A Coventry Kid's Tale

Chapter 2: Primary School Days (1953)

The first day of school arrived. Dressed in his best second hand clothes, he was marched proudly to school. South Street Primary School (later to be Southfield's). Not a field in sight for miles. "Here he is" said his mother to the teacher, "keep him". At that she left.

It was tough and hard at school, the knowledge to be learned, the skills to take him through life. However he accomplished it all. Proudly he hopped and skipped his way home when it was time to leave. He could now go to work to earn money.
"Home already?" his mother said. "Yes, school is finished and behind me" he said. His mother said "Yes I can see school is behind you but it is the first play time". So back to school his mother took him. He did not know then how long he had to endure this learning?

Sitting on a mat in the classroom he was taught how to say "The cat sat on the mat" only me there, never ever saw that cat. At play time when allowed out, he soon learned that lovely cooking smells wafted across the playground! Following his nose he came upon some wooden huts. These he learned were kitchens (food for him had never been hard to find). Sitting on the doorstep looking like a ragamuffin (this was not hard for he was) the girls inside took pity on him and fed him with the food they had cooked. (The girls came from Freddie's and Priory to learn how to cook.) He did not know but the girls were trying the food out on him to save poisoning their parents. He was a very contented food taster. With all this extra food the child grew fast, and the brain had now conquered "The cat sat on the mat" so the teachers gave him a chair and desk to sit at.
He soon became accustomed to the rigours of school life and found that going to and back home from school was good fun! Bomb sites abounded around the school, clean and tidy going but filthy dirty when arriving back home he was to drive his mother insane!!