One thing I have never fully understood is how some people who dreaded corporal punishment as children later became fascinated by it as adults. As youngsters, many of us would have done almost anything to avoid a caning at school or a spanking at home. Yet years later, some seem oddly drawn to the subject, collecting stories, debating experiences, and searching for accounts of punishments they once feared.
I can still remember what a school caning felt like, even though it happened many years ago. From the age of twelve onwards, I received only two or three strokes at a time and never the full six, so I cannot comment on the maximum punishment. I can only imagine that six strokes would have produced an intense and prolonged sting.
Bent over in thin cotton trousers and underwear, you would feel the cane resting lightly against your backside while the headmaster took aim. There might be a couple of practice taps before the cane lifted away. A second or two later came the whistle through the air and the sharp crack of impact. At first there was almost no sensation at all, and for a brief moment you wondered what all the fuss was about. Then, several seconds later, a fierce burning sting spread across the area that had been struck, as though a red-hot iron had been pressed against the skin and held there.
You wanted to cry out but tried to remain composed. Your eyes watered as you stared at the floor, and before long the cane was being positioned again. The pause between strokes seemed deliberate, giving the first one time to sink in. Then came another whistle and another crack. This time it was impossible not to react. The sting doubled, and instinctively you jumped forward. After only two strokes, I felt shaken and light-headed.
When it was over, the headmaster delivered a short lecture about behaviour. Rubbing the affected area made no difference. The burning sensation lingered for perhaps ten minutes before gradually fading into a warm ache. Later, examining the marks at home, I found two deep red and purple stripes stretching across both cheeks. The headmaster appeared elderly and harmless enough, but experience had clearly taught him exactly how to use the cane effectively.
One punishment I never experienced was the birch. Because the practice disappeared long ago, I am unlikely ever to know firsthand how it compared with caning. As a result, I remain sceptical of some of the more dramatic stories that describe people being “birched to a pulp.” Such accounts often seem exaggerated, shaped as much by imagination as by reality. Sometimes a good story takes precedence over strict accuracy.
My own experiences led me to wonder why accounts of school caning vary so widely. I attended four different schools between the late 1960s and the late 1970s—prep, public, grammar, and comprehensive—and although the cane was available at all of them, it was used relatively infrequently.
At fifteen, I received four strokes of the cane. It hurt, certainly, but the entire punishment lasted less than half a minute. The discomfort faded fairly quickly, and although there was some bruising, it disappeared within a day or two. At that school, pupils showered after games, so any significant marks would have been visible. Yet I rarely saw evidence of severe injuries. The only notable marks I remember belonged to a younger boy who had received the slipper; even then, there was little more than mild reddening.
This is not to say that severe canings never occurred. Rather, it suggests that experiences differed greatly depending on the school, the teacher, and the circumstances. Some punishments were clearly intended as stern warnings rather than acts of extreme physical chastisement.
Others reported similar experiences. Canings were unpleasant but brief. Even what some called “six of the very best” were remembered as painful rather than brutal. Slipper punishments were often lighter still, consisting of only a few quick strikes that had largely stopped stinging by the time the recipient returned to class.
There was also disagreement about where the cane hurt most. Some people believed caning on the hands was relatively mild. Others found it excruciating. One former pupil recalled numerous strokes across the fingertips and considered them ineffective because the pain faded quickly. Yet the single severe caning he received on the backside remained unforgettable and, in his view, far more painful.
Many people who experienced both forms of punishment felt that the cane across the backside hurt considerably more than strokes on the hands. Others reported the exact opposite, saying that caning on the hand caused swelling and intense immediate pain, while strokes delivered across clothing to the backside produced a sharp sting that faded after a few minutes.
Differences in technique probably played a role. At some schools, lighter canes were used on the hands and heavier ones on the backside. Some teachers administered punishment mechanically, following established procedures without any particular enthusiasm. Others were known for their severity. Age may also have been a factor. Older teachers were sometimes viewed as softer disciplinarians, though experience and technique could easily compensate for any loss of strength.
Indeed, delivering an effective stroke required less brute force than many people assumed. Timing, accuracy, and a sharp snap of the wrist at the moment of impact often mattered more than muscular power.
There may also have been physiological reasons why experiences varied so much. Individuals differ in their sensitivity to pain, and different parts of the body contain different concentrations of pain receptors. Even factors such as temperature, emotional state, anticipation, fatigue, and the time of day can influence how pain is perceived.
Perhaps that is why memories of corporal punishment are so inconsistent. What one person remembers as a brief but tolerable punishment, another recalls as deeply painful. The same punishment, administered in similar circumstances, could leave very different impressions on different individuals.
What remains certain is that corporal punishment was once a normal part of school life for many pupils. While the details and severity varied enormously, the memories—whether painful, frightening, or merely unpleasant—have endured long after the marks themselves disappeared.
