Memories of Belmont in c. 1949.to 1953 by Edward Harding.

If my memory lets me down I have no doubt that there are a few still alive out there and others who may have a few more marbles left than me who will put me right.

I was sent to Belmont in 1949 at the age of 12 after failing my scholarship. I was nearly a year behind in my studies due to being off with a ruptured appendicitis (11 plus of the day).My father who was a very old fashioned Victorian style parent maintained that if he was now going have to pay for me to stay at St Brendan's College in Bristol then he might as well go the whole hog and make it boarding school. Belmont was recommended by our parish priest Fr Michael Reidy.

My first term was of course straight after the summer holidays and I was duly delivered to Hereford by my father, who was a farmer / butcher, in the back of an old Bradford Jowett van sitting on a three legged milking stool. (My mother rode shotgun) Father had a decent car (an Austin Hereford) but with his farming mentality decided that I wasn't worth the extra cost of the fuel. This thing would reach 40 mph if the wind was behind it. The noise was awesome from the twin cylinder horizontally opposed engine. The journey from Bristol was in those days quite a trek as there were no motorways. We arrived around tea time and I was met by my then Cantiloupe house master Father Martin Wolf. There were only two houses in those days as the school was very small with under 100 pupils. New boys started a day earlier than the rest of the school which gave them a chance to settle in. My parents sneaked away while I was being shown around so there I was now on my own. This was the first time in my life that I had been away from home other than my stay in hospital and I was very uneasy and homesick. My first evening was not enhanced by the fact that I crossed swords with an aggressive individual (no names as he is still alive and we have discussed it recently) who was not prepared to wait for his turn on the snooker table. I had been advised to walk away from such confrontations but he saw the best way of settling it was a hearty punch in the back of the neck while I was walking away. Added to this discomfort the first meal was like all the food there pretty awful and that night I had great difficulty sleeping thinking about the long sentence ahead of me.

The next day the rest of the school arrived and the dormitory filled up. The Prefect in charge of my dormitory was a big boy called Pierre Jabale (later to become Brother Mark). The dormitory was very big and the Housemaster Fr Martin had a cubicle at the top end near the door. The partition wall was only about eight feet high so he was able to hear anything that was going on. I soon made a few friends and as time went by became less and less homesick.

Being only a couple of years after the war many things were still on ration. Having lived on a farm we had the very best of food and in quantity and my mother was a super cook We boys had the margarine while the staff had the butter. Now this stuff was nothing like the Stork, Flora or "I cant believe it's not butter" type of margarine. This stuff was made out of whale oil and it was just one up from axle grease. Everything was cooked to death and quantities were designed to keep one lean and hungry. It was necessary therefore to bolster ones diet with food parcels from home. This was all kept in one's personal locker and after each meal tins of baked beans, corned beef and sardines were opened and consumed. There was one way however of getting a little extra and that was to wait in the refectory until the trolleys were brought out from the monastery refectory en route to the kitchen. They usually had left overs, which included real butter and toast crusts.

There was a tuck shop but the quality of the merchandise left much to be desired. Again sweets were still on ration which was the main reason for the shortage of real confectionery. Boys were elected as tuck shop attendants on a rota basis. Our pocket money was lodged with the Housemaster and we drew around two shillings and sixpence (twelve and a half new pence) each week. To put this in proportion in 1949 a gallon of petrol was only two shillings and sixpence (twelve and a half new pence) and the average working wage was around four pounds per week. A new top of the range Austin was under £1000.

The school was very cold in the winter. The old heating system was only effective if one was within a few feet of a radiator. The only real way to get warmed up was to sit on the radiators but if a member of staff passed by one was ordered off as it was 'bad for ones health'. We found this hard to understand so one day I asked why it was 'bad for ones health'. The answer was "It will give you piles." Needles to say I did not know what piles were but I did not dare ask. I was later informed by one of my friends.

My previous school St Brendan's was run by the Christian Brothers so Belmont proved to be an easier ride on the instant discipline front..At least one had the chance of missing a beating at Belmont as the penance system of three and your out was fairer than the on the spot thrashing with a tailor made leather at the hands of a Christian Brother. During the first term at Belmont I collected my first three penances which one had to collect from the Housemaster. Penances were a relatively trivial task that took little time to complete. It could be a short essay or the translation of a passage into or from Latin. When complete it was then handed in and registered in the 'big book'. If three penances were collected then it resulted a beating. This was carried out in the Housemaster's study in pyjamas just before bed time. One bent over a low armchair and gripped the arms. A quick inspection to see that no under clothing or padding was present and the drums rolled. Depending upon how many over the three penances one got was the decider of how many strokes of the birch one received.

There was an occasion after a locker raid when the Head Fr Gleeson assembled the lower school in the school theatre and one after another he laid into a whole battalion of offenders on stage who were found in possession of smoking material. His last stroke was just as enthusiastic as the last. I was lucky as I had run out about a week before.

