An Insight Into Life at College During WWII
Life at College During WWII
The Archives Department explore College life during World War Two through many archival materials, including photographs and the letters and drawings of former pupil Patricia Eardley.
Being transported back to the 1940s has been a privilege. So much has changed, yet fundamentally the values of College remain largely the same.
Miss Black, Former College Archives Volunteer
The 1940s saw many changes at CLC as the impact of WWII took hold across Gloucestershire. Cheltenham escaped heavy bombing, but war significantly impacted College life. Air raid drills became commonplace, blackout rules were enforced, and food rationing was implemented.
College adapted to wartime realities by introducing first aid, home nursing, food preservation and cultivation, equipping girls with practical survival skills – including gas mask rehearsals! Girls participated in fundraising for war charities and knitted garments for troops.
War was declared during the summer holiday on 3rd September 1939, leaving the Principal, Miss Popham, very little time to organise alternative accommodation for over 1,000 pupils and staff before the War Office requisitioned the College buildings.
The only buildings that the Government left for College to use were the Principal’s residence and the swimming baths, which were temporarily boarded over to become ‘Lower Hall’, housing many classes at once.
More classrooms were created by establishing a circle of eight wooden huts on the playing field and the sports pavilions were converted into laboratories. Lillishall, Brockhampton Manor and Cowley Manor, along with other smaller properties, were rented and used as boarding houses.
Cheltenham had some frightening air raids. Bayshill Lawn House on Parabola Road, fortunately unoccupied, was the only house at College to receive a direct hit in December 1940. The building had to be completely demolished.
Miss Truesdale, Housemistress of St. Helen’s, had gone with 90 girls to Cowley Manor, which provided a safe haven from air attack. The gardens are said to have inspired Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
One of the pupils who boarded at Cowley was Margaret Patricia Eardley, born on 9th October 1926 in Sutton Coldfield. Her record card states that she was ‘very reliable, good standards, quiet manner, public-spirited and capable’.
In her letters of the time, Patricia writes about the girls in the dorm, food, weather, the ‘cocoa queue’ and routines of College life.
She references outbreaks of Scarlet Fever, colds, coughs, mass gargles to prevent the spread of infection, and using the embrocation ‘Zambuk’, which is still available today!
Patricia appreciated the letters, parcels of clothing, stamps and sweets from her parents! The sweets were ‘contraband’ – hidden in socks so they were not discovered; otherwise, they had to be handed in!
Phrases in the letters can be heard when walking down the Marble Corridor today:
I’m dreading the exams, and I’m longing for the hols!
The many photographs we have discovered of the time, along with Patricia’s letters, have given us a fascinating insight into life at CLC during WWII, a life of imposed hardship yet one that fostered a sense of shared purpose and resilience.
- For Fearless
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