- Introduction
- Air Raid Precautions
- Home Guard
- Agriculture
- Education
- Womens Land Army
- Evacuees
- War Service
- Social Events
- End of Hostilities
Clicking on most pictures will show a larger version
Teacher Doris Carr riding home to Lee Gate from Malham Tarn School
(1939)
Malham Tarn School 1943, the teacher Miss Smith with Bernice and Harry Beresford, Margaret Carr and Robert Harrison holding the cup for National Savings.
Malhamdale at War
Education
At the outbreak of war Malhamdale had three schools in operation, at Kirkby
Malham, Airton and Malham Moor. The teachers at Airton were Miss Collin
and Miss Carter and at Malham Moor it was Doris Carr until her marriage
in 1942, when she was followed by Miss Billows and finally Miss Smith.
Doris Carr travelled from Lee Gate daily by pony. (See Evacuees).
At Kirkby Malham, Marion Cockerill was the Assistant Mistress throughout
the war, with Eleanor Bramley followed by Kathleen Hawkins and finally
Ann Turner as Headmistress. John Geldard used to collect Miss Cockerill
from Bell Busk Station every Monday morning in the horse and trap.
One of the first things to happen after war was declared was that the
schools were visited by the ARP warden, and each child was issued with
a gas mask in a cardboard box which had to be carried at all times. They
were given some ARP drill, but as there were no air raid shelters, the
children at Malham Moor were each designated a rock to hide behind in
the event of an air raid!
At Airton in the event of an alert, the old
mill bell was rung and the children, complete with gas masks, were hustled
down the hill to crowd under the stone river bridge for extra protection.
School trips were cancelled because of lack of petrol, so school outings
were limited to nature walks and picnics. Many children were expected
to help out on the farms because of lack of labour, and a holiday was
given in October to enable children to help with potato picking.
Primary school children were encouraged to collect things to help the
war effort such as rosehips which were made into rosehip syrup, a rich
source of Vitamin C, jam jars for re-cycling, sheep’s wool caught
on the hedges and fences and sphagnum moss used for dressings. Nothing
was wasted. National Savings Groups operated through the schools, and
children took money every week until sufficient had been saved to exchange
for a Certificate, 15/- or £1. Cups were presented to schools which
did well in these collections.
At this time most children completed all their education at the village schools, although a few children from the Dale went to Ermysteds Grammar School or the Girls High School for their secondary education, travelling daily by bus. Small groups of girls from the High School went to the Food Office on Otley Street to help with the allocation of ration books. Children of every age were expected to contribute to the war effort in some way.
