Alumni News
Memories of an Old Girl Our Cadets prepared many of our Old Boys for life in the forces, and some sadly never returned. The girls had the Guides and later the Rangers, which we greatly enjoyed. I was very fortunate and won a Scholarship in 1948 to be one of two girls representing Britain at the Juliette Low International Guide Camp in Switzerland. This was held at the Guide Chalet in Adelboden and was led by the inspiring Falk. We had daily discussions but lots of fun too and became much more world minded. I ended up with friends in 17 countries and, 72 years on, I still keep in regular contact with two. Our final Girl Guide Camp was on the Isle of Mull. The Music Department produced a concert one year and then a Gilbert and Sullivan musical the other. When we got on board the ferry in Oban, there were no indoor seats left and so we sat on the benches round the deck outside. We started singing songs from HMS Pinafore and managed to sing right through the opera. Passengers opened their windows to listen to us and applauded. Unfortunately, it rained hard for quite a while so we, and our tents, arrived soaked in Tobermory.
When I was 4½, my mother rang the school where I was already enrolled for the next year to ask which Nursery School they would recommend. She was put through to Miss Barrie, the Lady Superintendent, and her reply was totally unexpected. “Well Mrs. Thomson, we happen to have a very small intake this year and I think she could begin now. Would you just hold the line while I go and ask Miss McNaughton whether that will be all right?” Back came the reply “Yes she’ll be delighted to welcome her tomorrow.” Poor mother. It was a lot to take in in a few minutes! There followed a hectic day of shopping for uniform and all the necessities for school. I donʼt remember feeling anything. I was just swept along by the urgency. I’d never had girls to play with before and here were a whole roomful. I was introduced to the class and instantly felt welcome. In those pre-war days, the class had only girls. The boys were in the Boys’ School across the road and we were forbidden to even speak to them. One of my friends spoke to her brother and was reprimanded! We used to enjoy playing tig or sardines down in the little concrete playground between the toilets and Cathie and Jessieʼs domain, where we could have a playpiece at interval. Then, during and after the war, our third of a pint of milk, in glass bottles of course. After four years of school, the war broke out. Many parents decided to send their children to “somewhere safe”. We were invited to stay with relatives in Elgin, and so I and my little sister went there. I walked the ½ mile to school and back again each day. We had no homework, which was strange to me and sadly didnʼt help me progress. I returned to Dundee and the School after the summer holidays, as Dundee had been spared any bombing. So too did the others who had not been evacuated, but who were instead home-schooled. The School had had some ceilings strengthened as well as masses of sandbags put on wooden false ceilings so that if the sirens went off those rooms could be used as shelters, along with an underground tunnel between the two parts of the School.
Going back in time, we girls were so lucky to have ‘Ma’ McKenzie for Maths. The boys were with Mr. Bill More and we beat them every year! Mr. Johnson took us for French and we all liked him; he certainly gave me a love of the French language, which helped me to win my Scholarship and to go on the first Dundee/Orleans Fellowship Schools Exchange the previous year. We heard that the war had ended when we were berry-picking in Blairgowrie as part of the DHS war effort. The teachers who had been away serving in the forces returned, which must have been a relief to the ones who had held the fort. Our class were getting concerned about the Highers that were looming. Happily, I got my five and one lower so managed to get into Medicine at St Andrews, my lifelong dream. Two out of three in our year were ex-service, so for the school leavers it wasnʼt easy to get in. When I first joined the School, we had gym tunics with a braid of gold, green and brown lines on a square around the neck and intertwined DHS lettering in the same colours on the pocket of the blazer. Then we got our fancy and meaningful badge. To introduce everyone to this, we, the junior school, had practices in the hall to portray it visually by walking ¼ by ¼ in a straight line. Then, if you had a band on your finger, you started a new row. You can imagine the complications once you reached the intricate areas of the badge. We presented it at Dalnacraig on Sports Day. When we were in place, Mr. McLaren blew his whistle and we knelt. Again, he blew his whistle and we hunkered right down and there in front of the audience was the living and breathing School Badge – what an introduction! Our class in secondary bonded very well and were good at singing and also hockey so I suggested one day “Why don’t we ask Miss Whytock whether we can have a match with the class above”, which wasn’t on the usual schedule. We voted yes, and I went upstairs to our delightful and approachable Gym/Headmistress. She said “Why not. I’ll arrange it” and we had an amicable and well fought game. Most of the team went on to be in the 1st XI. I used to cycle to Dalnacraig from Downfield with my goalie pads strapped to my handlebars. There was less traffic then and we wore simple navy skirts. In a period of 84 years I have seen the School as a pupil, President of the Old Girls’ Club, a mother and a Board Member for 10 years. I remain forever grateful to the School for the tuition, both scholastic and informal, as well as the deep friendships I formed. Anne Gibson (née Thomson), Class of 1948
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