At my English boarding school in the 1960s, only the Head could use the cane but other masters used the slipper (and occasionally other handy implements). Only the Head’s canings were recorded in a punishment book and these were fairly infrequent – out of 800 pupils I doubt if he caned more than one a day on average. Anyone studying the school’s punishment book would get a very inaccurate picture of the extent of CP in the school as boys in the first four years probably got slippered at least twice a week each.
I was smacked once by my form teacher (a man by the way)I was only 11 at the time, I had to stay after school and was hand-smacked quite hard on my bum over my skirt. This was for talking and happened in 1969, would this have been entered into a punishment book and could this teacher have got in trouble?
Punishment Books are not always the best place to see what took place concerning corporal punishment. The School Log Book often gives more information and is not subject to the 50-year rule in some cases.
I found several delightful entries in some books. You can search for weeks and find nothing and then hit the jackpot.
“In spite of warnings the boys arrived at school wet as a result of snowball fights. The whole of class 2 received two strokes on their buttocks and class three 3 strokes. We managed by mid-afternoon to get all the clothing dry for them to go home.”
Did this mean they were all caned on the bare bottom? Did it mean that these two classes sat in the nude most of the day while their things dried? It makes you think
In another book, I found that “following a complaint by two parents five boys were given three unprotected strokes on the buttocks. The parents were satisfied”
This is not recorded in the Punishment Book. “The parents were satisfied” does this imply that it was the ones who complained or the boy’s parents?
I cannot give a yes/no answer to you as to if your teacher in the 1960s was right to smack you over your dress. It all depends on where the school was and if such things were socially accepted.
The four crunch questions are
Do your parents know? If they did and said nothing then it was acceptable Did others get it like this? If parents knew this smacking was going on then it is unlikely that any real offence was being committed.
Did you deserve it? If no you may have a case
Did it feel he was really smacking your bottom or fondling it?
If the latter you may have a case.
I can only state on the position in England at this time. Most Schools and Education Bodies had rules concerning who could administer corporal punishment.
They had to have this consent in writing.
The trouble was, that most only regarded the cane as corporal punishment at this time.
The use of the slipper and certainly the hand did not come under this restriction.
Indeed at that time if a teacher caned who was not in authority to do so it was a matter for the school rather than the police.
In most cases, the school just stated and gave the teacher the authority. In others, they were just warned about future conduct.
Things of course changed with time.
At this time, unless there was proof of the punishment being done for sexual motives or the punishment was excessive the police would not be interested. Indeed,
I expect most know the case of Barry Tavenor whose bottom was left very bruised after being caned by the head for poor test results.
The judge just dismissed the case saying that it was expected to hurt and marks were bound to be left.
My parents never knew, I don’t know if they would approve or not, I suspect not.
it happened in a normal COE school in Cockermouth, Cumbria.
I didn’t feel I deserved to be smacked for talking in the lesson.
It was quite a hard smacking but I didn’t feel like I was being fondled, it was to hard for that,it was just about thirty very hard slaps to my skirt covered bottom whilst bending over his knee, but of course, it felt quite indecent at the time.
sadly, some teachers did get sexual pleasure out of smacking children’s bottoms, and if they knew they would not tell their parents they were more likely to be victims.
I think the punishment of 3o smacks, even when I was at school in the 1920 period, would have seemed very harsh. It sounds very much like this teacher enjoyed smacking which is very wrong.
My bottom was very red and sore and no I couldn’t sit down, but by the time I got home and looked in the mirror my bum was just very pink and still quite hot but no bruising luckily. I wasn’t in the habit of wandering around the house with a bare bum so my parents wouldn’t have seen anyway.
I wasn’t the only person who had been smacked by this man in fact there were lots of other girls and boys as well who he had smacked over his knee.
