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ESCAPE FROM THE BEACON SCHOOL
In 1951 I was
thirteen years old and Mr Seaton was the Head Master of the
Beacon
School in Crowborough Sussex. He had ultimate responsibility for the
running of the home and the safe custody of some sixty boys with
ages ranging from five to fifteen. He was assisted by his wife and a
number of staff; most notable of which were Mr Elliot and Miss
Elliot. As far as I know they were not related and I would be most
surprised if they were, for they were as different as chalk and
cheese.
Miss Elliot was
always fun loving and an absolute pleasure to be with. By contrast I
found Mr Elliot to be a scary man who would creep around and
materialise from nowhere, usually when you were doing something
wrong. Most of the time he had one of his hand rolled cigarettes
hanging from his lips and they would take on a juicy brown colour,
which matched the colour of his teeth. He had a habit of flicking
his sticky cigarette ends onto the string of the metal fire escape,
which ran, outside the window of the bathroom. Here they would
adhere for weeks.
It is possible that
some of the older boys may have got on with Mr Elliot but to me he
never seemed friendly and always seemed to be chastising us for one
reason or another. Our relationship was not improved one Sunday
evening when I was playing a chasing game with some of the other
boys. As I ran round a corner I bumped straight into Mr Elliot. He
was not amused and chased me back up the path slapping me
continuously around the head.
I went into the
recreation room obviously looking depressed and my younger brother
David came over to find out what was wrong. We were soon joined by
two other boys who were equally fedup with their lot. We decided we
had had enough and tomorrow we would run away.
The next day we left
as usual to attend outside schools but instead we met up in a lane
at the back of the
Beacon
School. We were undecided and a bit
worried whether we should continue with our plan but having
prevaricated for some considerable time it became too late to go to
school so our fate was sealed.
The question then
arose as to where we were going to run to. One of our group said he
knew where there was a deserted stable and we trekked the four or
five miles to our intended new residence. It was absolutely perfect.
Four mangers made a bed for each of us and there was plenty of clean
dry straw to keep us warm. Next door there was an unoccupied house
with an apple tree in the garden which provided deliciously sweet
eating apples.
We were aware that we
may be discovered at any time and in that event we planned an escape
route through the back of the stable to the safety of some woods in
the distance. To warn us of any intruders, we set up an alarm system
which consisted on a large wooden ball on the end of chain which was
used to tether horses. The end of the chain was fixed to the top of
the front door and the wooden ball was perched on a beam in the roof
space. At the bottom of the door we placed a bottle which would be
smashed by the falling ball if the door was opened outwards. Secure
in our fortified camp we settled in our mangers and gorged ourselves
on the apples we had scrumped from next door’s garden.
Our joy was short
lived as we jolted from our haven by the smashing of the bottle at
the front door. We leapt out of our mangers and rushed to our escape
route. Throwing a frightened backward glance, I saw a man transfixed
with shock in the door way as the bottle had exploded by his feet. I
never looked back again as we scrambled through the stinging
nettles, over a fence and ran as fast as we could across the field
and into the woods.
Having survived that
encounter we were once again faced with the problem of where to
stay. One of the boys said he knew of a barn that was full of hay
and would make a perfect camp. The only trouble was it was on the
other side of Crowborough and involved a long trek. We set out and
eventually arrived in the late evening. Sure enough there was a huge
barn but when we entered it was completely empty. We had a terrible
night laying on the bare floor and freezing. One of the boys moaned
all night and said he was going back to the Beacon School the
following day.
In the morning we
decided to go to what I believe was a commando’s training ground in
the Uckfield area. On their obstacle course was a wall which the
commandos climbed over and nearby we found the side of a shed with a
window opening which they climbed through. We pulled the side of the
shed down and leant it against the wall. We then covered the whole
structure with ferns and this was to be our home for the next week.
That is with the
exception of our moaning friend from the previous night. As promised
he went back to the
Beacon
School late that evening. When he arrived
everyone had gone to bed so he gained entry and went to bed himself.
The next morning he awoke early only to find he had wet his bed. Oh
dear he thought, first I run away and now I’ve wet my bed, I really
am in trouble now. Well there was only one thing for it; so he came
back and joined us. This part of the episode was summed up later by
Mr Seaton when he said: “It was nice that one of you came back and
left your visiting card!”
Our new camp was
ideal, especially when we had a fire going to keep us warm at night.
The only problem was there was nothing to eat. We decided to
reconnoitre the village nearby where some of the Barnardo children
went to school. There was a hill overlooking the village and from
there we could see a police car outside the school. We knew
instinctively that they were looking for us. However, it was food we
were looking for and we noticed a house near the school with an
apple tree in the garden. That was to be our target later that
night.
I am not trying to
dramatise the situation but the bell of the church clock really did
toll midnight as we approached the village in pitch blackness. Added
to this a dog started barking but it appeared to be some distance
away so we entered the garden. We could see nothing and we stretched
our arms up into the tree to find the apples. Suddenly we started to
lose our footing on what we thought were windfalls on the ground. We
filled our shirts with these and raced back to the camp. Imagine our
frustration when we discovered that what we thought were apples,
turned out to be turnips. Although they tasted disgusting we were so
hungry that we ate our fill including the dirt that surrounded them.
