Ysgol Maelgwn Wartime
Ysgol Maelgwn - Wartime
On 14 November 1915 teacher Tom Jones was absent “attending the funeral of an old pupil who was wounded in battle”. Mr Jones left “for military duties” in June 1916. Another teacher, Owen Morris, left for military service in June 1918. Colleague David Griffith was called up to Wrexham for military service in May 1916 but returned to school for two months “until he reaches 19 years of age”.
In October 1917 Miss Thomas was “absent all week owing to her brother’s death on active service”. School was closed for two days in March 1918 while the teachers filled in “food and meat cards at local food office in Conway”, and again on 24 June to celebrate raising £100 in war savings since 1 January.
The school’s reopening after the 1939 summer holidays was delayed “on account of the outbreak of war and the consequent recieving of evacuees into the district”. For seven months the school operated double shifts – local pupils attending in the mornings and evacuees in the afternoons. By November 1940 there were c.100 evacuees on the school’s books, as well as 200 local children. On 23 May 1941 the school was closed to receive Liverpool evacuees.
The following evacuee pupils passed the 11+ exam in 1942: Mavis Gay-Knott (Surrey); Margaret Knight (Middlesex); John Skinner (Eastbourne); Odette Willis (Worcester); Evelyn Thomas (Birkenhead); Myra Williams (LCC, probably Liverpool); and Jean Hopper (Plymouth).
In February 1940 teacher Emrys Lloyd Jones left to join the army.
The children practised “air raid dispersal drill” in July 1940 – all “were in the allotted houses in 3 or 4 minutes”. A fortnight later the children had “gas mask drill”. An air raid warning sounded on 19 December. The children assembled in the cloakrooms and corridors, where the windows had been netted for safety.
A concert in November 1941 raised £8 10s for National Savings. The following year the school’s railings were inspected for salvage for the war effort.
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