Memorabilia 8
Form Prize
Item from Sid Kenningham. Thank you, Sid.
In this case the Form Prize was a book entitled England in the 19th Century by David Thompson.
Miss. Metcalfe's Cookery Book
Look what I found in the bottom of a drawer at my Mother's! It's a recipe book which Miss. Metcalfe issued to her first and second form girls for the sum of half a crown (22½ p). Inside the blue linen cover is a list of the sixteen editions of the book, dating from June 1914 to the eighth reprint in May 1955, when 25,000 books were printed. As you see from the front cover, it was only available from the Secretary, Battersea Polytechnic, and this instruction is repeated on the flyleaf inside. I wonder, did Miss Metcalfe have any connection with Battersea Poly. or was the book on a West Riding Education Committee list?
There is a Contents reference page at the front, and a fairly comprehensive Index at the back of the book. One of the recipes in the "Broth" section caught my eye. Sheep's Head Broth requires 1 Sheep's head, 1 turnip, 2 carrots, 2 leeks, 2oz barley, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, pepper and salt and 3 quarts water. Full instructions are given for the preparation of the broth, and after 2 hours' cooking when the head is tender, we are instructed to lift out the head and reserve it for Sheep's Head Stew. Other long-forgotten items include the making of Calf's Foot Jelly, Wine Whey, Peptonised Gruel and on the same page as the Rock Cakes - Vinegar Cake.
My book falls open at pages 136-137, which are stained with the inexpert splashings of an 11 year old's attempts at cake-making. The stitches in the centre of the pages even have traces of flour in them, and I can see my pencilled alterations, as instructed by Miss. Metcalfe, on the Rock Cakes and the Raspberry Buns recipes. I suspect that during the war years, when lard, sugar and margarine were rationed, recipes used these ingredients sparingly. Rationing ended in 1952, and so by 1955, Miss. Metcalfe probably felt more inclined to increase the amounts of these staples in her recipes.
Rock Cakes
½lb flour, ½ teaspoonful salt, 1½teaspoonfuls (changed to 2) baking powder, Pinch ginger or mixed spice, 1 egg, Milk to mix, 3oz (changed to 4oz) fat, 3oz (changed to 4oz) sugar, 4oz currants, 1oz candied peel. In pencil I wrote coconut or cocoa as variations in place of fruit..
1. Follow the rubbing in method.
2. Pile in rough heaps on a greased baking tray.
3. Bake in a hot oven for about 20mins. Reg. 8 or 450 degrees F.
(At the side of the Rock Cakes recipe I had written, "This makes 16. Cost 1/6d. Bring a tin to take them home in.")
Raspberry Buns
½lb flour, 2oz (changed to 4oz) castor sugar, ½ gill milk, 2 to 3oz (changed to 4oz) margarine, Pinch of salt, 1 small egg, 1½ teaspoonfuls (changed to 2 tsp.) baking powder, Raspberry jam.
1. Sieve the flour and salt into a basin. Rub in the fat and add the sugar and baking powder.
2. Beat the egg, add the milk and mix into the flour to form a stiff paste.
3. Cut into 6 or 8 pieces. Form each into a ball, make a small hole in the centre, and in this put a ¼ teaspoonful of raspberry jam.
4. Close the opening, turn the bun over and place it on a greased baking tray.
5. Brush the top with water and sprinkle with castor sugar.
6. Bake in a hot oven for about 20 minutes. Reg. 7 or 430 degrees F.
I recall that between step 2 and step 3 in the making of our Raspberry Buns, we were shown how to make a sausage-shape of about 2" diameter, with flat ends. With a knife we lightly marked out 6 or 8 sections of the stiff paste, and then when we were satisfied they were equal, we cut into the mixture to form each bun. Well, that was the theory. In practice they turned out to be far from equal, and when taken from the oven, a lot of the jam had escaped during cooking, to form a crisp brown crust on the baking tray. Still, they smelled good!
Elsewhere in the book I found the recipe for Shortbread, and when we made this, the mixture cooked on a very low heat for over an hour. I remember having a double lesson of Domestic Science, and having to leave my tin of cooked shortbread cooling on a wire rack while we progressed to our next lesson. At the end of the day I collected my shortbread, put it into my wicker basket, covered it with a tea towel, and took it home for tea.
Next year my book will be half a century old! Does anyone else have this book lying in the bottom of a drawer?
Sheila Kelsall, HGS 1955-62
French Prize 1960 a
Never having received any prize other than the ones I ran for, I assume the majority of our browsers, like me, would have no knowledge of the thread of organisation within School management which catered for this. Who purchased the prizes to be awarded, I wonder, and from where? Who decided on the titles of the books which were presented? Who organised the medals and cups?
Sheila Kelsall
Dear Sheila,
I still have my French Prize! I am pretty sure that subject prizes were awarded for the highest mark in GCE. (You will remember that we had marks and not grades.) I had the highest mark in French and tied for English with either Godfrey Wass, Wray Vamplew or Mick Harrison. (It was Mick. Sheila) Whichever, he was awarded the English prize. We were asked to choose a book - I chose the Oxford Book of English Verse - and it was presented on Speech Day along with our GCE's. The school badge is embossed in gold on the cover and the details are on a label pasted inside. You can see that they made a mistake on mine and put the wrong form! Canon Duckett had the grace to sign but the Headmaster used a rubber stamp. What I cannot remember is how we were informed that we had won. Hope this is useful. Best wishes,
Dee Tyrrell
Everything had to be named
Doris reminds us that in 1944, Cash's name tapes were in short supply.