Ledbury Grammar School Formerly Upper Hall

A Memory of Ledbury.

Mum was evacuated to Ledbury in 1940 when she was aged 15. She spent two very happy years living with the lovely Preece family.

Mum attended Ledbury Grammar School, the 'Country House' in the Frith postcard. Originally called Upper Hall, it had been established by local farmers to educate their children.

The school building stood in acres of land. There was a lake with an island in the middle, and one day Mum and her classmates went to explore the island. The only way to reach it was by crawling across the water along some iron pipes. When they reached the island they discovered some dogs’ graves.

Mum's classroom was at the top of the building – the walls were covered in carved oak panelling, and it had its own staircase. Her classroom window is on the top floor of the right-hand wing in the photo. One day a boy dropped Mum's pencil case out of the window, and it landed on the brick ledge just below the window sill. Mum climbed out onto the ledge to retrieve it, only to be caught by the headmaster, Mr. Greaves.

Mum was a member of the Girls’ Training Corps, where she learnt about first aid and hygiene, and took part in fund raising events. They often helped with Home Guard practices, and remembers being ‘rescued’ out of a building for a Fire Brigade drill.

Mum and her friend Brenda also helped in the canteen at the weekly training nights of the Ledbury ATC (Air Training Corps). During War Weapons Week the girls, in their GTC uniforms, took part in a parade through Ledbury with an RAF band and local units including the Home Guard, the Red Cross, the ATC and GTC. The film star George Arliss was the guest of honour, and he signed Mum's autograph book.