Memories of Froyle School 1906
The Beeches in 1947
The Beeches (felled in 1996)
At five years old I went to Froyle Villlage School with sister Edith and brother Willie, in May 1905. No mother came with us in those days. We walked through the orchard of Sylvester's Farm. Lower Froyle, then into the little meadow over the gate into the big meadow now the Village Recreation Ground, where then father’s cows were grazing. I was a little scared when the cows stopped eating and looked at us. Then over, or open, the next gate into the Upper Froyle Road. We must be sure to shut the gate if we opened it, the cows would get out, then we would all be in trouble with father. There we met up with many of the Lower Froyle children and walked the mile to School. The road in the summer was dusty and stony, in winter wet and muddy.

There was a plantation of beech trees on our left going to school; we usually walked in the road. The girls had wooden hoops and skipping ropes and the boys had iron hoops, in winter. Returning from school we made paths in between the trees, which were very beautiful; no boy or girl damaged the trees, and they are there to this day.

Arriving at school, we entered when the door was open; no lining up outside, and hung up our hats and coats. The girls always wore hats and the boys caps, and we put our dinner baskets down in the corridor. No-one took anything which did not belong to them. Our dinners were always safe.

The school had three rooms. and the infants had a gallery, where we had our dinner. Some of the children were very poor in those days. We farmer’s children had plenty to eat and I can see Edith giving a piece of cake or bread and butter to a child, who she knew had very little to eat. We sometimes took hard boiled eggs with bread and butter.

Unfortunately, our brother died in February, 1906, at the age of 7½ years. This was when I began to stammer. I must have missed him so very much going to school. and playing in the big farm house. As I grew older. the stammer was worse; the Head Master had no understanding of what I was going through. The doctor ordered that I spend the summer term, 1913, at home, which I did, feeding the chicken, collecting eggs and helping in the dairy and the washing up. Then I went to South Farnborough High School. as a boarder for two years. I won a medal at Froyle School for perfect attendance and good conduct from the Hampshire County Council, with a bar 1912-1913, so I completed two years without missing a day. I still have the medal at 89 years old. Sometimes in the dinner hour - we had one-and-a-half hours - the older children would run to Mill Court to see the snowdrops and the river, returning in time when we heard the bell ring at 1.30 p.m.

Edith remained at the village school until she was 15; she was a monitor. I can see her now, counting each class with a slate and chalk in her hand. Her total had to agree with the Head Master. She was very tall and good looking with fair curly long hair. She was five years older than me.

The Vicar, the Revd. Wm. Annesley, came to the school every Friday morning in term time for half an hour and instructed us on ‘ancient church history’. Each child in the top classes was expected to write an essay which I did and won a book prize, Everyman's History of the English Church, dated 1909.

The Head Master was a good pianist. He taught us many patriotic songs, the National Anthem, and many other songs. Many hymns included ‘Now the day is over, night is drawing nigh, shadows of the evening, steal across the sky’, which we sang in the winter evenings at 4 p.m. We also started the day with a prayer and a hymn. He also taught us the 10 Commandments, ‘Thou shalt not steal’, and memory tells me that no-one did, and the Catechism, as in the Prayer Book, and the Creed.

Children who lived a long way away were allowed to leave school at 3.45 in Winter. The remainder left at 4 p.m., even in the darkest winter days. No mother came to collect us, we all walked to Lower Froyle without any troubles or muggings.

There was a competition in arranging wild flowers. Sister Edith won first prize several times. She had a celery glass for her arrangement. The first prize was 3s. I won the 6th prize on one occasion 6d. Many of the children used jam jars for their flowers, they also won prizes. On the same day the Fair came to the village in the field behind the play grounds. So all spectators walked through the grounds into the field beyond. What excitement, the Roundabouts, with their loud music, Swing Boats, Hoopla Stall and many other stalls of different character. Races for the Froyle school children, both boys and girls.

Now the Christmas Party at the school. The rich folk at Upper Froyle gave the children a party. We all sat in the same seats as in class. The food was good but the Christmas cake was so rich, some of us gave Rose, who sat next to me, our surplus cake and she filled her pockets to take home to give to her family a little Christmas fare. Then we were sent out into the playground, the large doors between the two classrooms were opened, then organised dances and games, this was great fun. We were all given an orange and the very poor children, food which had not been eaten. So we all walked home in the dark, every one arriving safely.

When I was a pupil at the village school there were over 100 children. In 1986 the school was closed, only 26 children attended. The village has completely changed, and even the Lower Froyle shop has closed.
Lilian Smither 1989