Ipswich High School During World War Two

By Miss Naomi Limer, Head of English

On September 1st 1939, when war with Germany was imminent, the Ursuline Convent High School from Ilford was evacuated to Ipswich and its 200 girls shared the Westerfield Road premises with Ipswich High for a brief time. The arrangement made an already cramped site even harder to navigate and was only made possible by Ipswich students having lessons in the morning and the convent pupils using the classrooms in the afternoon, with each school retreating to any available space during their non-lesson time.

Some Ipswich students were evacuated but many stayed at school and those who evacuated generally returned quite shortly. The war affected pupil numbers (and in turn, staffing) significantly and by the end of the war, its future seemed briefly uncertain. The Junior House became so small that its building, Fern Leigh was closed, and the Junior forms were housed in Wood View. The Army took possession of Fern Leigh and were very reluctant to part with it, but eventually it was re-opened and newly decorated and heated for students after war ended.
Like many, the school willingly made sacrifices and pupils contributed to the national efforts wherever possible. Publication of the school magazine was suspended, as were speech day celebrations and committee meetings of the Old Girls Association. The site was too large to ensure black-outs could be effective and thus, no evening activities were held. Prizes were given in the form of certificates and there were only two major dramatic productions by the school, “ The Zeal of Thy House “ (D. Sayers) in June 1942, and “ Alcestis “ (Euripides) the following year. All sports matches involving travel were cancelled, but matches against Old Girls, the Ipswich Women’s Hockey Club, and Northgate School were permitted.

Pupils darned holes in the socks of the men manning the Searchlight Unit stationed at Westerfield and as a token of appreciation, the unit presented the school with a silver cup to be awarded each term for different forms of community service, aptly named ‘The Searchlight Cup’.
Occasionally, the school day was interrupted by air raids and students sought shelter in the gardens away from the buildings, and in trenches near the school gate at the Constable Road entrance. Students continued their learning in the cold and damp conditions, with one Old Girl commenting afterwards that at no point before or since the war had rote learning been so utilised. Students sitting their Higher Certificate papers in 1939 had their examination interrupted by an air-raid and there was a brief panic to ensure nobody conferred before they were allowed to continue once the raid was over.

Members of the Sixth Form and Old Girls spent nights in school to raise the alarm if incendiary bombs fell on the building and caused a fire, sleeping on camp beds in the Library or in the Headmistress, Miss Neal’s office.

Once the war was over, it took several years for normal activities to resume, but the school newsletters recommenced publication and told of the relief felt by all that some normality had returned. Pupils acknowledged that although the war had been incredibly tough, there were many other children who fared far worse, and they continued to knit, sew and raise funds for those who had less fortunate experiences of war.