs. That was, of course, because we didn’t want to be identified. How naïve! I was now beginning to acquire more relaxed clothes for wearing at home in the holidays – a pair of jeans made its first appearance.

Social Class

My school in East Anglia was close to several RAF bases and lots of the boys there were sons of servicemen. (USAF bases too, but I don't recall meeting a single American). The government gave financial assistance to service parents to keep their children at boarding schools in England to allow continuity in education. This assistance continued whether the parents were serving overseas or not, it continues to this day and is worth many thousands of pounds a year. The richest kids at school, however, were the sons of doctors and farmers. East Anglia is still well known for its wealthy farmers, it being the UK's grain belt. My parents were not wealthy and I know they went without luxuries to provide for their three sons. The only times I remember the relative wealth of parents being an issue involved the occasional boy from the Middle East, who might flaunt his wealth. It didn't cause much acrimony, we just felt jealous. I've just thought that, as every boy had to have the same inventory of clothes and we were only allowed one shilling a week each for pocket money, (now 5p or 10 US cents), we were all equal. We therefore operated in an ideal communist environment! Any other money you had was to be kept by the housemaster and you applied for it if you needed it for, say, a new tennis racqet or a trip away for a university interview. Of course, there were ways of stowing away secret sums of money for 'essentials' like cigarettes or alcohol; the possession of either was a very serious offence. I certainly do not remember anyone being taunted because they were poor.

Day Boys

One discrimination did exist. We boarders considered ourselves infinitely superior to the dayboys, who were bussed in daily from nearby towns. The school had about 400 boarders and 100 or so dayboys. They could not get involved in the activities, e.g. debating, drama and sports that went on in the evenings and at weekends. The English love any excuse to display their snobbery. I know more than a handful of boys who lived very close to the school but who persuaded their parents to let them become boarders. In general, it was, and still is, a very happy school.

My Brothers

My brothers followed me to the school after I had been there a year (1960-61) and had reported that it was a nice school, very different from the horrors of Dorset!. One brother joined at the first form, aged 11 and the other, who was 9, joined the preparatory department, a separate establishment a mile away but whose boys graduated to the main school at 11 - provided they had passed the Eleven Plus. Both my brothers remained there until 18 years old, from where they went to University.