From the Wylye Valley Life magazine, No.15. Friday 30th November 1984:
More Childhood Days In Warminster 1920s / Early 1930s
Queenie Green (Vera J. Green, nee Prince, born 1920) writes:
How lovely it was to read Gwen Howell’s story of childhood days in Warminster. I can verify everything she wrote.
Times were hard but we were happy and the only difference for me was that I went to the Minster Infant and Junior School in Warminster. It still stands on the same site, except that when we were young, in the right hand corner by the gates there was a half-circle of iron spikes and every morning before going into school it was the thing for all of us children to catch hold of the spikes, swing backwards and run up the wall with our heads just missing the pavement!
It was the only school I knew that had a maypole in the playground; the times I’ve danced around that with ribbons flying one way, pinafore the other (dressed the same way as Gwen except for those button boots, mine were little short brown ones).
The teachers at that time were Miss Frost, the Headmistress (she was wonderful, no pets, boys and girls all treated alike, and she taught me so much in every way); Miss James, Miss Bryant and Miss Weare were the other teachers.
When I was old enough I had to move to Sambourne Senior School (now a junior school). We had nice teachers there, especially Mr. Luker. He had time for all his pupils, and there were two lady teachers, one of whom really disliked me (I would rather not name her!), she made my life miserable when I had to go into her class, especially for needlework (she did not know my mother was a wonderful needlewoman and had taught me from a young age). She [the teacher] used to make me mad and no way would I go back to do her tacking and hemming, so out into the big hall (where in those days there was a singing gallery) I had to go and write hundreds of lines and not answer back. Thanks to my mother, who was the best of mums, I have been able to use my needlework through all my life.
I was born at Gashouse Farm (I think it’s pulled down now) and by the time I was five I was living at Pound Street and that’s when my schooldays really started.
I can remember that at the bottom of Pound Street (there is a big, new house there now) there was a big, old-fashioned shop called Molly Butt’s. Oh! What we could buy for a farthing: sweets, boot laces (liquorice), sweet clocks, black peat, whips and tops (I could go on forever). That’s the thing our children miss today – FUN!
There was a malthouse, just over from where we lived (it is still there) but in one corner where the cottages and the malthouse met there was a street light (gas) and all the children in the street used to meet there and we just played games. Sgt. Marks, our policeman, used to check that we were behaving (we had one of his sons with us) and if he thought the boys were a bit noisy a little cuff under the ear soon stopped it. We respected him and he was always kind to us.
I cannot remember the names as I was quite young but I remember the cake-girl coming up the street with cakes on a tray; and the milkman coming to the doors and measuring out the milk with pint measures into your jugs. (We are not all that old but times have changed so quickly).
Gwen said she had told her grandchildren of the old days; I have no grandchildren but I used to tell my son, nieces and nephews and they always asked for more too. One niece lives in Australia and she has told the children at the school where she helps and they are making her stories of old Warminster into small books.
There are so many stories I could have told them about our schooldays (but some later day). Many people remember the teachers I have named and also the shop, and, yes, they were happy school days.