Figure 1.--Here we see some of the Farnham Grammar School boys in 1920. A few of the boys still wear Eton collars, but not very many. This is probably a good reflection of the general popularity of Eton collars with British boys in general.
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Figure 1.--Here we see some of the Farnham Grammar School boys in 1920. A few of the boys still wear Eton collars, but not very many. This is probably a good reflection of the general popularity of Eton collars with British boys in general. |
All of the available information about schoolwear at the Farnham comes from the 20th century. We do not have much information about the school uniform, but some informtion can be deduced from the available photographs. There does not seem to have been any uniform in 1920 other than a suit and tie. The ties are the horizontal ties in contrast go the vertical stripes introduced later. A few boys were still wearing Eton coollars. The boys by 1927 are dressed more uniformily, some with crests on their suit jackets. Difficult to tell if it the boys are actually wearing a uniform. A 1937 pportait still shows the boys without a uniform. Several boys are wearing the sports collars without ties. We still see no required uniform in 1948. Some boys still wear sports collars without ties. Many boys wear short pants, but they do not seem go be required as several younger boys wear long pants. We note boys in the 1950s wearing two different uniforms. Some boys wear a light-colored suit, perhaps grey with the school crest. Other boys wear what look likes a black blazer. I'm not sure about the difference, but assume a new uniform was being introduced. There were stripped ties and snake belts. I'm not sure about the colors. I assume that there was a school cap, but have no details. Most grammar schools in the 1950s required caps for the junior boys. It looks like short pants and kneesocks were required for the younger boys, but am sure about the actual rules. By the mid-1960s virtually ll the boys were wearing long pants. Presumably the school had dropped the school rule requiring the junior boys to wear shorts and made it optional. We only see one of the younger boys in 1965 wearing short pants
We have no information on schoolwear in the 1910s. The image here from 1920, however, probably gives a good idea about how the boys dressed in the 1910s, at least in the late 1910s (figure 1). We suspect that many boys wore Eton collasrs in the 1910s. There were probably more boys wearing knickers as well.
There does not seem to have been any uniform in 1920 other than a suit and tie. The ties are the horizontal ties in contrast go the vertical stripes introduced later. Many boys wear dark-solid colored ties. I'm not sure what this difference represented. Perhaps this dark tie was an earlier style. Other than the tie there does not seem to be any required uniform item. An exceotion here was probablt a school cap, although the boys are not wearing their caps for the portrait. Almost all grammar schools at the gime had caps. A few boys were still wearing Eton coollars. The boys by 1927 are dressed more uniformily, some with crests on their suit jackets. Difficult to tell if it the boys are actually wearing a uniform. Eton collars had disappeared.
A 1937 portait still shows the boys without a uniform. Several trends are observable. The boys still wear suits. Most boys wearlight-colored suits, perhaps grey, but we see dark suits as well. Most are sungle-breasted, but we see some double breasted suits. Several boys are wearing the sports collars without ties. This was obviously permitte, but most bpys wear ties. The school tie has been changed to one with diagonal stripes. The colors look the same. It still does not seem to be required. The boys wearing long trousers have extremely wide leg pants with cuffs. They were called Oxford bags. The boys wearing short trousers all wear them with kneesocks. I'm not sure if there was a school rule requiring the younger boy to wear shorts. Most boys wear oxford lace-up shoes. One boy wears school sandals. These were commonly worn by primary children, but not common in secondary schools.
We still see no required uniform in the 1940s. Quite a few Some boys in 1948 wear sports collars without ties. The ties that are worn are mostly the diagonally stripped school tie. Many boys wear short pants, but they do not seem go be required as several younger boys wear long pants. We do not know what the school rule was. The boys in shorts wear kneesocks, but not all have them pulled up like we see in earlier images. We are unsure why this was. Did some boys think that this was fashionable? Or perhaps the kneesocks were not as well made as before World War II. The boys wear oxford lace up shoes, but we note one boy wearing school sandals.
We note boys in the 1950s wearing two different uniforms. Some boys wear a light-colored suit, perhaps grey with the school crest. Other boys wear what look likes a black blazer. I'm not sure about the difference, but assume a new uniform was being introduced. There were stripped ties and snake belts. I'm not sure about the colors. I assume that there was a school cap, but have no details. Most grammar schools in the 1950s required caps for the junior boys. It looks like short pants and kneesocks were required for the younger boys, but am sure about the actual rules. A portrait of the choir in 1950 shows almost all of the boys wearing short pants and kneesocks with the school tie. A school portrait in 1952 shows all the boys now earing the school tie. The boys wearing short pants asll wear kneesocks, but the kneesocks sare no longer the heavy socjks with substantial turn over tops. The long pants in 1952 have very wide hems with cuffs.
The boys in the 1960s were all wearing the dark blazers with the school shield. The school seems to have strictly enforced the dress code. We note some boys wearing their Scout uniforms in 1961. Most of the younger boys in the early 60s seem to be wearing short trousers and kneesocks. It seems to have been a school rule for the First Formers. The most mostly wear kneesocks rather than the more expensive turn-over-top socks. By the mid-1960s virtually all the boys were wearing long pants. Presumably the school had dropped the school rule requiring the junior boys to wear shorts and made it optional. We only see one of the younger boys in 1965 wearing short pants.
The school only operated for a few years in the 1970s. The school continued to require a uniform. The boys wore the same dark blazer with a shield that we noted in the 1960s. We note that dress standards appear to have declined. Some boys boys wear their ties undone. We also notice some extremnely long hair styles, mostly worn by the older boys. Several of the younger boys also have long hair, but not the extremely long hair of some of the older boys. We suspect that their parents didn't allow it.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
