Huyton’s Forgotten School and Landing Ground

Written by Rob O’Brien

On leaving his post as senior English Master at Liverpool College in 1926, a position he had occupied for the previous five years, Hubert Desramaux Butler set his sights on opening a school of his own. Hubert was born at Farnworth, near Bolton on 9th March 1899, the third son of a Church of England clergyman. Educated initially at Rossall School, he later gained a B.A. Honours degree in English at Oxford University.

The school H.D. Butler envisaged (of which he became both headmaster and owner), was to be unlike the normal preparatory school of its time. He was a man of vision, a modernist, with many unique ideas that he incorporated within his new venture.

Huyton Hill Boys’ Preparatory School began in a small way, comprising just a handful of pupils in a large semi-detached villa at the extreme end of Victoria Road, Huyton. As pupil numbers increased, the adjoining villa was bought to accommodate them and later a third property was added. The popularity of the school was such that by 1939 there were 53 pupils of whom 27 were boarders.

Ranging in age from five to fifteen years, the pupils at Huyton Hill received not just a rounded academic education but they were involved in decision making and encouraged to develop a sense of individual responsibility. On Saturday mornings, boys took part in collective work not only around the school grounds, but also carrying out half an hour’s work for the local community. In turn, the boys learnt about the use of tools by accompanying the school handyman when repairs were necessary on the premises. In the garden area of the school, pupils had the use of a swimming pool, a small boating pool and a large summer house which they had helped to construct.

1926 Huyton Hey Trust Plan

(Ref: KA23/P/P1- Knowsley Archives)

Apart from purchasing the school buildings, Mr Butler had also bought the land adjoining the school which comprised an area of some thirty acres. Part of this land was used as a recreational area and the rest eventually used as a landing ground for aeroplanes. Once more the headmaster’s ability to plan ahead was in evidence. The school landing ground opened on 1st July 1932, an event reported in the local press:

Evening Express – 1st July 1932

© Liverpool Evening Express
(The Master of Sempill shows boys of Huyton Hill School, Liverpool, how to start an aeroplane after opening the school aerodrome today)

Liverpool Daily Post – 2nd July 1932

© Liverpool Daily Post
(Headmaster H.D. Butler with Colonel, the Master of Sempill addressing the boys of Huyton Hill School, Liverpool, yesterday, after opening the school aerodrome)

Later that month as the summer holidays approached, one of the pupils was picked up from the school by a parent in a light aircraft. Huyton Hill was the first school in the country to have its own landing ground!

Prescot Reporter – 29th July 1932

To enable pilots to confirm the airfield’s location, yet again pupils were involved. They helped to construct a series of markers on the landing ground itself. Concrete letters depicting ’H H’ and measuring thirty-feet in size were set into the earth in the middle of the landing ground together with a second concrete marker stating HUYTON HILL in ten-foot letters, which was set into the corner of the landing ground in order to show incoming aircraft the line of approach.

A 1930s postcard below shows the scene: the landing ground and completed concrete markers, with the school buildings shown in the background:

Huyton Hill School and landing ground, Huyton

© Aero Pictorial Ltd, London

By the start of the Second World War, Huyton Hill Boys’ School had left Huyton for new premises in the Lake District, firstly at Newby Bridge, then in 1942 a further move to Pull Wood House, beside Lake Windermere near Ambleside. Similarly, most of the pupils at Liverpool College for Girls, Huyton, also moved to the Lake District for safety reasons following bombing raids on the Liverpool docks area; inevitably, some bombs did fall within the Huyton district.

After the war, the girls’ school pupils returned to Huyton College (it had been renamed in 1945), but Huyton Hill Boys’ Preparatory School remained operational in the Lake District until its closure in 1969.

Huyton Hill School – Lake District

© Aerofilms Ltd, London

Postscript: The Master of Sempill (who officially opened the landing ground at Huyton in 1932), had previously been investigated by the authorities for alleged national security breaches but that’s another story…

 

 

Family History Help Desk Dates 2020

Every month throughout the year, Knowsley Archives offers a series of Family History Help Desks in libraries across the borough. They’re ideal if you are new to family history research, or are trying to find your way through the maze of information and resources: expert advice and guidance is available to help you on your way.

If you would like help with your family history research, staff at the ARK – Knowsley Archives’ base in The Kirkby Centre– are available to help during our normal opening hours, but the Family History Help Desks are an opportunity to get support at a time and location that may be more convenient for you.

Sessions are free of charge and they are run on a drop-in basis. We will do our best to answer your questions on the day, but more complicated queries may need to be followed up after your visit or require an additional appointment.

