|
A reader has found an album containing a collection of photographs from the Warren Hill Public School in Eastbourne. He has shared a few of the photographs with us. The photographs date from about 1885 to the early 1900s. They are mostly portraits of individual boys. Amateur snapshots were not common before the turn of the 20th century. There is one snapshot of boys boxing and a gymnasium shot. There are sports photograhs, a football team, and playing cricket. Many of the boys seem to have gone into the military after school. All the portraits were named and dated and some have been researched. Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO MC was the father of Princess Diana's Lady in Waiting and whose grave in a Japanese prisoner of war camp was searched for and found on the Princess's instructions. Sir Robert Campbell was Ambassador to France and involved in Operation Catapult. This was Britain's World War II attack on the French fleet to make sure it could not fall in NAZI hands. E.W. Mann was a Kent cricketer. Unfortunately we have been unable to find information about the school itself. We are not entirely sure about the school uniform. The boys see to be wearing light-colored suits with Eton collars. The suits were probably grey. The younger boys wear knickers and long stockings. The older boys wear long trousers. At least one portrait shows a boy a uniform thst looks more like an Eton suit.
An album contains a collection of photographs from the Warren Hill School in Eastbourne. It appears to have been a private boarding school. A reader has shared a few of the photographs with us. It looks to have been a prep school. In the photographs we note the boyslook more prep school age than public school age. Only public schools would have had cadet programs, but boys finishing at the school could have entered the military cadet training prigrams which acceoted boys at about 13 years of age. Thus the school looks to have been a prep school. The photographs date from about 1885 to the early 1900s and thus it is a useful visual record of an early prep school. Unfortunately we have been unable to find information about the school itself. It is not an active school, but we are unsure just when it closed.
The photographs in the album are mostly portraits of individual boys. Amateur snpshots were not common before the turn of the 20th century. Thus portraits were more available for albums. I bdelieve it was fairly common for boys to exchange portraits with friends.
Sports called games were an important part of the public school program. There is one snapshot of boys boxing and a gymnasium shot. There are sports photograhs, a football team, and playing cricket. The boys seem to have done boxing and gymnastics in their school uniform, just takibg off their suit jackets. Some boys took off their vests (waistcoats), others did not.
The school may have had some sort of cadet proram. We note several boys in military uniforms. Some of the boys look quite young in military uniforms. Many of the boys seem to have gone into the military after school. We notice both naval and army uniforms, but the naval uniforms seem more prevalent. The school's location along the Channel may explain the popularity of the Royal Navy. Thus the boys in uniform may be in the Royal Navy cadet school at Osborne rather than a school cadet prigram. The boys here seem to have entered the military in the 1900s. They would have all been officers and surely served in World War I as mid-level officers.
All the portraits were named and dated and some have been researched. Major General Merton Beckwith-Smith DSO MC was the father of Princess Diana's Lady in Waiting and whose grave in a Japanese prisoner of war camp was searched for and found on the Princess's instructions. Sir Robert Campbell was Ambassador to France and involved in Operation Catapult. This was Britain's World War II attack on the French fleet to make sure it could not fall in NAZI hands. E.W. Mann was a Kent cricketer.
We are not entirely sure about the school uniform. The boys see to be wearing light-colored three-piece suits with Eton collars. Apparently the vests were not required, but the Eton collars were. The suits were probably grey. The ties look to be solid colors rather than stripes which were often used for school ties. We do not jknow what color the ties were. The younger boys wear knickers and long stockings. The older boys wear long trousers. This seems to have been a fairly standard public school uniform at the time. At least one portrait sshows a boy a uniform thst looks more like an Eton suit.
Related Chronolgy Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[The 1880s]
[The 1930s]
[The 1940s]
[The 1950s]
[The 1960s]
[The 1970s]
[The 1980s]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing School Uniform Pages
[Return to the Main English individual school page]
[Return to the Main English public school page
[Australia]
[England]
[France]
[Germany]
[Italy]
[Japan]
[New Zealand]
[Scotland]
[United States]
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Page
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[Essays]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]
