Old Lawrentian News 2010/11

FROM RAMSGATE TO COURTEENHALL
T
he
60th anniversary of the
evacuation of our troops from
Dunkirk in June 1940 has
brought back memories of
Ramsgate during that time.
During the early days of the war I
can remember the Junior School
assembling in the tunnel, linking up
with the other side of the school,
and during an air raid warning one
of the masters read us Winnie the
Pooh to keep us quiet and in order.
As the College was evacuated to
Seaford for the summer term of
1940, I was anxious to visit my
parents in Ramsgate for the halfterm
break.
As the train was several hours late
in arriving at Ramsgate, due to the
need for transporting the troops
away from the coastal towns, my
parents had given up waiting for me
and had returned home. I had very
little money (pocket money was
about six pence a week) and so had
to walk about two miles with my
small suitcase.
It was quite shattering seeing all
those troops in various conditions
filling the station and being fed with
sandwiches and tea by the WVS.
I went down to the front in the
evening to see the armada of small
boats being towed by larger ones
into Ramsgate harbour from
Dunkirk. There was a constant
stream of buses, lorries leading up
to the station loaded with soldiers in
different conditions.
The wounded were laid out on
stretchers on the ground around
where Merry England, the
amusement arcade is located,
waiting for transport to hospital.
It was not all doom and gloom as
there was a certain amount of
banter going on.
I can remember one of the soldiers
leaning out of a carriage carrying a
white goose under his arm. They
were not allowed to bring back their
equipment but he was not coming
back empty-handed!
I said goodbye to my parents who
were returning to West Africa, my
brother went to America to train as
a pilot and I returned to Seaford.
I was surprised to see my father
rather moved when saying goodbye
but I am sure this was due to his
experience of fighting in France
during the Great War.
At the end of the 1940 summer
term we went to the station to take
the train to London. I was going to
stay with an Aunt in Bromley, Kent.
As we were getting into the
carriage Mr. Waymouth the
Headmaster of the Junior School,
said: “Collins you had better get into
DURING THE WAR YEARS
my carriage.” As we were
approaching Victoria Station he
said that the school had collapsed
and he would be in touch.
During the holidays in Bromley, I
saw the Battle of Britain being
fought in the skies above us.
Throughout the bombing of London
eight of us slept in an Anderson
shelter, measuring 6’6”x4’6”.
We were very fortunate that a few
school governors met in London at
that time and decided St Lawrence
College should continue. They sent
Mr Waymouth scouring the country
for suitable accommodation for
what was left of the school.
It is amazing how fortunate it was
that he found Courteenhall, when
he had the opportunity of meeting
Major General Sir Hereward Wake.
The Major General told Mr
Waymouth the Army was due to
commandeer his home in two
weeks’ time but because he
thought that schoolboys would do
less damage to his home he offered
it to St Lawrence College. It is
fortunate that he had influence
regarding this arrangement.
The College is most grateful to the
then Headmaster, Canon Perfect,
for his wisdom and determination to
restart SLC, and because of this
decision the school is flourishing
today, helping to produce students
who make a good contribution to
society worldwide.
During the war, some of the senior
boys studying for their A-Levels
also helped to teach the younger
ones until suitable staff could be
recruited at Courteenhall.
It is for this reason we are
indebted to the Wake family for
being so supportive of the school
during those difficult days.
Courteenhall, in my view, was in a
wonderful location in beautiful
countryside and with my parents
being abroad it felt like my home
during that time.
It was a great shock to the School
to hear that G.T. Coffin, the Head
Boy, had been killed in action in
North Africa soon after he had left
the School; also one of the masters
who had left to join Bomber
Command was shot down.
A number of boys stayed at the
school over Christmas in 1940
because they had no home to go
back to.
That was life in those days.
Some of the senior boys were
boarded out to the local farms
leaving the School captain behind
to look after the younger boys.
In those days we all had bicycles
on which we used to cycle into
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