Packing the potato crop, Kirkby c.1910

The dates for 2020 are as follows:

PRESCOT LIBRARY Tuesday 10.00 -1.00	STOCKBRIDGE LIBRARY Tuesday        2.00-5.00	KIRKBY LIBRARY Thursday 10.00-1.00	HALEWOOD LIBRARY Friday        2.00-5.00	HUYTON LIBRARY Saturday 10.00-1.00
14th January	14th January	16th January	17th January	18th January
11th February	11th February	13th February	14th February	15th February
10th March	10th March	12th March	13th March	14th March
14th April	14th April	16th April	17th April	18th April
12th May	12th May	14th May	15th May	16th May
9th June	9th June	11th June	12th June	13th June
7th July	7th July	9th July	10th July	11th July
4th August	4th August	6th August	7th August	8th August
1st September	1st September	3rd September	4th September	5th September
6th October	6th October	8th October	9th October	10th October
3rd November	3rd November	5th November	6th November	7th November
1st  December	1st  December	3rd  December	4th December	5th December

Underneath the Hazels: Unravelling the Past of C.F. Mott College

With the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Knowsley Archives have been busy cataloguing, conserving and preserving the archives of C.F. Mott College that are stored in the ARK. This remarkable and innovative college had a campus that straddled the Huyton and Prescot border and at its heart was the Hazels, a stately 18^th century building that had been owned by, amongst others, members of the Pilkington family and is still standing. The college was named after a distinguished former Director of Education for the City of Liverpool, Charles Francis Mott.

The Hazels

Founded in 1946 in response to the national shortage of teachers following the end of the Second World War, C.F. Mott College would eventually go on to become one of the largest and most successful teacher training colleges in the country with a reputation for academic innovation. By the 1970s, the college was also offering degree courses in the arts, humanities, social sciences and science, before finally merging with Liverpool Polytechnic (which later became Liverpool John Moores University) in 1983.

Three students in a halls of residence bedroom, 1952

At first, the college was women-only and relatively small. In 1951 Dr. D.M. Farr replaced Miss Whiting as Principal and she would lead a rapid expansion of the campus, with additional buildings, sports and leisure facilities, as well as accommodation for students and staff. As the campus developed, student numbers increased and the social life of the students evolved. Dr. Farr would later write proudly of the “acquisition of a good dance floor [that] changed the whole outlook of college life.” She was keen to ensure that students from the University of Liverpool were invited to take part in activities at the college (and vice versa) so that social events received a new impetus. This enthusiastic encouragement of the students’ social and leisure life was regarded by Dr. Farr as “a welcome prevention of the ‘cosiness’ which can overtake a small women’s college.”

The student choir rehearsing, circa 1966

In 1959 the college became a mixed college and male students were admitted for the first time. This was another period of rapid expansion for the college, with new postgraduate courses being added to the curriculum and a surge in staff and student numbers.

As innovative as Dr. Farr appears to have been, college life during the 1950s and 1960s can seem strangely archaic to our modern eyes. Among the college archives are House Committee minute books that reveal the very serious and lengthy debates the staff would have about aspects of the students’ lives. Over the course of several years, from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s, the use of gramophones was a hot topic at House Committee meetings: how loud should they be (not very)? Should students be allowed them in their own bedrooms (can’t they just make do with the wireless and gramophones in the common rooms?)?

Even sunbathing was raised at the House Committee meetings. The sight of female students catching a few rays was resulting in “visitors being embarrassed” in 1956 and students were instructed to sunbathe only where there was no risk of them being spotted! Who these visitors were and why they were looking in the first place is never mentioned!

A student teacher with pupils, circa 1976

Another common debate that pops up time and time again in the House Committee minutes concerns the clothing students were allowed to wear. It is worth bearing in mind that, for much of its history, the college was purely a teacher training college, so students will have been working on placements in schools. For the college staff it was important that trainee teachers were perceived as smartly dressed and positive role models for children. However, it may come as a surprise to learn that this extended to what clothing was acceptable for students to wear at any time. In summer 1956, staff were reminded that no one should be wearing jeans. However, “special permission would be given to cyclists if they asked for it.” This debate would rumble on for the next few years with change only coming in 1960, when it was decided that new or clean jeans could be “presentable,” although old ones looked “scruffy and untidy.” It was agreed that smart jeans would, for the first time, be officially allowed…sort of: this change would only apply to male students!

Students playing pool, circa early 1980s

For female students, clothing restrictions would be more stringently applied for several more years. While men were strolling around campus sporting their smart new jeans, the female students were fighting for the right to wear slacks in the TV room. This was eventually allowed in 1960, but there remained a great concern about how female students were presenting themselves to the outside world and “apart from hiking and college expeditions, women students must not wear slacks outside college.”

Of course, the times they were a-changin’ and the college would become more and more liberal in its approach to student life, with late 1960s, 70s and 80s photographs in the archive showing both male and female students in jeans, slacks and all manner of clothing that would probably have appalled the House Committee of a generation before.

