Figure 1.--Here are the children at the Kirkmichael School in 1911. As can be seen in the background, they had a very substantial school building. Many of the boys wear suits with stiff Eton collars to school. One boy wears a sailor suit. The girls wear dresses, a few with large lace collars. Some wear white or colored pinafores. Many girls have hairbows. Many of the boys, at least the younger boys, are barefoot, even the boys wearing Eton collars are barefoot. We do not know if the girls also came to school barefoot. Click on the inmage to see the rest of the class. Image courtesy of the Maybole Community Website.

A 1911 image shows the children at Kirkmichael school. As can be seen in the background, they had a very substantial school building. Given the age range of the children, this may be the entire school. Many of the boys wear suits with stiff Eton collars to school (figure 1). One boy wears a sailor suit. He is the only one so dressed. Regular suits seem to be more popular. The suits are the type that button at the collar rather than having lapels. It is a little difficult to tell, but several of the jackets seem to have Norfolk styling. All the boys seem to be wearing kneepants or shorts. None of the boys appear to be wearing kilts. Many of the boys, at least the younger boys, are barefoot, even the boys wearing Eton collars are barefoot. We do not know if the girls also came to school barefoot. We assumed that if was the boys from the less affluent families that came to school barefoot.

School Group

A 1911 image shows the children at Kirkmichael school. As can be seen in the background, they had a very substantial school building. Given the age range of the children, this may be the entire school. But the building is very substantial for such a small group. Also we think that if this was the entire school a many mught have been in charge and be included in the photograph. So we are unsure precisely what this group is. The girls wear dresses, a few with large lace collars. Some of the lace collars are quite elaborate. Some wear white or colored pinafores. Notice the one girl here with the emaculate white pinafore. Many girls have hairbows. They all look white or a very light color.

Occassion

Presumably the children were told in advance that they were to have their portraits taken. We do not know to what extent the children dressed up for the occassion. We are not sure if they dressed this well on a regular school day.

The Boys

Many of the boys wear suits with stiff Eton collars to school (figure 1). Most of tghe boys wear their Eton collars without any kind of neckwear, but we see a few neckties and one bowtie. One boy wears a sailor suit. He is the only one so dressed and he also looks to be the youngest. Regular suits seem to be more popular. The suits are the type that button at the collar rather than having lapels. It is a little difficult to tell, but several of the jackets seem to have Norfolk styling. All the boys seem to be wearing kneepants or shorts. None of the boys appear to be wearing kilts. Ayrshire is in the Scottish Lowlands. At a school in the Highlands, perhaps some boys might have wore kilts. The boys with shoes are wearing kneesocks. Notice one boy has kneesocks with the colored bands. None of the boys wear long stockings. At a comparable American school, most of the boys would have been wearing long stockings.

The Girls

The girls wear dresses, a few with large lace collars. Some of the lace collars are quite elaborate. Some wear white or colored pinafores. Notice the one girl here with the emaculate white pinafore. Many girls have hairbows. They all look white or a very light color.

Footwear

Many of the boys, at least the younger boys, are barefoot, even the boys wearing Eton collars are barefoot. We do not know if the girls also came to school barefoot. We assumed that if was the boys from the less affluent families that came to school barefoot. It surprises us a little that several of these boys have emaculately starched Eton collars. Perhaps some of our Scottish readers will have some insights on the social conventions involved.

Sources

Pettit, Rich. Webmaster. Maybole Community Website. The images of Kirtmichael are courtesy of the Maybole Community Website.

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Created: 5:30 PM 9/12/04
Last updated: 5:30 PM 9/12/04