School History 1928

Historical Background

The year of 1928 was memorable for a great number of "Firsts". The day after New Year's Day 1928 marked the first religious Daily Service to be broadcast by BBC radio, and nearly eighty years later it is still running. The first payments under the new contributory pension scheme were made throughout the country in the first week of 1928. Nearly half a million recipients, men and women aged between 65 and 70, were entitled to 10s a week under the Contributory Pensions Act of 1925.

A Bill was introduced in March 1928 giving women the vote on the same terms as men, and after little opposition in Parliament it became law on 2nd July 1928. As a result, all women over the age of 21 could now vote in elections.

The first Budget broadcast, explaining the policies, was made on BBC radio by Winston Churchill, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Amelia Earhart became the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane, and Alexander Fleming made the announcement of the discovery of Penicillin.

The Oxford English Dictionary was first published in 1928 after decades of work on it, and D.H. Lawrence published "Lady Chatterley's Lover" in Florence, in order to avoid censorship in Britain.

The first 'Mickey Mouse' films were produced by Walt Disney in America, where in this year Herbert Hoover was elected Republican 31st President.

Familiar to many people today, the introduction of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Fruit and Nut chocolate took place in 1928, when the poster appeared announcing that there were "1½ Glasses of English Full Cream Milk in Every ½ lb of Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate".

The 1928 Olympic Winter Games, hosted by St. Moritz in Switzerland were the first to be held in a different nation to the Summer Games of the same year, with 464 athletes from 25 countries taking part. The Norwegian, Sonja Henie, caused a sensation by winning the women's figure skating at the age of just 15, a record which would stand for 74 years.

Later in the year, the Amsterdam Olympic Games established a few "firsts". Women were allowed for the first time to take part in any track and field, or gymnastic event, and the American Betty Robinson made history by winning the first track event, the 100 metres. The lighting of the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony, and the protocol of Greek athletes entering the stadium first, and the host nation last were established. With 28 nations competing, Asian athletes claimed gold medals for the first time. British athletes gained 3 gold medals, one of which was won by Lord David Burghley in the 400 metres hurdles. In the swimming, Johnny Weissmuller of the USA won the 110 metres freestyle, and later went on to star as Tarzan in films. Mention must also be made of the Ladies' Rope Climbing event, which was won by the French team.

a. A Literary Meeting, b. Mr. Bibby's "Pompeii", c. A Debate

a. A Literary Meeting
The first recorded event of 1928 at Hemsworth Secondary School was the delivery of two papers at the Literary Society's meeting held on Friday, January 27th. They were entitled, "Hardy's Rustics" by Kathleen Jagger, and "Selections from Browning" by Miriam Wass.

b. Mr. Bibby's "Pompeii"
The first recorded event of 1928 at Hemsworth Secondary School was the lecture entitled "Pompeii" given in the new school hall on the Wednesday evening of February 1st. The price of admission was 6d for adults and 3d for children, and Mr. Bibby's talk was illustrated with lantern slides.

c. A Debate
On Friday, February 13th, Mr. Hyde chaired a Debating Society discussion proposed by James Keenan and entitled "More has been contributed to Human Progress by Youth than by Age." Keenan showed how Youth excelled in sports and matters necessitating physical endurance, and pointed out the enterprise of Youth in the colonies.

John Mellor, the opposer, gave a comprehensive list of great men whose best work was completed in old age, especially mentioning the Apostles. H. Brookes, the proposer's seconder, averred that old people spend their time thinking of their youth. She also stressed the excellence of Youth in music. Conversely, Elizabeth Austin, the opposer's seconder, considered that the wider experience of Age made old people less hasty and more considerate, and that all young men who had made a name in the world, owed their success to the old folks. The debate was then thrown open to general discussion, which concluded that the Young were the innovators, and the Aged were consolidators.

Result: AYES....20 NOES.......8. The motion was thus carried by 8 votes 

 

Painters and their Pictures

This was the title of the lecture to be given by Mr. Bush on Thursday March 1st, commencing, as did all the public lectures in this series, in the school hall, at 7pm. An unforeseen change in the programme, however, meant that Mr. Meggs presented "Art in everyday life", with hints on the value of art and how to recognise the faults in badly designed articles. It was obvious that not everyone agreed with Mr. Meggs' choices between good and bad examples of art - all the more reason to give careful thought to one's tastes. 

