Page 5 - Martin Holmes - Old Derbeian Article

Derby School & WWII
halfway down was the door that gave access to the night toilet, linen store and outside. At the far end there was another bedroom and the room for storage of the suitcases.
I don’t remember exact numbers but there were about 50 of us in a dorm. Initially we were housed by “house” which meant a mixture of ages in the dorm. This soon changed to class level dorms.
The bunks were metal framed with wavy wire threaded from head to foot and held to the next wire by small horizontal springs. The mattresses were kapok and about three or four inches thick; sheets, a couple of blankets and a single pillow completed the set-up. When winter came and we damn nigh froze Mother made me a “quilt” of an old blanket folded inside a sewn sheet cover.
There were periodic raids between dorms with knotted scarves for “weapons” and there were also occasional in-dorm pillow fights. There would also be occasional frolics involving running up and down the dorm from top bunk to top bunk which sometimes led to somebody’s bed-springs giving way. Another trick was to remove bedsprings strategically so that as the owner went to bed they slowly sank through.
Other entertainment was available in the form of the school library (a quite substantial collection of books, fiction as well as fact,) and I spent many hours there. We also had film shows in the Assembly Hall at weekends and we got to see many classic cartoons and films that we otherwise would not have seen. (The first cartoons, classic silent films, etc) There were also concerts and plays put on by students and staff. Most of us were in some sort of production at various times.
There was also an attempt at providing a swimming hole in the river by damning it on a bend not far from the camp but it never flourished as few of us could swim and the water was cool and swift; but it was fun in the attempt.
As best as I can remember it the daily routine Monday to Friday was along the lines of a master coming through the dorm to rouse everybody and see if anyone had fallen ill overnight. Then it was over to the ablution block before dressing back in the dorm.
Breakfast followed and then it was off to the relevant classroom or lab for the start of morning classes (9-12). There was a brief break for lunch which was followed by an enforced period of bed-rest before a break and afternoon classes or sport. Another short break came before the evening meal and then it was homework and off to bed.
I can’t remember whether we had classes on Saturday morning but the afternoons were certainly free. Sunday everybody but me went off to the relevant church; Anglicans to Brackenfield a mile or so walk away, the Catholics