The traditions of constant evolution, expansion and adaptation that Dr. Farr had begun would continue with her replacements, Mr. Clarke (1965-1974) and Mr. Cane (1974-1983). The college had a number of minor name changes during its history and, following the addition of degree courses validated by the University of Lancaster, it became the C.F. Mott campus of the City of Liverpool College of Higher Education (COLCHE) in 1978. Within a few years, the college merged with Liverpool Polytechnic and the campus closed, but its expertise in arts and humanities would make a significant contribution to the Polytechnic’s fine reputation in these areas, maintained by the current Liverpool John Moores University.

Get in touch! We’re keen to hear from former college students and staff who would be interested in having their memories recorded for future generations or would like to deposit any mementos of the college with the archive.

Students relaxing on campus, circa early 1980s

An exhibition about the college will be at Kirkby Library from 14^th November 2019 – 31^st January 2020. A private view event will take place at Kirkby Library on Wednesday 13th November 2019, 6-8pm, and will be a chance to see the exhibition first and hear a short talk about the archive collection. Please note, this is an RSVP-only event. Please reserve your place by emailing daniel.copley@knowsley.gov.uk or calling Knowsley Archives on 0151 443 4291.

The Dude Comes to Kirkby

“I can see us in for some lively times…”

– Jack Pulman’s diary, December 1915

Last December we wrote on here about Jack Pulman’s incredible First World War diary and photographs. Since then, thanks to a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we have been able to continue with the conservation, preservation, cataloguing, transcription and digitisation of the collection. In addition, we wanted to introduce people to Jack, his diary and photographs and we’ve done this through talks, workshops and a soon-to-open exhibition.

Huyton U3A members with the diary

Huyton and Halewood’s U3A (University of the Third Age) groups have been marking the centenary anniversary of the First World War through a series of events and research undertaken by their members. Some of this had already involved coming to Knowsley Archives to hear about and see our collections, but this project has provided us with the opportunity to introduce a new aspect to their research and knowledge of local people’s wartime experiences. We delivered a specially-tailored talk for U3A members about the diary, which included an opportunity to see the diary up close. Another tailored talk was presented to residents of Priory Court retirement properties, generating a lot of animated discussion and excitement about Jack’s diary.

One of the most exciting aspects of this project has been working with Comics Youth

CIC, a youth-led organisation who support marginalised and disadvantaged children and young people to express themselves through creating and publishing comics and zines. Almost 20 children and young people have been learning about Jack’s life during wartime and inspired by portions of Jack’s diary and his photographs to create some spectacular and beautiful artworks.

One of the Comics Youth artwork sessions

Our exhibition, Diary of a Dude: Bringing Jack Pulman’s First World War Diary to Life, brings together extracts and photographs from the diary with the new artwork, demonstrating the work that has been undertaken as part of this project, as well as introducing Jack and his diary to new audiences. The original diary and many original photographs will be on display and there will be opportunities to find out about where Jack travelled during the War, the kinds of social activities he took part in (including the unique games of donkey football!), and the members of his musical group, the Deolali Dudes.

“1914, October 30^th Hong Kong. Volunteers wanted for Royal Navy to complete various ships company…Enquired terms of service and finding them satisfactory, volunteered.”

With this very matter of fact entry, Jack Pulman began writing his diary over 100 years ago. It’s a tone of grounded realism that continues throughout the 129 pages of the diary. There are no dramatic flourishes or flights of fancy. It’s rare that he stretches a description of a remarkable event – such as a battle, the death of a colleague or a new development in the War – over more than a few sentences. And so I wonder what this seemingly reserved man, who would go on to drive Liverpool trams for 40 years and raise a small family, would make of our celebration of his diary, photographs and life? How would he react to finding himself the subject of talks; being drawn and painted as a comic book figure; and being the subject of an exhibition 130 years after he was born? It’s been a privilege to see the excitement and interest generated by sharing Jack’s diary and the world he saw and captured through his photography. These may not be the “lively times” Jack was foreseeing in 1915, but it seems a good description of the project he has inspired.

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The ‘Diary of the Dude’ exhibition is in Kirkby Library from 23rd April – 4th June 2019. Please check Library opening times before visiting.

Discovering the Dude

Fans of the classic Coen Brothers film, The Big Lebowski, will remember Jeff Bridges’ brilliant performance as the Dude. However, let me introduce you to a much earlier – and very different! – Dude. Our Dude is called John (or Jack) Pulman and served in the British Navy during the First World War.

Jack Pulman, 1917

Thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery, we are currently undertaking a project, called Diary of a Dude, revolving around Jack’s incredible First World War diary and the many photographs he took during the War. Having been a merchant seaman, Liverpool-born Jack signed up for the Navy in October 1914 whilst working in the Hong Kong area, which is when his journal entries begin. His first two entries read:

“October 30^th,1914. Hong Kong. Volunteers wanted for Royal Navy to complete various ships company. Enquired terms of service and finding them satisfactory, volunteered. October  31^st, accepted and signed on for the period of the war.”

