Victoria College at Bedford: Island News in the Second World War
A number of boys had left Jersey in 1940 with the families in the evacuation to the UK. In September 1940, about 40 boys with Mr. Grummitt, Mr. Hopewell and Miss Aubrey were accommodated at Bedford School. Shortly afterwards Mr. Grummitt left on his appointment as Principal of Belfast Royal Academical Institution, and Mr. S. M. Toyne consented to act as Headmaster of 'Victoria College at Bedford. Mr. Toyne had been for 20 years Headmaster of S. Peter's School, York, before coming to Bedford to give part-time help. Victoria College owes a great deal to him for the tremendous work which he did during the next five years.
The Victorians at Bedford took a full part in the activities of their foster-parent school and brought honour to themselves and to Bedford in both work and games, but they never lost their identity as Victorians. As an expression of their gratitude they and other friends of Victoria College presented an Oak Panel, and an oak seat which now stands in the Bedford School playing-fields
As part of their distinct identity as Victorians at Bedford, a newsletter was produced, containing both news gleaned of Victoria College in Jersey, and also of the plight of the Islanders in general.
In the next few weeks, I am posting some extracts from those newsletters:
LIFE NOW IN JERSEY—II
Conditions in Jersey continue to be the one topic beyond all others on which O.V.'s all over the world are clamouring for news. No apology, therefore, is needed for making this headline a feature of the News Letter.
Let me get one thing off my chest at once. I am sorry that, in No. 5, I used the word " fraternising." It seems to have conveyed more to some readers than I meant it to. It would have been less open to objection if I had said that, apparently, the occupying troops and the islanders are going about their daily jobs with an absence of useless and unnecessary friction. The islander is a shrewd and practical person. He knows how to make the best of a bad job ; and I am sure he is giving the Hun no more help than he is absolutely obliged to give. Nobody would dream of questioning his loyalty to the Crown. It is rooted in the centuries.
A young farmer from one of the country parishes has recently escaped and reached this country—the second such getaway. A recent bulletin of the Jersey Society gives the details of his information as follows :
"The weekly ration of meat is 2 1/2-oz., sugar 2oz. The bread ration is 5Ib. weekly for an adult male. Children are allowed one pint of milk a day, adults half a pint. Restaurants serve vegetable dishes. There are no cakes on sale. Fishing is done under licence. New clothing is virtually unobtainable. Fuel ration for each family for one month is 1 cwt. of coal and 2 cwt. of wood. Peat is being dug. The States are paying Service allowances and pensions. There is no beer. Public houses sell French cider. Wireless sets have been taken away from the islanders. The Evening Post consists of one sheet, printed on both sides. The German troops have their own German news-paper. The population is cheerful and confident— proof of an unshaken morale and steadfast loyalty."
On May 5th the German wireless announced that the rations of the Channel Islanders were to be reduced because of the raids of British and American aircraft on the supply steamers. It will probably be some months before we know how far this threat is carried out. One must always remember the stark fact that the islands are completely in their power.
Putting aside for a moment this disquieting announcement, it must be stated that the Red Cross messages, which continue to come through in great numbers, all strike the same note. " All here fine " occurs over and over again. " All fit and well. Robin (2 years) is very sturdy and talking well. Martin (7) started at Prep., which he likes very much." " My father's messages continue to be delightfully cheerful."
Several good plays have been successfully performed at the Opera House. Messages speak of plenty of swimming, tennis and cycling. There is a Footwear Controller : he has enlarged his business premises. Bigwood Ltd. have taken over the S.P.C.K. shop in Waterloo Street. Brasford's jam factory in St. Clement's Road is still making jam.
It had for some months been feared that the islanders had been deprived of their wireless sets. For the first two years of the occupation the radio had been a great comfort to them. and the deprivation must be felt acutely. The sound of Big Ben brought with it a great reassurance. However, they probably know that the day of their deliverance has drawn appreciably nearer.
Probably in the summer of 1941, College was turned out of its buildings and carried on at the Halkett Place Primary Schools. But by the beginning of this year, or earlier, they appear to have returned to College. Mr
Tatam is still Head Master. The big field has been ploughed up and turned into allotments. The centre square had become very thread-bare, and perhaps, taking the long view, this is a blessing in disguise. But games will be sadly handicapped for two or three years after we resume possession.
