Page 65 - It's a Rum Life Book One "In the Beginning 1947 to 1960"

Yorkshire at the beginning of their January term. In my group
were ex forces personnel and other young men of about my age
and older. We were all crammed into a school type dormitory
with rickety bunk beds that were only about five foot six inches
long. There was no heating in the dorm and no hot water in the
bathroom. On the first day we bought a one bar electric fire
from the local Woolworths as that was all the management
would allow us. The food was mediocre and other basic facilities
terribly run down. So cold in fact in the classrooms too that it
was very hard to concentrate on what we were supposed to be
learning.
Before long, my compatriots began to leave and after three had
gone, I could see no future in staying so phoned my parents and left as
well. My mother had been kind to fund my desire but it seemed a poor
way of spend what had been Grandfather’s cash with unsure
prospects of being able to complete the training. I found myself back
at Grammar School for a further term.

This was a strange year at the Grammar School; our
particular form had been the first “C” stream each academic
year as we were just not as ‘bright’ as the rest! Our headmaster
constantly reminded us that we were an embarrassment.
Consequently in 1959 when all 25 or so of us took the GCE “O”

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