All very interesting, you may be thinking, but why the ‘Diary of a Dude’ title? As we first looked through the diary, we were delighted to find that – as well as a seriously talented photographer – Jack was a musician and he formed a band with a few fellow sailors, calling themselves the Deolali Dudes and performing at various entertainment concerts the men would put on for each other. The Deolali part of their name comes from one of the army camps that Jack and some his fellow sailors went to for rest and recuperation. The Deolali transit camp was in the Nashik district of Maharashtra, India and had been a British camp since 1849. It continued to be used by the British during the First and Second World Wars and became a camp notorious for both being unpleasant and for the psychological problems of the many service personnel that passed through it. This latter part of its reputation gave birth to the phrase ‘gone doolally’ (a derivation of Deolali). Whatever Jack made of the camp, he and his friends performed under the band name at various social events there and elsewhere. Included in the diary are copies of hand-drawn (possibly by Jack) programmes for concerts, where we can find out exactly what tunes the Dudes played and what other entertainment the evening offered.

The Deolali Dudes, c. 1916, with Jack back row, far right

As you can imagine, whenever we have something like Jack’s diary donated to the archive, we’re desperate to look inside and find out more about the people associated with the document. However, the first priority has to be making sure we can preserve the document as well as possible and make it available to the public for research and study. In the case of Jack’s diary, it was clear that a lot of work was needed before making it available for research.

An example of a badly damaged photograph from the diary

The journal was in a poor state, with extensive water damage (appropriately for a naval diary!) and the spine of the volume was very weak, meaning that the diary could not be opened fully without causing further damage. Included with the diary are almost 150 photographs and images. The majority of these have been glued directly onto pages of the diary and many of these were also in poor condition. Over time, most adhesives cause damage to paper and, combined with water damage, this had added to the condition problems we now faced. Where photographs had been glued to opposite pages, many of them had stuck to each other and then someone had tried to prise them apart, leaving images with portions missing or torn.

We knew that we needed to bring in a professional conservator to make sure that the diary and its remarkable contents could be repaired as best as possible. Thanks to the Heritage Lottery funding we were able to do this and it was a joy to have the diary return looking fantastic and to be able to open it (thanks to a new spine!) and discover more about Jack and his experiences during the War.

Jack also seems to have played a role in inventing a new sport to keep people entertained during shore leave: donkey football! The diary comes with a set of rules for the sport that include: “donkeys must not charge the goalkeeper” and “should one donkey mount another, a foul is given against the mounting donkey”! Who knows what the donkeys made of this, although the rules do state that “no sticks [are] to be used against donkeys, or cruelty of any kind.”

A game of donkey football underway! c. 1917

As we’re into the Christmas season, it’s worth highlighting Christmas 1915 on board Jack’s ship, as what Jack calls a “catastrophe” had happened: they’d run out of spuds. “Pity our Christmas dinner,” Jack writes. The dinner ended up being:

“a proper scrape up…a little bit of tough mutton and a few half cooked marrowfat peas…while the sweets consisted of a bit of workhouse duff that we had managed to knock up. The wines (don’t skit): one whole bottle of bulldog beer per man.” 

Of course, the majority of the diary is concerned with Jack’s time on board ship and is filled with descriptions of skirmishes and battles, as well as their daily routine of stopping and searching local shipping traffic in the Red Sea and off the east coast of Africa. His photographs include images of enemy ships, prisoners and local boats being searched, as well as weaponry and serious-looking officers. Jack also demonstrates that his artistic skills extended to watercolours and he includes a couple of paintings in the diary. One of these is a map showing the North Africa and the Suez Canal area, with ports Jack visited, and another shows how a skirmish with enemy forces played out, with the positions of the combatants marked on a painting of the coastline.

A watercolour map of the North African coast and the Suez Canal, painted by Jack Pulman, c. 1915

As the diary continues through the War, Jack’s descriptions of daily activity become more and more brief, perhaps reflecting how normal and mundane these extraordinary circumstances were becoming to him. The emphasis in his entries shifts from describing naval activity to taking more pleasure in describing places they pass through or the free time that he and his colleagues clearly relished. His photographs also begin to reflect this, with some beautiful landscape and architecture photography, images of local people he encounters on his travels, and an increasing number of images showing colleagues relaxing and enjoying themselves. Jack even shares his camera with colleagues, resulting in his friend Kerrison providing an early example of the selfie: photographing himself looking in a mirror!

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Of course, as much as we find Jack’s descriptions of the War fascinating, he will have spent much of his time wanting to get home to his wife and young child. This sense of frustration is made plain by an entry that reflects on the three years he has been with the Navy:

“October 31^st 1914 to November 14^th 1917: 3 years of wasted time.”

If you would like to read more extracts from the Diary and follow Jack’s journeys, we have a dedicated Twitter page where we are posting extracts and images on a regular basis: Diary of the Dude

Aspirations and Accreditations

What a year 2017 was!

