Christopher Wagner
School caps were commonly worn by boys in the 1950s and at many schools were compulsory items of uniform. Neither of the schools I attended insisted on caps but many boys did wear them at Primary School, particularly in wet or cold weather. Perhaps surprisingly, given her views on what comprised proper school uniform, my Mother never purchased a cap for me. I don't know what my attitude towards wearing one would have been as I never had to, although I did wear a similar cap with my Cubs uniform and never gave it a second thought. Caps at Secondary school were very rare but there was one boy in my class whose mother used to insist he wear a cap when it rained. As a younger boy I also wore a "pilot's helmet" and Balaclava.
School caps were commonly worn by boys in the 1950s and at many schools were compulsory items of uniform. Neither of the schools I attended insisted on caps but many boys did wear them at Primary School, particularly in wet or cold weather. Perhaps surprisingly, given her views on what comprised proper school uniform, my Mother never purchased a cap for me. I don't know what my attitude towards wearing one would have been as I never had to, although I did wear a similar cap with my Cubs uniform and never gave it a second thought.
Caps at Secondary school were very rare but there was one boy in my class whose mother used to insist he wear a cap when it rained. He lived quite near the school and I occasionally met him coming out of his house as I passed. I remember one wet morning he emerged from his house with his cap on his head. He looked somewhat sheepish and explained that his mother had insisted he wore it As soon as he was out of sight of his house he whipped it off and stuck it in the pocket of his gabardine.
For a time in the early 50s, a popular item of headwear for young boys was a "pilot's helmet". Made from some kind of leather-like materials they resembled the flying helmets worn by pilots during the war. They had a peak and fitted snugly over the head and ears and fastened with a buckle under the chin. I recall my elder brother asking for one and eventually my Mother bought us one each. I don't know how my brother felt about his but I wasn't too keen on mine. Fortunately I did not have to wear it too often although there were a couple of times when there was a sharp frost or a biting wind that I was quite glad to have the benefit of it.
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