OUR EXILES IN GERMANY
Here is a list of Victoria College boys and masters, O.V.'s, parents, and some others, now interned in Germany. I have taken them from the lists kindly supplied to me by the C.I. Refugees Committee :
A.—Ilag VII, Laufen, OBB, Germany :
J. A. Blackburn, Roy Challinor, David Fisk, L. G. A. Green, Peter Hook, Mr. W. H. Kennett, Mr. G. Lomax, Harold Passfield (the College Workshop Instructor), Spence, Bennett Wakeham.
B.—Ilag 'Wurzach, Wurtemberg, Germany :
The College Porter and Mrs. Crumpton, Mr. and Mrs. Farbon, Capt. and Mrs. Hilton, Mr. L. H. Honey, Mr. and Mrs. Magnus, Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Maine and their three children, Dr. Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. Rees Williams and their three children.
C.—Ilag, Biberach (Riss), Germany : Mr. and Mrs. Roger Bell, W. E. Challinor, Mr. and Mrs. A. S. L. Dickinson (the States Librarian), Major and Mrs. Crawford Morrison.
D.—Ilag VIII : Harold Poole and Douglas Tanguy. E.—Camp unspecified : Mr. and Mrs. Aste, Rev, and Mrs. C. H. Atyeo, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Fenton and their three children, Mr. and Mrs. Ilesley, Peter and Roger Hulton. The bulk of the deportations, to the num-ber of about 1,920 from both islands, were made in September, 1942. They consisted mainly of people who were not actually Channel Islanders. It was at first feared that they were being carried off to labour or concentration camps, and it was a relief to learn that their destination was Internier Ungslager.
In the following February there was a small supplementary deportation, totalling 137, the result of a comb-out of men who had served in some British force. They included three O.V.'s, Harold Poole, Douglas Tanguy and Bennett Wakeham, who certainly had no military service apart from the O.T.C.
A. H. W
The somewhat meagre official rations are supplemented by Red Cross parcels, which appear to arrive regularly. A good many messages have been received from the different camps. They are written with considerable freedom ; the censorship must be very mild.
The Laufen camp, in the Salzburg district, is in a beautiful mountain country, and evidently the conditions are satisfactory. Mr. Kennett says : " We are now well off for food, thanks to the Red Cross, and for fuel, so life is less burdensome than in Jersey. I am taking many classes, without books or paper. We have a good library now."
The Wurzach Camp, also surrounded by fine mountain scenery, is housed in the Castle of Wurzach. Another College master, Mr. Rees Williams, writes : "'We are all keeping very well, apart from occasional fits of depression. My wife and I are lucky to have plenty to do—inactivity is the bugbear of most. Elizabeth, our third, is a winner, an excellent advertisement for living conditions here." Crumpton and his wife write very cheerfully : Here on holiday. Just back from a three mile walk."
But time, they say, hangs heavily. They had just received a food parcel from their son in Jersey Another message runs : " All Jersey internees at Wurzach send greetings to their relatives and friends. Their health and spirits are excellent, and their hopes high." Other messages speak of weekly shower baths, plenty of warm clothes and blankets, stoves in the rooms, parties at Christmas. One philosopher says : " We are in beautiful country, a holiday we could never in peace-time afford. I am smoking all day long."
The general conclusion is that our exiles interned in Germany are receiving the same sort of decent treatment that is accorded to enemy aliens interned in our own country. Two are P.O.W.'s in Germany, Leslie Minty, taken before Dunkirk, and Lt. Douglas Russell, M.G., taken in the Dieppe Raid. The latter says in reply to a question of mine, that there is plenty doing in the acting line, but not for him, as it is difficult to be convincing with one's wrists chained together. He has now been shackled for over six months. But he doesn't let this callous stupidity get him down. He ends cheerily : " I'll be seeing you soon."