The ARK started the year in a very purposeful manner, closing its doors to personal visitors so that all of the collections could be inspected for condition, packaging and location during the 2 week stock take. It was the first time that we had undertaken such a task, which, although a full-on experience, was one that we found incredibly useful as it gave us a greater insight into the condition and status of the collections, so much so that the process will be repeated in 2018 (put 22^nd January-2^nd February in your diary…)

At the same time, the ARK loaned exhibition material to the Council of Christians and Jews in Liverpool, which was shown at Liverpool Cathedral to mark Holocaust Day. This opened up the information gathered as part of our HLF supported Huyton Camps project to yet another diverse audience who were able to connect with the experiences of internees.

February was a busy time, which saw a team effort result in the local history reference stock held at Huyton Library being transferred to the ARK, where these books are now safely stored for posterity (and researchers to study!). We also opened our doors to staff from Knowsley’s branch libraries, who were given an insight into the workings of the archive service and a chance to see some of the wonderful treasures in the collections.

The Heritage Lottery Fund supported projects have made great progress during 2017. The retro-conversion of the paper-based catalogue to Calm, an online, accessible database and the community engagement projects both gained momentum, aided by our magnificent volunteers, who regularly and generously give their time and expertise to support the ARK.

Children from St Anne’s Catholic Primary School

Children from St. Anne’s Catholic Primary School in Huyton worked incredibly hard, researching the history and impact of the railways in Huyton. The result was a stunning documentary which is both informative and entertaining. Watch it here, if you haven’t already:

Meanwhile, our borough-wide music project, ‘Rock the ARK’, got off the ground with some eye-catching exhibitions in our library spaces and an invitation to vote for your favourite Knowsley related pop song. It was an impressive roll call of Knowsley talent, with T’Pau, The La’s, Black, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and more besides in the running for the top slot. Who won? Well, we’ll find that out later…

The ARK hosted many visits from students, school pupils and local societies over the course of the year, providing an introduction to the ARK, research sessions and interactive explorations to enable people to access the collections and interpret that information in an appropriate manner. We also went out on road, visiting groups in their own spaces – for example, we helped Beavers, Cubs and Scouts in Prescot to achieve their Local Interest badge, entertained Halewood U3A with our 1990 Pop-up Slide Show (which recreated an original local history talk delivered by the former Principal Reference Librarian, the late Mr. T. W. Scragg) and evoked musical memories at Stockbridge Library’s reminiscence coffee morning. In another first for us, we were delighted to be invited to present a talk on the ‘Highlights from the Prescot Archives’ to the 13^th Annual Prescot Festival of Music and the Arts.

Former students of the Malayan College return to Kirkby, August 2017

The Heritage Lottery Fund supported projects continued to grow throughout the year. Links with the Alumni of Kirkby’s Malayan Teachers’ Training College, which operated on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory hostel in Kirkby Fields from 1952–1962, culminated in an emotional return of some 38 of the former students, many of them now octogenarians, to the site of the College to unveil a commemorative plaque which describes the history of the site. This visit, on 30^th – 31^st August, coincided with the 60^th anniversary of the announcement of Merdeka (independence) for Malaya (now Malaysia). Old friendships were rekindled and new associations forged in what was a most inspiring and uplifting experience for the Alumni, local residents, ARK staff and volunteers. The legacy of this project is clear: links between residents and former students and their families have been created, and the ARK is now recognised as the official repository for material relating to the MTTC and the Alumni Association, underlining the international importance of the collections, which will continue to be a focal point for researchers of the College in the future. Watch the events unfold in this short film:

A beautiful Malaysian Christmas card design from the Margaret Whitaker collection, described in December’s Challenge article

August saw The Challenge newspaper publish the first of a monthly series of articles submitted by the ARK which explore different aspects of the collections. So far, we’ve covered diverse topics such as the Malayan Teachers’ Training College, Knowsley’s sporting legacy, tales of mystery and celebrating Christmas. The January issue is due out now – look out for our article on sales and shopping in Knowsley, explored through the prism of the archive collections.

The big headline for 2017, however, has to be the ARK’s attainment of Accreditation from The National Archives, which was announced in November.

The Archive Accreditation Scheme is a national award which is only given to archive services after a rigorous inspection process which closely examines all aspects of service delivery, from policies and procedures and conservation work through to customer service, access to the collections and community engagement. Happily, the ARK was awarded full accreditation status, giving our communities that quality assurance that the archives are being managed, cared for and made available to the very highest standards.

Getting ready to show Erich Kirste’s moving account of life as a POW in Huyton

November was also time to join in with the national campaign, Explore Your Archive. We ran an open day and 2 film show sessions, which featured the short films created through our HLF supported projects – Erich Kirste’s moving recollections of life as a WWII Prisoner of War in Huyton, ‘Chuffed to Bits’ which explores the impact of the railways on Huyton and Roby through the eyes of pupils from St Anne’ Catholic Primary School and ‘The Malayan Connection’ which celebrates the return of the former students of the Malayan Teachers’ Training College to Kirkby.