There were many activities outside school hours. There was a printing club run by the Kemble Housemaster, a badminton club and a railway club run by Father Martin which I was invited to join. It was sited in the woods on the far side of the drive and the track ran round in the open. The clubhouse was a shed with an old fashioned stove on which we could make tea and toast. There was rather a shortage of rolling stock and most of the time was spent on maintenance The engine was steam driven and the gauge as I recall was about four inches. The biggest incentive was of course the chance to eat and drink and this is where the private rations came in very handy.

Father Martin also used to regularly invite three or four boys after hours to 'Coffee Parties'. These were held in his study where he served coffee and allowed the boys to smoke cigarettes. I attended about three of these in my time there. I was also one night invited by Fr Martin to accompany him to assist in the 'borrowing' of a shelf which was fixed to the wall of the badminton club. He apparently wanted it for the railway club. It was conducted by torch light. I often thought that this was strange to involve a pupil in such skulduggery.

Fr. Martin ran the school cinema and he regularly recruited assistants of which I was one. The system was 16mm and there was only one projector so a long film could have several intervals while a new reel was loaded. The projection room was naturally kept in the dark and on the switchboard was a socket for a low wattage bulb. This bulb just gave enough light for the projectionist to carry out his duties in preparing the next reel and rewinding the previous one. One evening this bulb failed and Fr Martin extracted it and tried to fit a replacement in the dark. He could not see so ran his hand over the console. He found the socket by inadvertently sticking his finger in the socket. There was a bright blue flash and he flew backwards at a great rate of knots. He survived albeit with a blackened hand and a very wide eyed expression. Electricity was supplied by a diesel generator, which often failed. It became so overworked that it was eventually replaced by a monster, which was housed in a barn in the farm area of the monastery. After that there was very little problem with the supply.

Another activity was the Combined Cadet Force which assembled one afternoon per week. We were taught square bashing and spent most days marching up and down the drive and doing arms drill with world war one Lee Enfield 303 rifles. The school boasted quite a substantial armoury which included a Bren gun. Map reading was taught when the weather was wet and occasionally we were allowed to shoot on the school rifle range, which was at the top of the sports field. There were two levels of qualification called Certificate A Part 1 and Part 2. On achieving part one a half red star was sewn onto the sleeve of the tunic and then on achieving part two a full red star replaced the half. Uniforms were very ill fitting but we were all very proud to wear them. This training was very good grounding for National Service when one left school. Rugby was a religion at Belmont and one played and or trained most days from just after lunch until three o'clock. I was never happy in the pack and liked being a three-quarter especially on the wing as far away from any trouble as possible. I played in a few away but never achieved any colours. Now cricket was definitely not my thing. Not only was it boring as if one wasn't a lot of good one was placed on the boundary where very few balls reached. My batting was a disaster, as every ball had to be whacked. I could not play a defensive game and this meant that I was caught out very quickly. All this sport was backed up by good physical training which consisted of cross country running. The course was around the area known as Clehonger. It seemed like a hundred miles. This was particularly wearing and I was usually a tail ender.

Music and drama were also on the agenda during my time there and I played the part of a girl in the Pirates of Penzance. A photo of this is on the Belmont Memorabilia site. Having to dress up as a girl was as one can imagine a bit of trial in a boys school. I had several offers of a hot date, which I declined. The production was a great success and prefect Barratt (later to enter the monastery) played a very admirable Modern Major General.

At Easter we only went home for our holidays on the Easter Monday as pre Easter was spent in retreat. This meant that we missed out on the family Easter Egg exchange albeit we were given them after when we arrived home. Unlike other schools we were not allowed to go home for half term. We stayed at the school and had more free time. The town was off limits but one could occasionally obtain an exeat. Pocket money was drawn and we walked into town unsupervised. It could be a trip to the cinema, shopping or a visit to the tea rooms. When parents came to visit at half term one was also allowed out for a special treat. I only received two visits while at Belmont one was from my parents and the other was my eldest sister who came to say goodbye as she was leaving to work in the USA. On both occasions we ate at the Green Dragon in Hereford.

The half term before Christmas 1952 my father made an unexpected visit with my mother to tell me that he was unwell and that I had to leave after Christmas and join the family business. I left at Easter 1953 which ironically was just one term before my exams. So I would never know if I could have passed them or not. My departure was a non event and I arrived home to take up my training in the business. Father died in the December of 1954 after a long and painful illness.

I returned to Belmont in 1961 as a visitor and was very surprised at the many changes. One of my piers John Flemming had joined the monastery and he acted as my guide, I was invited to stay for the evening meal in the staff refectory and there saw a rather unwell Fr Gleeson now Abbott. Br James Oakley one of my teachers gave me a copy of his book Haunted Ground. The cinema was running that night and Fr Martin was still in the driving seat albeit with updated technology.

The last time I visited Belmont was in 2005 and was again surprised at the dramatic change. I ate at the lodge and was given a conducted tour of what was left of the old school. I have never attended an old boys gathering as there were only a couple of names that I recognised. It would be nice to know who is still out there from my years. Perhaps this could be the start of a newsletter "Voices from the past".