At the end of August the following year the international situation had become ‘most grave and evacuation of school children from certain areas of the city is to be proceeded with. This school is in … a Neutral Area and scholars are not in the evacuation scheme.’ Then on the 3^rd September came the announcement that was dreaded ‘This day, Sunday, England is at war with Germany.’

The school was formally closed, except for organised games sessions in the playground, until mid October when all schools in Neutral Areas were told to re-open as soon as possible. Parents, however, had to be informed that -

Before a meeting with parents could be arranged the official Birmingham City Police circular ‘A.R.P. Rules for Schools’ were circulated as a matter of urgency. Its contents were discussed with an Inspector from Acocks Green Police Station, who suggested areas of the school that afforded some protection in the case of an emergency and also recommended the parents accept a ‘no dispersal of children policy.’

Approximately 160 parents attended the information meeting at which all the relevant issues were discussed and the ‘no dispersal’ policy, in the event of an air raid, was agreed. Parents were required to sign a form ‘accepting responsibility’ should the worse happen. The school re-opened on a voluntary basis the following day, the 17^th October 1939, and two hundred and thirty-four children arrived for lessons.

The next week a stirrup pump, bomb bucket and scoop were delivered to the school and the caretaker and staff were given ‘a demonstration of its use.’ With so little protection for the children while they were at school action was urgently needed.

On the 25^th October an architect surveyed the premises and suggested the construction of nine above ground shelters each of which would accommodate fifty children. It was pointed out that as the cover provided would only cater for four hundred and fifty children, the Infant and Junior Departments could not both meet at the same time.

Dissatisfaction with the proposed number of shelters was clear. If it was confirmed by the architects that there was insufficient space on the school site to increase the number of shelters it was suggested additional provision could be made available by either using the piece of waste ground opposite the school, by using tenant’s land adjoining the school or even by converting corridors and cloakrooms.

With no immediate promise of additional shelters it was agreed the Junior children should attend school from 9am to 1pm each day and the Infant children from 1.30pm to 4pm. Parents were asked to sign a form agreeing to the proposals and also consenting to the older children receiving homework each day. Only three hundred and fourteen homework forms (67% of the number on roll) were returned!!

While the shelters were under construction air raid drills, which involved moving to ‘refuge rooms and spaces’, were practiced and there were daily checks on all the children’s gas masks and identification tags. New gas mask boxes were provided as and when necessary. In the meantime every opportunity was taken to continue the campaign for more shelters than those agreed.

By the time the school closed for the Christmas holiday in 1939 the shelters were nearing completion but ‘wood for the interiors is difficult to obtain’. By mid January, however, an official notification was sent to the school stating the shelters were ready for use and that it was to open on ‘a compulsory basis.’

Parents were informed of the Education Department’s and three hundred and seventy-four of the four hundred and seventy-four children on roll at the time arrived for lessons. Of the hundred ‘missing’ children it was noted - ‘some of the absentees may be evacuated voluntarily or in other schools, and others for various reasons cannot at the moment be accounted for.’

The lack of sufficient protection for all the children was still a great concern to Mr Sutton and Miss Hood, who attended several meetings at the Education Office where they ‘pleaded for extra accommodation.’ Still there were no immediate promises but it was agreed the children could continue attend on a part time basis but their attendance was to be compulsory.

A number of concerns were raised about the shelters after the very first practice -

‘ 1. The shelters are not gas proof.

The concerns were immediately forwarded to the Education Department, the letter adding … ‘I understand the above points are under consideration but I should be glad to have the foregoing disadvantages dealt with as soon as possible.’

Air raid practices were held twice weekly … ‘once by the class teacher and once by all school under supervision of Head Teacher.’ Each class was allocated a numbered shelter except the ‘top class’, which was distributed among the other classes. For obvious reasons the practices were taken very seriously and were expected to be carried out within the times agreed by the staff.

The lack of accommodation in the shelters was an ongoing concern and without any promises, even to the conversion of cloakrooms, an announcement in the Schools’ Bulletin concerning the dispersal of older children, prompted another letter to be sent to the Education Office stating … ‘I believe the provision of further Air Raid protection at this school is under consideration and I trust it will be found possible to provide further protection as soon as possible so that the question of partial dispersal will not arise.’

Both Head Teachers were again invited to the Education Office to discuss the provision of extra shelters and also to consider Miss Hood’s concern about the use of one shelter that she believed was too close to the Infant classrooms.

The badgering and persistence of Mr Sutton and Miss Hood eventually paid dividends because in June 1940 there good news at last … ‘Work to be commenced on a further five shelters for Air Raid Protection at this school.’

The 1939/40 school year had been demanding for everyone -

When the school re-opened on 12^th August the necessary permission to use the new shelters had not been received so in a letter to the Education Office it was suggested ‘ the fitting of curtains and lamps would make their use possible.’

The very next night an air raid affected Acocks Green and very few children arrived for school the following day. Further raids over the weekend of 24^th and 25^th August demolished a house in Wildfell Road and damaged others nearby, but fortunately Mr Sutton was able to report,

The original shelters were first used during a daytime air raid on the 4^th September.

