I recently spoke to a lady who had been born and educated in Weston – her memories will be familiar to many…

I was born in 1935 so my schooldays in Weston were during the Second World War.

The building was a long, low, thatched stone building standing on the edge of the ancient ridge and furrow field.

The building had been a school since the middle of the 19th century. My father spent his whole school life there and, when I first started school at the age of four, my older brother was already there so Miss Morrison, the only teacher, gave him the job of showing me around.

Each child had a gas mask on their coat hook. Every day we would have gas mask drill, taking them from the small square cardboard box, wearing them for a few minutes before returning them to the box.

We also had daily Bible lessons and a hymn after the register had been called. Late-comers had to stand by the door until after the lesson. I remember some could not stand so long and would fall down, faint from hunger or lack of sleep.

The teacher was strict and children were obedient.

On hearing the school bell, we would quickly get into line and be ready to start the day.

War-time rationing meant that essential supplies of food, clothes and imported goods were missing – I did not taste a banana until I was almost 12 years old and sweets, chocolate and oranges were also absent from my childhood.

My father had an allotment and we kept bees and chickens so we were lucky.

The government introduced vitamins for children – cod liver oil and orange juice. School milk was a halfpenny for a third of a pint and my brother and I paid five pence each so we could have two bottles a day. School dinners were not available until much later.

They were never free and arrived at the school in steel containers. I remember semolina, potatoes and mince and especially delicious steamed jam puddings.

The school toilets were at the bottom of the garden, close to the newly erected brick air raid shelter. They consisted of wooden seats with holes in them, underneath was a large bucket.

Newspaper cut into small squares was hung on a string to serve as toilet paper. Modern sewer systems did not exist in the village at that time.

The school was heated by a large round coke stove with a cylindrical chimney rising through the roof.

We were reasonably warm in winter months, but we were hardy, coats not nearly as thick and warm as now and winters seemed much colder than today.

Boys always wore short trousers and socks needed garters to hold them in place – they often had chapped knees.

I remember wearing a ‘liberty bodice’ – a tight garment around my chest – which kept out the cold. Knickers were thick, dark coloured and had one or two pockets. We tucked our skirts in our knickers for PE lessons – a daily occurrence.

Clothes were rationed and less well-off people would sell their clothing coupons and make do with hand me downs, made their own or relied on jumble sales.

My only dress was torn in the playground and Miss Morrison made the offending girl sew it up.

Weston on the Green School is now a private home; the playground has become a garden and the bell, just visible above the cloakroom extension, is in the village hall.

More memories to continue in the next column from Weston-on-the-Green History Society.