In January 1941, 200 boys from the Alleyn’s Junior and Senior Schools were evacuated to Rossall School in Lancashire to start a new chapter of their education, away from the dangers of wartime London.
Alumnus Ken Pywell (Spurgeon’s 1949), who was awarded a Junior County Scholarship to Alleyn’s in 1943, travelled to Rossall at the age of 11. He recently took a trip back with his family, almost 80 years later, and tells us more about the memories that came flooding back to him.
“Memories came flooding back, in particular of James House, which was home for Alleyn’s Juniors. It had four dormitories and accommodation for Mr Spring, our Housemaster. Every Sunday evening we would gather in our common room for him to read us adventure stories. King Solomon’s Mines and Prester John both come to mind. After the story, one of the Alleyn’s Prefects would come to the House and serve us cocoa just before ‘lights out’. There were also rare invitations to have afternoon tea with Mr Spring and his wife in their sitting room.
The rooms which had been our dormitories are now used as classrooms for Rossall’s juniors. Naturally, the school has expanded since I was there in 1943/5, and there are several new buildings. The old open-air concrete swimming pool must have disappeared many years ago, but the ‘Gazebo’ tower, from the top of which there is a view of the promenade and the sea, is still in good repair and accessible, although the ascent up the steep stone steps proved to be beyond my present capability.
We then proceeded to the Great Hall (“Big School”) in which I recall that Alleyn’s choir (almost the whole school) and its orchestra rehearsed and performed Verdi’s Requiem and Holst’s Hymn of Jesus among other works with our Music Master Mr WJ Smith. This was also the location for an occasional film show, put on by one of our Masters. Our recent visit finished with a look inside the Dining Hall, a place of mixed memories for me. Well, it was wartime after all, and food was scarce!
On the whole, Rossall looked very much as I remember. Of course, the visit was also of great interest to my family, who all have considerable experience of music teaching in schools, although I think it intrigued them to observe me in surroundings I had often spoken to them about.”
Thank you, Ken, for writing in to share these fascinating memories of a very different time for Alleyn’s students.
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