Writing to his brother, not his former Head Master, he refers to the handcuffs in terms " calculated to make even the censor blush." And well he may. He is learning Russian, and is due to take an exam. in Economics this month
A number of boys had left Jersey in 1940 with the families in the evacuation to the UK. In September 1940, about 40 boys with Mr. Grummitt, Mr. Hopewell and Miss Aubrey were accommodated at Bedford School. Shortly afterwards Mr. Grummitt left on his appointment as Principal of Belfast Royal Academical Institution, and Mr. S. M. Toyne consented to act as Headmaster of 'Victoria College at Bedford. Mr. Toyne had been for 20 years Headmaster of S. Peter's School, York, before coming to Bedford to give part-time help. Victoria College owes a great deal to him for the tremendous work which he did during the next five years.
The Victorians at Bedford took a full part in the activities of their foster-parent school and brought honour to themselves and to Bedford in both work and games, but they never lost their identity as Victorians. As an expression of their gratitude they and other friends of Victoria College presented an Oak Panel, and an oak seat which now stands in the Bedford School playing-fields
As part of their distinct identity as Victorians at Bedford, a newsletter was produced, containing both news gleaned of Victoria College in Jersey, and also of the plight of the Islanders in general.
In the next few weeks, I am posting some extracts from those newsletters:
LIFE NOW IN JERSEY—II
Conditions in Jersey continue to be the one topic beyond all others on which O.V.'s all over the world are clamouring for news. No apology, therefore, is needed for making this headline a feature of the News Letter.
Let me get one thing off my chest at once. I am sorry that, in No. 5, I used the word " fraternising." It seems to have conveyed more to some readers than I meant it to. It would have been less open to objection if I had said that, apparently, the occupying troops and the islanders are going about their daily jobs with an absence of useless and unnecessary friction. The islander is a shrewd and practical person. He knows how to make the best of a bad job ; and I am sure he is giving the Hun no more help than he is absolutely obliged to give. Nobody would dream of questioning his loyalty to the Crown. It is rooted in the centuries.
A young farmer from one of the country parishes has recently escaped and reached this country—the second such getaway. A recent bulletin of the Jersey Society gives the details of his information as follows :
"The weekly ration of meat is 2 1/2-oz., sugar 2oz. The bread ration is 5Ib. weekly for an adult male. Children are allowed one pint of milk a day, adults half a pint. Restaurants serve vegetable dishes. There are no cakes on sale. Fishing is done under licence. New clothing is virtually unobtainable. Fuel ration for each family for one month is 1 cwt. of coal and 2 cwt. of wood. Peat is being dug. The States are paying Service allowances and pensions. There is no beer. Public houses sell French cider. Wireless sets have been taken away from the islanders. The Evening Post consists of one sheet, printed on both sides. The German troops have their own German news-paper. The population is cheerful and confident— proof of an unshaken morale and steadfast loyalty."
On May 5th the German wireless announced that the rations of the Channel Islanders were to be reduced because of the raids of British and American aircraft on the supply steamers. It will probably be some months before we know how far this threat is carried out. One must always remember the stark fact that the islands are completely in their power.
Putting aside for a moment this disquieting announcement, it must be stated that the Red Cross messages, which continue to come through in great numbers, all strike the same note. " All here fine " occurs over and over again. " All fit and well. Robin (2 years) is very sturdy and talking well. Martin (7) started at Prep., which he likes very much." " My father's messages continue to be delightfully cheerful."
Several good plays have been successfully performed at the Opera House. Messages speak of plenty of swimming, tennis and cycling. There is a Footwear Controller : he has enlarged his business premises. Bigwood Ltd. have taken over the S.P.C.K. shop in Waterloo Street. Brasford's jam factory in St. Clement's Road is still making jam.
It had for some months been feared that the islanders had been deprived of their wireless sets. For the first two years of the occupation the radio had been a great comfort to them. and the deprivation must be felt acutely. The sound of Big Ben brought with it a great reassurance. However, they probably know that the day of their deliverance has drawn appreciably nearer.
Probably in the summer of 1941, College was turned out of its buildings and carried on at the Halkett Place Primary Schools. But by the beginning of this year, or earlier, they appear to have returned to College. Mr
Tatam is still Head Master. The big field has been ploughed up and turned into allotments. The centre square had become very thread-bare, and perhaps, taking the long view, this is a blessing in disguise. But games will be sadly handicapped for two or three years after we resume possession.
