Figure 1.--Here we see Jimmy in Blackpool during 1946 wearing his school uniform. The sweater of course is not part of the uniform. He wears a blazer and cap with long trousers. We assume the boys at his school could wear either short and long trousers. Image courtesy of the PH collection. |
Here is a small photograph from a photo albums of a long-deceased lady from the North-West of England. It came in a small card folder and has the following written on it, "Jimmy aged 8 3/4 years, took at Blackpool, Aug 25, 1946 For Auntie Daisy."
The boy's clothing looks in remarkably good condition so this was probably a new uniform for a new school. It is also interesting that he should have clothing like this at a time shortly after the war when rationing was still very much in evidence in England. Second hand clothing or hand-me-downs would have been more likely for most boys so he must have had very proud parents. The monogram on his cap and blazer appears to say CCS - the CS probably means 'County School' but
the 'C' could be one of many places. He has a typical short-back-and-sides haircut and lace-up shoes that appear to be reasonably new. He wears a two-button wool single-breasted blazer, white shirt with wide lapels and a school tie. His jumper
was probably not part of compulsory school uniform. It is also interesting to note two things about his grey trousers - firstly, how wide they are and secondly how short they appear to be. Maybe the trousers were, at least, second hand. Also note how his blazer is a little big for him. This was exactly the time when garments were bought for the child to 'grow into' more than ever due to the economic
austerity.
Here is a small photograph from a photo albums of a long-deceased lady from the North-West of England. It came in a small card folder and has the following written on it, "Jimmy aged 8 3/4 years, took at Blackpool, Aug 25, 1946 For Auntie Daisy."
Unfortunately we do not have Jimmy's full name.
The photograph was taken in Blackpool. That is a holiday resort town, but it looks to us the photograph was taken on a school day, so we believe his school was probably located in Blackppol.
We are not sure just what school Jimmy attended. The monogram on his cap and blazer appears to say CCS - the CS probably means 'County School' but the 'C' could be one of many places. As mentioned above, we believe that the school was in Blackpool, but are not certain.
A British reader tells us, "A C S School is almost certainly County Secondary school. County just meant it was under control of the local authority (i.e. not a
private school). There were both primary and secondary county schools. Some schools used CS for County Secondary and CP for County Primary. Jimmy's monogram suggests that CS also stood for Couty School without specifying secondary or primary level.
The boy's clothing looks in remarkably good condition so this was probably a new uniform for a new school. It is also interesting that he should have clothing like this at a time shortly after the war when rationing was still very much in evidence in England. Second hand clothing or hand-me-downs would have been more likely for most boys so he must have had very proud parents. He wears lace-up shoes that appear to be reasonably new. He wears a two-button wool single-breasted blazer, white shirt with wide lapels and a school tie. His jumper was probably not part of compulsory school uniform. It is also interesting to note two things about his grey trousers - firstly, how wide they are and secondly how short they appear to be. Maybe the trousers were, at least, secondnd hand. Also note how his blazer is a little big for him. This was exactly the time when garments were bought for the child to 'grow into' more than ever due to the economic austerity. Another interesting aspect of this snapshot is Jimmy wears long trousers. This was not unknown, but not very common for boys this age in 1946. It does illustrate that English primary schools in the 1940s did not have rules requiring boys to weae short trousrs. Most boys did because that was the style, but there were no school rules requiring this, at least in the state primary schools.
Jimmy has a typical short-back-and-sides haircut.
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