I am not sure how but
by the Thursday the children from the
Beacon
School had discovered
our hideout. They started to smuggle out food for us but despite
this we were still very hungry. In addition we had not washed for a
week and things were getting a little uncomfortable. By the Saturday
morning we had had enough and decided to give ourselves up. I
remember walking back through the gates of the
Beacon
School to be
welcomed by all the children. I am not saying they exactly cheered
us in but there was definitely a feeling of achievement as we walked
in. Unfortunately the feeling of elation ended abruptly when we were
confronted by Mr Elliot who welcomed us with: “You can take those
smiles off your faces as soon as you like”.
It was some time
before we heard what our punishment was to be. Eventually we were
told that we would forfeit six months pocket money and loss of
privileges for the same period. In addition we would receive four
strokes of the cane. The loss of the money and privileges was
devastating but four strokes of the cane was chicken feed. After
all, wasn’t I always getting the cane at school for being in the
girls’ play ground? Four strokes; no problem, or so I thought.
On the day of the
caning Mr Elliot assembled us in the lobby of Mr Seaton’s quarters.
Mr Seaton came down the stairs with what appeared to be a six inch
stick in his hand. I remember smiling inwardly at this feeble
weapon. The smile soon diminished when he drew a three foot long,
half inch thick dowel stick from his sleeve. We were given the
choice of two strokes on each hand or four across the bottom. We all
elected to receive them on our hands. What followed bore no
relationship to any of my previous canings. The cane was raised way
above Mr Seaton’s head and brought down with such ferocity that when
it struck my hand it felt like every bone was busted. I screamed out
in agony and tears burst from my eyes. The following strokes were
delivered with equal gusto. I was the first to receive the
punishment and through my tears I could see there was something of a
commotion when one of the boys was reluctant to put his hand out
after receiving the first stoke. However, being preoccupied with my
own predicament I took little notice.
When it was finished
I remember seeing Mr Seaton flushed and sweating after the effort he
had expended. His sandy coloured hair had fallen down over his
forehead and I recalled how he had dishevelled his hair on a
previous occasion to show us how he could get it back into place
with a flick of his head. Funny what runs through you mind on such
occasions.
We were then taken to
have a bath before going to bed and none of us were able to pick up
the soap because of our swollen and bruised hands. This was the one
and only time I heard Mr Elliot speak softly and with compassion in
his voice. I do not remember what he said but I wonder if he thought
the beating was a little too severe even for that day and age.
By today’s standards
such punishments would not be tolerated but it does raise
interesting questions concerning punishment and its effectiveness.
For example: Did I ever run away from Barnardos again? No I didn’t.
Did I ever go into the girls’ play ground again? Of course I did!
(The following photographs have been
reduced in size for faster loading on the internet. If anyone wants
better copies please contact me).
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Miss
Elliot sent this photo to me when I had gone to Goldings. On the
back she had written: “This is all I can find at the moment. You
can remember little Stephen Stevenson can’t you” I read
somewhere that Miss Elliot has passed on but perhaps little
Stephen is still around. I would have thought he would now be in
his middle fifties. |
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This is
my brother David. The picture was taken when he left Barnardo
homes at the age of fifteen. Tragically he died three years
later from cancer. |
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This
has got to be the most famous boy to come out of the Beacon
School if not the whole of Barnardos. It is Mike Hatcher the
renowned deep sea diver who found the Tek Sing that sank in the
Java Sea. A huge fortune of Chinese porcelain was recovered
virtually undamaged.
I
wonder if he ever thinks of his time at the Beacon School?
Your question answered
click hear |
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This is Miss
Jennings our sewing mistress. She used to inspect us for lost
buttons and torn clothes each time we returned from school. I
think I was her favourite and I was fond of her. Unfortunately
the quality of the picture is poor. |
©
Victor King 2005
“In 2004 I went back to the Beacon
School and found it is now a home for what was described as
“educationally challenged adults”. The outside
structure of the house is much the same except for an extension to
the left hand side where our entrance used to be. Some of the larger
rooms and dormitories inside have been divided up in to smaller self
contained units. The recreation room where we spent a lot of our
free time has not changed and seems to serve a similar purpose
today.
The grounds have
been dramatically reduced and now only include the asphalted areas
surrounding the house. The playing field has been acquired by
developers and now contains a number of private houses. What used to
be the lower gardens have suffered a similar fate.
I took some
photographs during this visit and I also have some from when I was a
boy there. Unfortunately only a few of these can be shown on this
site but if anyone is interested I shall be happy to discuss what I
have and supply copies if required.”
Click here for a printer friendly version.
 World‑renown
deep-sea diver Mike Hatcher who flew into Reunion 2000 from
Australia, is a man who has just made marine salvage history In May
he discovered the biggest‑ever haul of valuable Chinese porcelain
lying in the wreck of the Tek Sing (True Star) on the bottom of the
South China Sea.
As
the Guild Messenger went to press the exquisite cargo of more than
350,000 pieces was due to be sold at auction and was expected to
raise a fortune. Until the Tek Sing discovery, the largest salvage
of Chinese porcelain had been the Nanking cargo in 1986, also by
Mike. He hit the headlines then when the china was sold at Christies
for more than £10 million. Mike gave Barnardo's a huge donation then
of £ l 00.000 and has now promised another generous gift.
Mike pictured in The Village where he lived before being emigrated
to Australia, where he developed his amazingly successful diving
career.
The Barnardo Guild
Messenger
Winter 2000 Special Edition |
