My school days were spent first at St Monans Primary. I can still remember being dragged rather unwillingly by my mother to my first day at school, probably realising that I was about to loose some of my freedom. I had just turned 5 years of age (1922). I started off in the old school, which is now the Town Hall and local library, After Primary 1, we moved to a new school, practically next to the old one. Another new school has since been built on the same site! Primary education, in those days, was probably a bit less sophisticated than it is now, but it was thorough, nevertheless. We did have a good solid grounding in the three Rs, under the firm leadership of the headmaster, Mr Steele. The primary teachers in those days certainly knew how to teach. Every child, at a very early age was able to read, write and perform simple arithmetical tasks. I can remember vividly, with affection, Miss Hughes, our Primary 1 teacher and Miss Birrell in Primary 2.
St Monans was predominantly a fishing village at that time. So when the older boys, reached the age of 12 to 14 years which was the school leaving age, they were taught navigation. When the youngsters first went to sea in the fishing boats boats they went generally as cook for the crew so they were also taught cooking at school.
When I think about my Primary school days, over 80 years ago, in the early '20s, they were probably among the happiest of my life. Life was very pleasant for me, blessed with a loving and comfortable family home, good friends at school and the freedom of living in a small town. Although I had no father, and never knowing him, I never missed him. Looking back, though I did not realise it at the time, I think my uncle Willie, a younger brother of my mother, was a sort of father figure to me. He had bought my great aunt Bella's house, 'Ivybank', right next door to where I lived, in my grandfather's house. The garden had a connecting gate and when his daughter, Jenny, was growing up, we became very close friends. In fact, she was one of my favourite cousins and was our bridesmaid when I got married. She now lives in New Zealand, where some of her large family carry on the Miller tradition of boat building. I am happy to say that we keep in regular contact.
There was no real badness or vandalism in those days, although I think,
that, on occasions we did pinch apples, in season, from gardens. We
played many games; each one had a season of its own. - Bools, Chuckies,
Gee'n In, Kick the Tin, Boats and Submarines, Howk the Divot, Girds,
Catchin'. Tig, Hide and Seek. Sometimes, never let it be said, we
played some of the girl's games, Skipping Ropes (Raspberry, Strawberry,
Blackcurrant jam, Tell me the name of your young man!), Beds
(Peevers?), Jinks etc. We built bogies and hurlies. A 'bogie' was a
very sophisticated mode of transport, in which the owner would ride,
pushed by a willing helper, who thought he would get a turn at driving!
The bogie was made from a rather large wooden box that had one end
removed. A plank of wood was nailed to its bottom projecting from the
open end. Two pairs of old pram wheels provided the means of
locomotion, the front pair being cunningly fixed by means of a large
nail or, if lucky, a bolt, in the middle of the axle so that the
vehicle could be steered, using a piece of light rope, like reins. A
'hurly' was a sort of wheelbarrow. The basis was again a large box with
only one pair of wheels at the back and two lengths of wood, one on
each side, to form the handles.
You can read about some of the games we used to play in the Appendix at the end of this story.
After sitting the Qualifying and Control exams, I moved on to the High School at Waid Academy, Anstruther in the' A' group at age 12 in August 1929. I studied for my Highers ( Scottish Higher Leaving Certificate). Although I was not a terribly good student, I managed to obtain my group certificate. The minimum for this was two Higher and two Lower subjects. Higher English also included History and was compulsory. If one came down in English, no Certificate was awarded and a re-sit in September was required. I got Higher English and Science and Lower Mathematics and French. I stayed on for my sixth year and obtained a Higher in Mathematics.
The teachers at Waid were, by and large, an eccentric lot.
Our
Rector, Mr Lawson was tall and lanky, with his gown flowing behind him
as he walked along the corridors, fortunately I did not have many
dealings with him. He retired during my time at Waid and was succeed by
a Mr W.W. Thomson. He had been a teacher of English before his
promotion and could almost make Shakespeare sound bearable!
Bill Ferrier, the head English teacher was a prolific snuff taker and a secret drinker; the half bottle was always hidden behind some object on the mantelpiece - not so secret! Tommy Young, the Latin teacher, appeared to be very straight laced and perjink, as was his son Jock, who was a year or two older than I. Jock was a good rugby player.
Our French teachers were lovely. There were three of them, Granny Sangster, she was a granny, if in name only, but was an extremely good teacher. Beaky Smith, so called because of her largish nose. Miss Porteous,her name seems to describe her perfectly. I don't think that she ever lost her temper and was liked by all. In the science laboratory, we had Johnny Ogg, who really was one of the old school. He always wore a stiff high white collar and was prone to say to a boy who misbehaved ... 'I'll put you over my knee and spank you, my boy'. He must have been near retiral age as soon there was a Mr Napier, who was known, on occasions, to throw a wooden block at a recalcitrant youth, took his place. Our Maths teacher was a Mr Whyte and, I'm afraid I didn't get on too well with him, even although I thought I was reasonably good at Maths (Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and Dynamics). I did manage to get my Higher Leaving Certificate in 1934, the bare minimum. Higher English (including Literature and History), Higher Science (Chemistry and Physics), Lower Mathematics and Lower French and Maths. Lower Science and Lower French.
Jobs were very hard to come by at that time. I think my Mum and
Grandparents didn't quite know what to do with me. I returned to school
and took a sixth year study and gained my Higher Mathematics. Jobs were
still scarce and university was out of the question. Bursaries were
available for those who were able to pass the appropriate examinations.
I sat an entrance exam for employment as a bank clerk, but must have
failed miserably!!
I was given among other things, long columns of figures to add up,
without the aid of a calculator. I can remember one of the invigilators
standing behind me. This put me off as I felt he was watching
everything I did. At any rate I did not pass the examination so no job
there.
In chapter 6 you will read about the job I eventually got. This story is mainly about that job.
Chapter 4 School Holidays up to 1935
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