Exactly eighty years ago, in the summer of 1943, the Second World War was in its fourth year. Glamorgan Archives holds the records compiled by schools in this period and the log books, written up each day by head teachers, provide a vivid insight into life across South Wales during wartime. As an example we have selected the records for Heathfield House Girls’ School, situated on the corner of The Walk and Richmond Road in Cardiff.
After three years of bombing many schools in Cardiff had been badly damaged. Although Heathfield House had survived the ordeal, neighbouring schools had not been so fortunate. As a result, the 280 pupils of Heathfield House now shared the premises with 89 girls from Howard Gardens School who had been allocated three classrooms on the middle floor.
While the frequency of the bombing raids had reduced, the war has never far away, as the head teacher’s log book confirmed on the 18 May 1943 – A severe raid took place in the early hours of the morning…. Soon after midday police instructions were received to evacuate the school on account of the time bomb in the Parade. The raid that night had left a trail of destruction that cut through the city from Llanishen and Heath in the north, to the city centre and onward to Canton.
However, with the bomb defused, it was school as normal the following day. Along with the usual round of lessons the challenge to the pupils that week was to raise money for ‘Wings for Victory’, a national campaign to support the Royal Air Force. As a relatively small school Heathfield House had a target of £250. Possibly spurred on by the recent near miss, just three days after the bombing raid, on 21 May, it was announced that the school had raised £700, close to three times the initial target. As a reward the pupils were given an extra day of holiday to be taken as an addition to the usual summer break.
With the end of term only matter of weeks away, it might have been thought that the pupils’ contribution to the war effort had already been made. But an opportunity then presented itself to go well beyond fund raising as the head teacher, Sr Mary Agnese, recorded on 10 June:
A party of 37 girls … went to Bonvilston to do farm work on the Forestry Commission Nurseries. This is in accordance with the scheme of the Glamorgan War Agricultural Committee to obtain the help of High School pupils in the working of farms. The girls … were taken by a lorrie which left the school at 10 to 10. They will be brought back at about 6.30.
This was evidently such a success that, in the following weeks, large groups of pupils from Heathfield House were to be found working in the fields in Lisvane, Sully and St Mellons. It was challenge that the pupils took up with gusto, although possibly also lured by the payment of one shilling and sixpence a day provided by at least one farm – Morgan Bros of Lisvane.
Not even the end of term, on 22 July, could dampen their enthusiasm, with the school log noting that two teachers from the school would …be running a school camp for agricultural work at Cowbridge for the three weeks beginning July 24.
The school magazine, The Heather, confirmed that 35 girls signed up, picking peas and potatoes in the fields in the day and sleeping in the Cowbridge High School gym at night. Parents were allowed to visit but only on Saturdays.
It would have been well deserved but there is no record of the pupils being awarded extra holidays for their efforts. However, there was one interesting by product. There had been a number of complaints from schools about the quality of school meals, with the head teacher of Whitchurch Girls’ observing, in July 1943, …potatoes sodden, peas with grubs and cabbage has had slugs. Hopefully, the peas and beans picked by the Heathfield House pupils were part of the solution rather than the problem!
This is one of a short series of articles on Cardiff in the war years drawing on the records kept by head teachers at the time. A copy of the school log book for Heathfield House Girls’ School for the period 1933 to 1961 can be found at Glamorgan Archives, reference D16/3. A limited number of copies of the Heathfield House school magazine, The Heather, for the period 1944-48 can be found under reference D592/4/3. For details of the full range of school log books held for 1939-45 contact Glamorgan Archives www.glamorganarchives.co.uk.
Tony Peters, Glamorgan Archives Volunteer
Glamorgan Archives 