OUR EXILES IN GERMANY
Here is a list of Victoria College boys and masters, O.V.'s, parents, and some others, now interned in Germany. I have taken them from the lists kindly supplied to me by the C.I. Refugees Committee :
A.—Ilag VII, Laufen, OBB, Germany :
J. A. Blackburn, Roy Challinor, David Fisk, L. G. A. Green, Peter Hook, Mr. W. H. Kennett, Mr. G. Lomax, Harold Passfield (the College Workshop Instructor), Spence, Bennett Wakeham.
B.—Ilag 'Wurzach, Wurtemberg, Germany :
The College Porter and Mrs. Crumpton, Mr. and Mrs. Farbon, Capt. and Mrs. Hilton, Mr. L. H. Honey, Mr. and Mrs. Magnus, Mr. and Mrs. T. C. Maine and their three children, Dr. Oliver, Mr. and Mrs. Rees Williams and their three children.
C.—Ilag, Biberach (Riss), Germany : Mr. and Mrs. Roger Bell, W. E. Challinor, Mr. and Mrs. A. S. L. Dickinson (the States Librarian), Major and Mrs. Crawford Morrison.
D.—Ilag VIII : Harold Poole and Douglas Tanguy. E.—Camp unspecified : Mr. and Mrs. Aste, Rev, and Mrs. C. H. Atyeo, Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Fenton and their three children, Mr. and Mrs. Ilesley, Peter and Roger Hulton. The bulk of the deportations, to the num-ber of about 1,920 from both islands, were made in September, 1942. They consisted mainly of people who were not actually Channel Islanders. It was at first feared that they were being carried off to labour or concentration camps, and it was a relief to learn that their destination was Internier Ungslager.
In the following February there was a small supplementary deportation, totalling 137, the result of a comb-out of men who had served in some British force. They included three O.V.'s, Harold Poole, Douglas Tanguy and Bennett Wakeham, who certainly had no military service apart from the O.T.C.
A. H. W
The somewhat meagre official rations are supplemented by Red Cross parcels, which appear to arrive regularly. A good many messages have been received from the different camps. They are written with considerable freedom ; the censorship must be very mild.
The Laufen camp, in the Salzburg district, is in a beautiful mountain country, and evidently the conditions are satisfactory. Mr. Kennett says : " We are now well off for food, thanks to the Red Cross, and for fuel, so life is less burdensome than in Jersey. I am taking many classes, without books or paper. We have a good library now."
The Wurzach Camp, also surrounded by fine mountain scenery, is housed in the Castle of Wurzach. Another College master, Mr. Rees Williams, writes : "'We are all keeping very well, apart from occasional fits of depression. My wife and I are lucky to have plenty to do—inactivity is the bugbear of most. Elizabeth, our third, is a winner, an excellent advertisement for living conditions here." Crumpton and his wife write very cheerfully : Here on holiday. Just back from a three mile walk."
But time, they say, hangs heavily. They had just received a food parcel from their son in Jersey Another message runs : " All Jersey internees at Wurzach send greetings to their relatives and friends. Their health and spirits are excellent, and their hopes high." Other messages speak of weekly shower baths, plenty of warm clothes and blankets, stoves in the rooms, parties at Christmas. One philosopher says : " We are in beautiful country, a holiday we could never in peace-time afford. I am smoking all day long."
The general conclusion is that our exiles interned in Germany are receiving the same sort of decent treatment that is accorded to enemy aliens interned in our own country. Two are P.O.W.'s in Germany, Leslie Minty, taken before Dunkirk, and Lt. Douglas Russell, M.G., taken in the Dieppe Raid. The latter says in reply to a question of mine, that there is plenty doing in the acting line, but not for him, as it is difficult to be convincing with one's wrists chained together. He has now been shackled for over six months. But he doesn't let this callous stupidity get him down. He ends cheerily : " I'll be seeing you soon."
Writing to his brother, not his former Head Master, he refers to the handcuffs in terms " calculated to make even the censor blush." And well he may. He is learning Russian, and is due to take an exam. in Economics this month
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