Our HLF supported projects continue into the 3^rd year of the programme, with more exciting opportunities for our communities to get involved in activities around sport (our sporting heritage project, ‘This Sporting Life’, is about to kick off…) and education (‘History Detectives’ will create local history materials for use in schools) plus our music project, ‘Rock the ARK’ will be finalised (by the way – the La’s won the public vote).

The collections will be much easier to search and be much more visible as we go live with the catalogue – keep a look out for details of the launch of Calmview, which will allow researchers to explore collections online.

So: 2017 was definitely a landmark year for the ARK – but there’s so much more to come in 2018!

Test your Knowsley Sports Knowledge!

As part of the Knowsley Sports and Culture Awards, which were held on Friday October 13th, 2017, Knowsley Archives put together a sports quiz based on items from our archive collections. Thanks in particular should go to our super volunteer, Michael, who has been scouring our newspaper cuttings to find interesting sports-themed stories.

Huyton Cricket Club, 1955

We’ll be exploring some of those stories, and looking for people’s memories, memorabilia and experiences, as part of our Heritage Lottery funded sports project. Look our for more information about that project in the local press and on our social media pages – and we’ll be adding another blog here all about the sports project very soon.

In the meantime, follow the link below to have a go at our quiz!

Take Our Sports Quiz!

 

The Malayan Connection

“The most important thing about your stay in England must be the development of yourself as a more mature and far-seeing person. When you go home, as a graduate, you will be expected to work miracles – and only you may be aware how little you really do know – but you will have the means and the initiative to study further on your own and to adapt yourself.”

There’s a word I’ve removed from that statement above. Without it, many readers could assume the author was talking about graduates of a prestigious University, an Oxbridge one perhaps, or maybe an elite private school that churns out leaders of the future.

Margaret Hodge (right) with some of her students, 1953

The quote is taken from a notebook that belonged to Miss Margaret Hodge, an art tutor at the educational institution in question during the 1950s. The students she was preparing this address for had travelled to study in England from Malaya (which would later, in 1963, become Malaysia). During a ten year period, from 1952 to 1962, something like 1900 Malayans arrived to study a broad range of subjects. The students represented the multi-ethnic diversity of their country and many, like the products of England’s famous private schools, would indeed go on to be leaders of the future; as politicians, royalty, lawyers, and numerous esteemed professions that would mark them as pillars of their communities.

It’s the location of this remarkable, ground-breaking establishment that is missing from the extract above. The place that became a temporary home to some of Malaya’s brightest and best was the Malayan Teacher Training College in Kirkby, near Liverpool. It may still not be an internationally famous town, but to alumni of the college, Kirkby was the centre of a life-changing experience that would resonate across the world and ensure that the town would remain a symbol of innovation, transformation and hope. At the time the Malayan College was first opened, Kirkby was a small town, much of it still rural; a relatively small Lancashire community that few outside of the region would have been aware of. After the Blitz of the Second World War devastated so much of Liverpool, Kirkby would become one of the ‘overspill’ areas for the city as it embarked on a programme of slum housing clearance and establishing new out-of-city housing estates. The lifetime of the Malayan College coincides with the beginning of Kirkby’s rapid expansion into an urban town when the Lancashire accent would be edged out to be replaced by the very different scouse twang. You can hear some of the memories we hold in the ARK about this period on our Soundcloud page, including memories of rural Kirkby and interviews conducted as part of our Heritage Lottery funded work with Kirkby residents about the 1940s-60s in the town.

Students and staff at the Emergency Teacher Training College, 1948

Prior to the college taking over the site, the buildings which would accommodate the college had been used as the location for an Emergency Teacher Training College (a location which included the repurposing of a former hostel for the Royal Ordnance Factory during the Second World War). Like others set up around the country after the close of the War, Kirkby’s Emergency College, which opened in 1948, was a response to a national shortage of teachers and a much-needed way of providing men returning from the War with a qualification and career. By 1951, the college was closing down and the Malayan Government were invited to take over the site for their own Teacher Training College.

The impact of Kirkby’s Malayan College is truly remarkable. For students, it offered a high quality education, an international perspective and a sense of cultural awareness, with the reality of studying, living and socialising with Malayans of many different backgrounds seen as an ”opportunity to view and study the Malayan political and social scene with at least some degree of detachment.” (Panduan, the college magazine, July 1953). For the Kirkby residents and the schoolchildren and teachers who came into contact with the students, the college provided a rare chance to meet people from abroad and share in their culture; an experience that the students recognised as mutually beneficial. Perhaps the most significant thing about the college is its importance in international history. Regarded as a flagship example of Malaya’s ambitions for a harmonious society, it was fitting that, on 7th February 1956, Malaya’s Chief Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, chose the college, rather than a government building in London or Kuala Lumpur, as the venue to make the momentous announcement that the British colony was being granted independence.

