Experiences of Children in Aberystwyth during the Great War - Part 2

School life

Very soon after the outbreak of war there was some discussion in the education authority concerning what school children should taught about the war.  The chairman of the Aberystwyth District Education Committee Mr Percy Wilkinson said at a meeting of the authority In September 1914 that schoolchildren should be instructed about the war, particularly about its causes and the combatants. He did not know if the committee had authority to require head teachers to give that instruction. In reply Mr Peter Jones said that it was doubtful whether teachers would be sufficiently qualified to undertake that duty.  Another proposal was that the war would teach the children geography which would be useful for them. The chairman asked if it would also teach children something about the patriotism of the soldiers. The Director felt that all schools should study Europe in the coming winter, giving head teachers instructions to see that the geography of Europe with special reference to the history of the war be studied in every school. As the Cambrian News reported he declared that,” The war could be used to illustrate the duty of every child to be patriotic and its bearing on their life as a nation and on the future of the British Empire.”

Not surprisingly, there was also some controversy in the education authority about whether German should continue to be taught at the County School but this debate rapidly became entangled with the issue of the person who was teaching it - Dr Davies - who was a conscious objector.   This matter aroused strong feelings amongst everyone including among pupils at the school as it touched on ideas about the values and moral principles on which the war was being fought.

Strong voices on the Governing Body of the school wanted Dr Davies to be dismissed from his post as, although they refused to admit this directly, they feared that his attitude as a conscious objector would have a negative influence on the children’s views on the war. Mr Davies’ opponents led by Alderman C.M. Williams also claimed the children saw the teacher as a coward and a laughing stock who therefore presented a poor example.  At times unsubstantiated complaints were dragged up against Dr Davies though, in reality none had been made against him as a teacher either by parents or pupils.

There was much lengthy and frequently bitter debate during the Governors’ meetings about the rights and wrongs of Mr Davies’ continued employment at the school. All of these discussions were reported in great detail in the local press over several months. In September 1917 a petition was signed by 119 pupils at the school in support of Mr Davies saying that he had never attempted to force his views on them. This backed up representations supporting Dr Davies from the National Union of Railwaymen and the North Cardiganshire Trade Union and Labour Council. Despite this show of support a month later the governors finally voted to dismiss Mr Davies from his post by five votes to four, though they did so crucially without giving any reason for their decision. 

In reaction to this some of the older children, mainly boys, took matters into their own hands.  On November 21 and 22 1917 they  absented themselves from school and  paraded through the town in support of Mr Davies, shouting “The Governors should be shot, shot, shot” and “C. M. Williams should be shot, shot, shot”. The eventual outcome in January 1918 was that the teacher was reinstated and he returned to the school to a “tremendous ovation “from pupils. The case shows how children were giving serious thought to important moral principles that underpinned the war. They were arguing for tolerance and fair play in the face of what they saw as injustice, persecution and tyrannical attitudes that some people sometime labelled “Prussianism”.

On some occasions, children were able to learn directly about the war from hearing about the experience of local soldiers. One such visit was made to Cwmpadarn School in January 1917 by an ex-pupil , Corporal Arthur Williams RFC. He had spent 14 months in France and was spending his first leave in his home village. He gave what the Cambrian News described as an interesting and thrilling account of his experiences on the Somme. For some time he was attached to a French Battery and he said his knowledge of French had been useful and had improved. Corporal Williams also told the story of a lucky escape. Whilst he was performing his duties as a wireless operator in a dug out, the place was blown to pieces by a shell. He was extremely fortunate not to be injured but he did have to be dug out by his comrades after being buried for an hour.

Like many other schools, Aberystwyth County School was extremely proud of its pupils’ contribution as soldiers. At Aberystwyth County School in 1916 a Roll of Honour was established and published in the Ystwythian Magazine. By 1917 264 ex- pupils had joined the colours of whom 16 had been killed, 25 wounded, two had won medals and three had been mentioned in dispatches. Most schools worked hard at raising money for those who were fighting or had been injured, for example there were collections for St Dunstan’s Home for the soldiers and sailors blinded in the war.

Image from National Library of Wales

Another example of school pupils’ efforts to raise money was the Patriotic Concert held on Friday 3 August 1917 by the pupils of the National School, Penparcau in aid of the Darllenfa Sewing Circle. The children acted in musical sketches, gave recitations and sang and all proceeds went to the women to provide funds for making comforts for soldiers on active service.

Image from National Library of Wales 

School children in Aberystwyth made significant contributions to the drive for War Savings. The purpose of the War Savings movement was to raise money to enable the country to continue fighting the war. The children were told for example that fifteen shillings and sixpence would buy 124 cartridges for rifles. Most Aberystwyth schools joined the scheme - Alexandra Road Girls School and the Boys School, Cwmpadarn, Penparke and the County School.  They each had to form an association.  Schools in Cardiganshire as a whole contributed to the War Savings movement through the sale of war savings certificates. By February 17 1917 the schools had contributed almost £1000 to a total of £3816 nine shillings raised in Aberystwyth through the Local War Savings Committee. Head teachers such as Mr Ainsleigh Jones, head of the National School, were credited with the success of the movement. Mr Jones appealed to his pupils to save money during the school holidays and they brought in £40 in the first week of the winter term whilst Alexandra Girls School pupils brought in £23 and five shillings on the first day of term.  

Blog by one of our project volunteers 

Material collected  from Aberystwyth War Items Volumes 1-4 , compiled by George Eyre Evans and Catherine Powell Evans. National Library of Wales