1920's Attending School in Ireland

1920's Attending School in Ireland

I attended school from the age of three until I was about 12. I asked my brother Edmund to take me with him at age 3 which seems so very young now as I look back on it. We of course, would walk to school. My brother would take me by the hand.


My grades at school were always good, and I always passed my yearly exams. Apparently my health was poor, because I remember having to miss some time at school, because of attending a clinic (many years later my brother told me that it was a Tuberculosis clinic). The fact that it was a Tuberculosis clinic must have truly worried my parents, my mother had died when I was very young of tuberculosis, Father and my new mother (Aunt Essie) must have thought they were going to loose me as well.


I was always scared on the days I attended the clinic. I would naturally be late for school, the other children would whisper "you're going to get it" (back in those days it would not have been unusual to really 'get it' as corporal punishment was handed out as the teacher deemed needed. I was very embarrassed attending school, because I had to wear heavy red flannel under my chin and around the top of my head. I had an operation when I was 8 years old, to have a gland removed from under my chin. This left me with a bright red scar as long as a middle finger and just as wide. I had this disfigurement for 2 years. My parents visited me while I was in hospital, and brought me greengages and sweets.


I guess my little sister thought I was getting treated very well (getting those sweets and greengages ) because she said "I go into hospital, and I'll get sweets too" .

Mother and Father said that they would have to watch her closely, in case she might run into traffic and get run down (to get into hospital).

The gland in my neck grew again, and I had a second operation when I was 10 years old. The new doctor, Dr. Fulton, removed the gland and also the awful scar. I never looked back from that day.

When I was 9 years old I loved to attend religious meetings, especially the ones for children. The preacher would get up and call for a show of hands of those who wanted to be "saved". Those who raised their hands were asked to meet in the Vestry after the meeting. I was very enthusiastic and was "saved" many times. Then I thought it was time that my little sister of 3 years old was "saved". I took her to one of the meetings, and told her to raise her hand up. After the meeting we went into the vestry to meet with the Pastor. While we were praying, Amy called out in a loud voice, "I WANT TO GO TO THE TOILET". I was too embarrassed at having to leave the meeting and bring her home. I thought I would never go to another meeting... but of course I did! (They say that what goes around comes around. I had embarrassed my brother when he took me on my first day of school at age 3 and so now I was in the position of being embarrassed by my little 3 year old sister. )

Teacher’s I remember in school were Miss Cooksey (2nd class). She was very beautiful, wore lovely clothes and had a sweet disposition. Miss Curry (3rd class) was quick tempered, and we were a little afraid of her. She would slap the cane on your desk when asking a question – which put the answer right out of my head. My friend Myra and I used to walk home with her. Along the way she would point to a poster and teach us to pronounce difficult words, for this I am very grateful today. Miss Gardner (4th class) took us for singing as well as our other subjects. I loved this time as singing came easy to me. Miss Gardner used the cane quite a lot. The boys used to pull their hand away just as she was about to slap them, and the full force of the cane came down on her skirt. Women wore skirts to the ground in those days (around 1924). Mr W.W. Whiteside was our head master. We used to call him weary Willie Whiteside. He and Miss Gardner would send notes to each other. I never heard if they got married.

My best subjects in school were singing, geography and reading. During the Great War 1914 - 1918 I was attending school. One day there was a terrible darkness about 1 pm. The children were frightened, and the teachers tried to cheer us up by telling us that the KAISER (King of Germany) was dead. Of course we were so excited and gave up a big shout HOORAY. We thought that it meant that the war was over. The news wasn't true, and the war went on .

Me and my brother used to play a game at this time. "THE GERMANS ARE COMING. THEY ARE UPON US" We would sing this song...

HARK, HARK, HARK, THE BOYS ARE MARCHING. THREE BIG GERMANS AT THE DOOR. IF YOU DON'T LET ME IN, I'LL GIVE YOU A PUNCH IN THE CHIN. AND YOU'LL NEVER SEE YOU'RE MAMMY ANY MORE.

My brother Edmund would stand on a chair behind the door, holding a bat, I was to knock on the door (pretending to be a German.) when I would walk in, Edmund was standing ready to club me.

When I was 8 months old we moved to 18 Willowfield Street, Cregagh Road in Belfast, which was only eight streets further up towards the Cregagh Hills (from our home on Chatsworth).

In the early 1920s. The side streets were referred to as the backstreetans. I have fond memories of being a child and being put to bed early even though it was still light outside (it could be light up to midnight in the summer.) I remember lying there trying to fall asleep and those backstreet boys would be sitting there on the entry at the back singing. They’re singing was very sweet music.

My earliest recollection…. My brother and I were always very close, so at the age of 3, this was 1915, I decided to go to school with him. I went to school at St. Clements, Church of Ireland Episcopal. My brother, who was seven, walked me to school and left me in the “Baby Infants” class. The school had iron steps running up on the outside to the classes on the 1^st floor. As he was going up the steps to his own class, he looked through the transom window and saw me jumping from desk to desk, with the teacher trying to catch me. I was bawling my head off. I was calling my brothers name… Edmund! Edmund! My brother was so embarrassed.

Needless to say I settled down after that. A few days later, I was reluctant to go out and play in the school yard, so, I peeked at the boys and girls playing. Unfortunately I was looking through the crack where the hinges were and my hand was in the crack. The teacher came along and closed the door.

The School Master’s name was W. W. Whiteside. Everyone called him Weary Willie Whiteside (behind his back, of course). He, and the 4th Grade teacher, Miss Gardner, used to send students with notes to each other. Another recollection I have at 3 years old is, I was taken to get my photograph done at a studio

This is a photograph of my mother Sarah Kelly. My mother Sarah was known for helping to *nurse* sick neighbors or family She took very sick when I was 4 years old.

I have only faint memories of her. I can see her standing at our gate, I was about 3 ½ years old, while my father took a snap of her. She was a beautiful woman, her hair was light brown I believe her hair was naturally curly, and she had a lot of it. She was wearing a lovely white blouse, and a dark skirt, which came to her ankles.

I can also remember her sick in bed and when my brother and I kept bothering her (we wanted to hug her) she would chase us out of the bedroom waving a feather duster. We didn’t understand it at the time because we didn’t know how ill she was. She had tuberculosis. She was trying to keep us from getting ill. My mother was bedridden 6 months before she died. Mother died in February of 1917, she was 38 years old . My brother was eight and a half and I was four and a half. When people came to the ‘wake’ I remember saying “My Mammy has a new blouse.”

Let Me Introduce Myself

My name is Edna and I was born at home on Chatsworth Street in Belfast in 1912. My parents told me that I interrupted tea time. The house I was born in was still there in 1989 but I don't believe it's there now. My parents and their families all came from Portadown.


I had one brother and a sister. My brother immigrated to Canada in 1927. It would be twenty long years before I was to see him again. Oh what a glorious reunion it was too!By that time I had immigrated to the States myself. I was a war bride and came over from Ireland to Louisiana 2 years after the war had ended, me and my young son Billy. I had been in the United States a few years and was suffering from homesickness and so my husband and myself and young child drove up to Canada to visit with my brother Edmund and his family. That trip did me a world of good!

I have a younger sister Amy who still lives in Northern Ireland. I have made several trips there to see her (I am too old at nearly 96 to travel anywhere now) and she has come here to see me as well. Our last visit was about 4 years ago, she stayed for weeks and we just talked and talked about the old times. It is so wonderful to be able to speak with someone about familiar things and happy times. My husband died last year and so I no longer have someone local to talk over old times and memories. Re-living old happy memories is about all I have left, my mind is still quick but my body is failing me.


Well that's enough for now.