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Former students of the Malayan College return to Kirkby, August 2017

Thanks to our Heritage Lottery funding, we have been able to explore the history of this fascinating, and often overlooked, part of Knowsley’s history. Staff and volunteers are busily gathering memories and memorabilia from local people who remember the college; many of whom have wonderful memories of being taught by the students from the college as part of their teaching placements. In addition, we have been extremely fortunate to develop strong links with the alumni association of the college – who refer to themselves as ‘Kirkbyites’ – and they have been very generous with their time and with donations of a wealth of superb documents, photographs, magazines and films relating to the history of the Malayan College. A highpoint of the project was a visit to Kirkby by almost 40 of the Kirkbyites and their families, travelling from all over the world, to help us commemorate the college with the unveiling of a plaque to mark the original location (now an area known as Granbourne Chase). The alumni, who were all septuagenarians and octogenarians, were fantastically energetic and their enthusiasm and affection for the college and Kirkby was infectious for everyone who was lucky enough to meet them. Whilst in Kirkby, they were also able to be the first to see our new exhibition, in Kirkby Library where the ARK is based, about the Malayan College. We were relieved that they gave it their seal of approval! The exhibition was at Kirkby Library until 31st October 2017. In this blog, I’ll give a very brief overview of our collections relating to the Malayan College and an idea of our exhibition for those of you unable to visit. You can also see the exclusive film we made to mark this project and the visit of the Kirkbyites at the bottom of this post.

The Malayan Connection exhibition in Kirkby Library

One of the largest collections relating to the Malayan College is the personal archive of Margaret Hodge. This includes lots of photographs and college-related documents, along with her own lovely artwork. Here you can find portraits of college students and her beautiful illustrations for a Malayan government commissioned children’s book, Tijah, Mat Dan Nor. Also amongst her papers are her notebooks that include draft lesson plans and points for discussion with students. Miss Hodge’s archive, alongside the many donations and memories we are gathering from local people and college alumni, help us to gain a much clearer understanding of life at the college and the huge impact that Kirkby and the college had. Some of Margaret Hodge’s photographs can be see in the galleries in this blog and you can see more on our Flickr site.

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The first group of 149 Malayan students arrived at the college on 2 January 1952. For many students, this wasn’t just a place to gain a teaching qualification; it was also an opportunity to bring the many Malayan cultures, races, languages and religions together, looking towards the vision of a multi-ethnic, diverse and tolerant Malaya that they hoped for. Panduan embraced this optimism as a “challenge to work for a united, progressive and harmonious Malaya, having its roots in and drawing its sustenance from the [country’s] several diversities.”

The Malayan students had a busy social life. We know from the memories of former students and articles in Panduan that many of them would regularly visit local towns and cities and very much enjoyed eating fish and chips and to Kirkby’s pubs! Within the college, students were able to become part of a wide variety of clubs and societies, organising a packed calendar of dances, film nights, sporting and charity fund-raising activities. Drama and musical productions were also a fixture of college life, as well as celebrations of religious festivals that brought all of the students together to recognise and enjoy the many different faiths represented within the college.

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During the two year course, the students were expected to study a broad range of subjects, including English, Education and Mathematics. Alongside their studies, students also had to gain teaching experience and would be placed with schools across the region to develop their classroom skills. We are delighted that we have been contacted by people with childhood memories of meeting the young, Malayan teachers and being introduced to new cultures and even foods (one gentleman remembered seeing a pineapple for the first time!).

This project has helped us to learn so much more about the history of the college, the lives of the Malaysians who studied there and their impact on local communities. The exhibition is an opportunity for us to share this extraordinary history and remind people of Kirkby’s international significance and why it is held in such high affection by alumni of an exceptional and distinct college.

Rock The ARK: Capturing Knowsley’s Music Memories

Do you have an interesting story to tell of artists or groups that you’ve seen or heard? Maybe you were in a band, a choir, an orchestra, or remember songs your grandparents used to sing?

If so, the ARK (Archive Resource for Knowsley) wants to know about it!

Your story could be of an artist or group from Knowsley, or from anywhere else, so long as you yourself live or work in Knowsley (or have done in the past).

Classical, pop, rock, jazz, soul, folk, disco, blues, gospel, techno, house, hip-hop – whatever music has been a part of your life, it’s important to the ARK.

The ARK wants to find out what music means to people and build a community collection of memories and memorabilia that traces Knowsley’s music history.

Each of Knowsley’s libraries (Halewood, Huyton, Kirkby, Prescot and Stockbridge Village) has an exhibition with information about artists and groups from Knowsley during the past 100 years or so. Each library in Knowsley focuses on different artists so, if you can, go and visit them all.