Schubert and his Music

Miss Morgan Jones, a member of staff at the school, presented her talk on Schubert on Wednesday evening, March 14th. 

 

"The Songs of Birds"

Two weeks after the "Pompeii" lecture, on Wednesday evening, February 15th Professor Garstang of Leeds University (and the husband of one of the school Governors) gave an interesting lecture in the school hall on birdsongs. Once again, the talk was illustrated by the use of lantern slides.

It must be assumed that at some time during the latter part of March 1928 Mr. Dodd's lecture on "Roman Britain" which was postponed in January, was finally given.

Lantern slides were images on glass created by several means (hand painted, lithographic, or photographic) which were then projected from a lightproof box by means of a light source and lenses onto a screen - usually a white sheet or white wall. Originally called the magic lantern, it is the oldest form of slide projector. The standard size for British lantern slides was three and a quarter inches square (approx. 8.25cm square). 

 

Local Entertainment

During the early part of 1928, two of the local cinemas offered varied programmes of silent films for the film goers. These parish magazine advertisements show that Mondays and Thursdays were the days to look forward to a new film. 

 

a. Is it a Menace?, b. Empire Day, May 24th 1928

a. Is it a Menace?
The Friday debate of March 2nd asked the question, "The present popularity of the Cinema is a menace to the community." Fred Williamson, in proposing the motion, deplored the pleasure loving tendencies of the nation, emphasising the unhealthiness and low moral standard of the Cinemas, and their detrimental effect on the rising generation. He earnestly maintained that the educational value of the Cinemas could be replaced by other institutions.

In opposition to this, V. Dodds considered that the scenery and music of the Cinemas had considerable influence on the minds of the public. The contact with new ideas and everyday events shown on the films developed the mind and increased both general and specific knowledge.

Mary Hodgson, in seconding the motion, pointed out the evil moral influence of American films, especially as regards religion. She contended that films did not exercise the imagination. Leslie Bancroft, the opposer's seconder, showed how films developed a feeling of sympathy, and he maintained that the effect of the morals of the films depended on each person individually.

The ensuing general discussion mentioned that the popularity of the Cinemas was due to laziness. Complaints were made of the dubious effects of "Love" films on young people.

Result: AYES.....19 NOES.......7. The motion was carried by 12 votes.

b. Empire Day, May 24th 1928
Local schoolchildren of all ages were encouraged to sing patriotic songs and salute the flag on this day of celebration throughout the Empire. Started as a British Imperial Celebration of the end of the Boer War, each year on the birthday of Queen Victoria, towns were decorated with patriotic flags and colourful bunting, and brass band performances commemorated Empire Day. Musical plays involving "Britannia" were staged, and both primary and secondary-aged children learned about the many countries linked to Britain in a unique commonwealth of nations. The monarchy in the form of King George V and Queen Mary was at the centre of the celebrations, and processions and the National Anthem were strong features of the day in every country involved. 

 

Optional Alternatives

The long held opinion of Ald. Price in 1928 was that secondary schools were regarded far too highly as places for the creation of parsons and teachers. He welcomed Mr. Jenkinson's proposed alternative of optional two year courses of arts, applied science and commerce for third and fourth year students, which would lead up to the school certificate. In explaining his support for this new initiative, Ald. Price stated that in the previous year of 1927, 38 students had completed their education, and of these, only four had progressed to teacher training colleges. What had become of the other 34? In such a time of high unemployment, he felt that the school curriculum had not been broad enough, especially in the Hemsworth district, which relied heavily on the mining industry for the employment of school leavers. The new applied science course in particular would equip students for entry into this industry with a better chance of success in the more important positions. Parents had been consulted on this matter, and the Governors decided to ask the County Authority to appoint an additional master with an engineering qualification, who would be needed when the number of students increased during the school year. 

 

Comings and Goings

In June 1928 the part time Art master, Mr. H. Taylor, resigned. He had gained an appointment as Art master at Scarborough High School, starting in September 1928. Miss Morgan Jones the Music mistress also handed in her resignation, and after interviewing three candidates, the Governors appointed Miss Phyllis Wright L.R.A.M. who had recently completed a teachers' training course at the Royal Academy of Music.