Prep School Immediately After World War Two

A Memory of Stubbington.

Although I come from a professional musical family my father was a career naval officer so perhaps it was not surprising I was sent to Stubbington. Arriving as a boarder aged seven in 1946 was quite a tough experience. The School was steeped in largely naval tradition, exercised strict discipline with corporal punishment and had an air of formality. Looking back I guess it had a place in society at the time but would now be regarded as a complete anachronism. I recall the library being filled with the photos of numerous distinguished old boys including 4 holders of the VC, with pride of place given to the Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott. The games fields were very extensive. As time went on I grew to like the place and have many fond memories. Such a shame the old main building had to be demolished (see Hampshire library archives) but today the grounds seem to be well used for public recreation. I still have a personal archive of that time (which I am happy to share with anyone interested) and commend the reading of A History of Stubbington by Colin Prestidge (Warsash Press 1996) to which I contributed an article. I left in 1952 to go on to Sherborne.