In all five of the libraries, you can listen to a selection of songs from Knowsley artists and vote for your favourite – this will create a Knowsley’s Top 10! Don’t worry if you can’t make it to one of our libraries – you can also vote right here using our poll below and see videos of each of the songs to help you choose your favourites.

How about sharing your music memories in writing with us to help us build our music memories archive? There are lots of ways to share your memories with us. You can send any memories to us via email or post (see below). Or, if you prefer, you can also share your stories on ARK’s Facebook and Twitter pages and use #RockTheARK so we can find you! Alternatively, you can leave comments below this blog. Every so often, we’ll be adding some of the best stories to our Rock The ARK music timeline – take a look!

Or maybe you’d be willing to be recorded talking about your music memories and experiences? If so, the ARK would love to hear from you – these recordings will be added to our oral history archive collections and be preserved for future generations!

The ARK is also keen to capture any memorabilia that you might have, and be willing to part with or share a copy of, such as photographs, tickets, flyers, posters etc. Help us create a wonderful resource that will mean people in the future will discover why music was important to you. We’ll add #RockTheARK images to our Flickr page so that they’re all in one place and can be easily viewed.

Rock The ARK is one of the ARK’s community history projects funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Everything that is captured during the project will be kept in Knowsley Archives for posterity.

As well as social media, here are the other ways to contact the ARK:

Tel: 0151 443 4365

Email: infoheritage@knowsley.gov.uk

Post: Rock The ARK, Archive Resource for Knowsley, 1st Floor, Kirkby Centre, Norwich Way, Kirkby. L32 8XY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all about the analogue…

During our recent stock take, we uncovered a forgotten slide show presentation mounted in a carousel. After a quick inspection, we realised that we also had a script, dated 1990, filed away in a cabinet which just might offer information on the slides. Indeed, the script described, in great detail, the listed buildings and conservation areas of Knowsley as they were in 1990, compiled by T.W. Scragg. Tom was for many years the Library Service’s greatly respected Principal Reference Librarian, who during his career had taken a great interest in local history and was something of an expert in the field.

 

This view of Market Place, Prescot in 1809 is from a painting presented by F W Halsall Esq. and is one of the slides in the presentation

Fortunately, Mr Scragg had left a complete list of the slides alongside the script and we found, to our great delight, that the images matched perfectly – to a point. The carousel was full, but according to the printed material, there were still a further 11 slides, representing the townships of Tarbock and Halewood, missing from the sequence. What to do? There are many slides in the archive, a number of which are unlisted. In time, we will catalogue all of the slides, but in that moment, it seemed to be an almost insurmountable task to identify and retrieve the missing images.

So began the process of reviewing the collection, starting with a box of miscellaneous items curiously entitled ‘Somebody’s Holiday Snaps.’ Within the box was a folder of obviously library focused material and a small slide box which was unlabelled, but contained individual slides bearing Library Service reference numbers. Could these be the missing slides from Mr Scragg’s tour of Knowsley? An inspection of the slides revealed that they were indeed the elusive 11, and we promptly set about reuniting the collection.

Not all of the listed sites in Knowsley are buildings: the Stocks at Cronton, pictured in 1906, are Grade II listed and feature in the presentation

It is fascinating to compare the properties singled out for consideration 27 years ago with Historic England’s National Heritage List for England, the current register of nationally protected historic buildings and sites in England. In Knowsley, there are some 121 listed buildings and monuments, ranging from the Grade II listed Dovecote – known locally as the Pigeon House – on Whitefield Drive in Kirkby and the grand family seat of the Earls of Derby, Knowsley Hall (Grade 2*) to the only Grade I building in the borough, the Church of St Mary on Church Street, Prescot. To break the numbers down, there is 1 Grade I building (St Mary’s, Prescot); 4 Grade II* (Church of St Michael, Huyton; St Chad’s Church, Kirkby; St Mary’s Church, Knowsley and Knowsley Hall) and the remaining 116 listed at Grade II. Some of the buildings noted by Mr Scragg have since been demolished or re-purposed whereas others, such as St Chad’s, have seen their heritage status enhanced. The presentation gives us an opportunity to reflect on how the borough’s building stock has evolved through the intervening years and how our historic buildings add value to our understanding of the past and offer a real,tangible link to our heritage.

Another image from the slide show: the Norman font, St Chad’s Church, Kirkby

So: we aim to recreate the presentation in the ARK to share with local historians, using the original script, slides and slide projector, as part of Local History Month. The 1990 Pop-Up Slide Show will take place on Wednesday 19th April 2017, starting at 10:30am until 12:30pm. The session will run for up to 2 hours, with light refreshments available and an opportunity to discuss comparisons with today’s landscape and to explore original archive materials.

The event is free of charge, but as space is limited in the ARK search room, you can avoid disappointment by booking a place in advance. Contact the ARK, 1st Floor, The Kirkby Centre, Norwich Way, Kirkby L32 8XYon 0151 443 4291 or email infoheritage@knowsley.gov.uk.