Commenting on the Infant children’s reaction to the alarm Miss Hood noted:

Now more anxious than ever to have the new shelters available for use, arrangements were made for them to be inspected by an Education official. It was agreed …

Action concerning the speedy attention to lighting, the screening of W.C.s and provision of buckets was promised and it was suggested the shelters could, with the Head Teacher’s approval, be used and the full time attendance of the children be authorised.

The shelter situation was now looking more positive than for sometime but even before the official notification for full time opening arrived another problem had arisen –

However these difficulties were not thought serious enough by the Education Department to prevent the school opening on a compulsory, full time basis and this was confirmed in a letter.

With the increased number of shelters it was necessary to re-allocate them between the two Departments. It was agreed eight would be for the sole use of the Junior children and six for the Infant children. As there were nine Junior classes it was still necessary for the oldest children to be dispersed and share with other classes.

Some days two alerts were sounded while on one particular day there were three separate warnings. The length of time spent in the shelters varied considerably but it

was rarely less than twenty minutes. On one occasion the children were taking cover for two hours.

Severe damage was caused during sustained bombing of the city during the night of Friday 22^nd November 1940 and as a result Head Teachers were advised to ‘make immediate preparations for the evacuation of school children.’ When the problem of an unexploded bomb near the school had been resolved, arrangements for the evacuation of Dolphin Lane children began in earnest.

On his return to Birmingham, where he had been overseeing arrangements for children evacuated to Retford, Mr Sutton again turned his attention to the vexed question of the air raid shelters.

Despite their deficiencies, the shelters were used regularly during the daytime air raid warnings that continued through until July 1941 and even when the raids lapsed, the routine practices continued.

Layout of the Air Raid Shelters provided for the children’s protection

The last enforced use of the shelters was on the 4^th March 1943 when …

With the end of the war, announced on the evening of 7^th May 1945, the shelters had fulfilled their usefulness; the buildings that had been so eagerly fought for a few years earlier were now a hindrance. Numerous requests to the Education Department for their removal went unheeded so Mr Sutton turned to a local councillor for support but even this failed to bring the positive result he was hoping for.

The in May 1947, a letter was circulated to all schools by the Chief Education Officer informing them a child had drowned in a flooded air raid shelter and requesting an update of the condition of all shelters on individual school sites

The shelters at Dolphin Lane presented little danger of flooding, but never one to miss an opportunity, Mr Sutton highlighted other disadvantages of leaving the structures in place in his reply.

Despite his concerns there is no record of any immediate action being taken to remove the shelters. However, some were eventually demolished, some were incorporated into the school building and used for other purposes while others were left standing and are still in place today.

Some ex-pupils who used the shelters as children remember the experience.

‘I recall one daytime raid or threatened raid when we were shepherded into the brick and concrete shelter …. My mother, along with a few other mothers, turned up to take me home during what must have been the warning period. I can only assume that the thinking was that if the worst were to happen then the family would go together.’ Gordon Parsons

‘I remember us having to go into the brick shelters if the sirens went. You were not allowed to go home until the ‘all clear’ unless a parent fetched you. I hated gas masks. They made me feel sick and I cried every time I had to practice in class. I still have mine (don’t know why!).’ Brenda Dainty (nee Nicolle)

‘I recall the brick air-raid shelters being built at the front of the Junior school playground and thinking they didn’t seem as safe as the underground Anderson shelters we, and our neighbours, had in our gardens. They proved popular during games of hide and seek.’ John Bird

‘When I left School (1947) there were still brick built air-raid shelters around the main block. If you were very brave you would creep into the dark shelters to look.’ Margaret Weston (nee Millward)

‘… there was one shelter I remember that when it rained there was a big pool of water and I was paddling in it one day. Mr Sutton spotted me. He told me to report to his study, then I had two stokes of the cane on both hands while telling me that my mother could not afford to keep buying me boots.’ Dennis Simons

Introduction – Goodbye Green Fields and Country Lanes

Getting Started

Buildings – Meeting the Changing Needs

The School Staff – Comings and Goings

A Broader Education – Talks, Festivals and Visits

Concerts and Performances – A Chance to Show Off

Christmas Celebrations

Royal Occasions – Visits and Celebration Holidays

Physical Activities – Athletics, P.T. and Games

Fund Raising – Helping Others and Supporting Ourselves

Medical Matters – The Doctor, The Dentist and the ‘Nit’ Nurse

Accidents and Misfortunes – Cuts, Bruises and Even Worse

Transgressions – Naughty, Naughty!!

The Air Raid Shelter Saga – Keeping the Children Safe

Evacuation – From Birmingham to the Countryside and Back

Appendix 1 Birmingham Educational Districts & School Lists

Appendix 2 New Pupils’ Previous Named Schools

Appendix 3 Sketch Map of the Local Roads Housing Dolphin Lane Pupils

Appendix 4 Memories – Dennis Simons