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Mrs E. Kempton remembers Swalwell School During WWI
As Emily Ryle, I began Swalwell School in April 1915 and as many of my contemporaries will recall, we had a lovable, but firm, teacher in the reception class. Miss Ada Morrison was "mother" to generations of Swalwell children. This was during the First World War and we were taught at a very early age to knit double khaki scarves for the soldiers. Food was in very short supply and I well remember queuing, before school, for meat and jam. What a thrill it was to get a large jar of rhubarb and ginger jam! I remember clearly the day when Mr Sutcliffe, headmaster of the "big" school, paid a visit, dressed in his officer's uniform.
Part of the Peace Celebrations was a fancy dress parade by scholars in the schoolyard and on this occasion, each boy and girl received a Peace mug, which I still treasure.
[Mrs Kempton's mother, Emily Home, taught in the Infants Dept. at Swalwell School from 1895-98.]