Continued from Part 2 Going to Britain.
Ina goes on to talk about her life at boarding school in Swansea after her parents had left her and Beth there and gone back to Peru with Agnes and Ruth.
Because Beth was a year older she had a room with girls of her age and I with girls of my age. Dorothy and Grace Trotman, twins, whose parents were missionaries in Bolivia had just started there. Dorothy and I went right through to the 6th form, tho' not doing the same subjects, and kept in touch tho' rather sketchily forever after. We attended her wedding and she ours. When Brian and I first married and lived in Muswell Hill her parents lived very near as did Grace. Her mother also looked after us at one point when my parents were on furlough but my mother had to have a hysterectomy. The twins' older brother was Beth's age. In 1964 he and his wife were in Uganda when we were in Kenya. We visited them and in the course of that visit our Renault 4 overturned and was a write off. We were on the Congo border at Lake Albert. Christine, the youngest of the Trotmans, became and remained friendly with our younger sister, Ruth - but that was quite few years later.
[LM, In the 1960s Ina and Brian lived in Kenya, where I was born, and Zambia, where my brother was born. They were teachers there].
Barbara Troke was also there. She had been adopted - from what circumstances I don't know - by 2 missionaries (Troke) to India. A strange business adopting a child but handing her over to others to look after. We also maintained slight knowledge of her in future years - a distinctly eccentric person. She was goalkeeper in our hockey team. Then there was Mary Carr. Her parents had no missionary connections but she had been abandoned. She always had a fancy for the boys even in primary school - prep school we called it. She wrote a note to a boy one day and passed it down to him in class and it was discovered. She was probably 9 or 10. The blame was attached to me in spite of my denials. I was put into our bedroom and left there until I would confess which I had no intention of doing. It stuck in my throat to say I'd done something I hadn't. On the other hand no way would I snitch - but I was jolly mad with Mary for letting me take the blame. What happened eventually I'm not sure except that I never admitted to writing the note - which was probably a couple of kisses or something pretty innocuous. Perhaps Mary finally owned up or someone else divulged the true culprit or the staff got fed up. I realised life was jolly unfair and we are helpless in the face of some injustice.
Well, Dorothy, Grace, Barbara, Mary, Beth and I were old stagers. We were around in school holidays often and at half terms when others went to relatives or friends. We were also as young as boarders were - many came at later stages and ages. Up in the college - where future missionaries were trained - there were also Paul and Joy McCullough. Their father had died of blackwater fever in Nigeria and their mother kept them at the college. I don't know why not at the school - perhaps because Joy was only about 4 years old. In some ways they were more privileged but in one respect they were at a disadvantage. They were surrounded by adults - we always has plenty of companions and indeed a choice of companions. There were enough of us to have a game of hockey out of school hours and to play kick the can and so on. Joy came down regularly to the school and she and I got very friendly. She also rarely left the premises at holiday times, This was not so long after the war and Joy and I played spies based on a book G33, I think it was called. G33 was the daring Englishman and then there was a fat foolish German. We scurried about in the bushes playing out these roles and events. We were lucky to have large ground and areas in which to play.
Joy and I both learned to play the piano and when we were reasonably proficient we would play duets on St David's Day when there was always a concert. March Militaire and the Queen of Sheba I remember particularly. Joy got the most glamorous part - the treble - while I played a solid bass. She was dashing and attractive and I think liked me because I presented no threat and was amenable. We lost touch for a while in later years but then rediscovered each other in our forties. We had a go at the Queen of Sheba again! Joy was always extremely sporty. I played for the netball and hockey teams, too, but always in a less dashing role - not the goalscorer or winger. A defender. Joy went on to play hockey for Glamorgan and South wales. Hockey and the piano were wonderful things - a source of pleasure and interest.
Piano lessons were every week. I'm not sure when I started learning. For lessons we had to walk up to the college about half a mile away. It was a chance for freedom. I passed all the houses and had a good gawk and ambled along unsupervised and independent. Miss Raven was my teacher. I don't think she was very good really - she didn't inspire me or anything but I plodded on and took the exams. It was quite an ordeal but added a touch of drama to a fairly prosaic life.
When I was 11 and moved to the secondary school Yvonne came along. Her parents were missionaries with the Christian Literature Crusade. They actually lived in London but decided to send Yvonne to Emmanuel Grammar School as it was called. Yvonne started at 11 - she was an only child and I don't think her parents got on all that well and I think coming to Swansea was an exciting thing for her - so many friends. I sat beside her and looked on enviously at her pencil case which was louvred and zipped back back rather cleverly. She got away every holiday, even half terms, and had her own clothes and possessions. Things were very different to this for some of us.
Daphne Foster then appeared, probably aged about 13 or 14. Her parents were missionaries in Israel and she had been with them there. It had become rather dangerous. Her father was Welsh and his sister didn't live far from Swansea - Risca. Daphne got away every holiday too and once she took me. I saw my first television there and we went to a Pentecostal meeting where people got up and spoke 'in tongues'. I was most intrigued by her Aunt's relationship with John. Clearly they had a romantic attachment and he was at her house frequently, but there was some reason they couldn't actually marry. It was very cosy visiting a home. [LM, John hasn't been mentioned before, I assume he is just a local man].
Sonia Palmer appeared even later I think. Her parents were missionaries in Colombia. She had a slight twang in her speech - she had been everywhere, living in the states and Australia. She was in Swansea for 3 or 4 years which was longer than she'd been anywhere. About half a century later she told me how difficult it had been to make friends and how valuable her Swansea friendships were and are. Everywhere else no sooner had she made a friend than she had to say goodbye.
Betty Colley also appeared about the age of 12 or 13. Her parents had been missionaries in China but now her father was an administrator in Malaysia.
These new entrants added a touch of exoticism and varied our monotonous routines. There were others too - Sheila Stewart who had a record player and a record - the Student Prince. She was American and her father would donate boxes of chocolate when he descended on us. How I loved 'The Drinking Song'.
But Daphne, Dorothy, Sonia, Beth and I went on together to the Sixth Form. Joy was actually a year older than I and left school, consequently, a year earlier. She was Head Girl, Captain of our House, and I followed her into both these roles. We five VI formers called ourselves the 'asile' - I think our interpretation was madhouse. Dorothy, Daphne, and I did Latin and English. We all did English except Dorothy and I also did History. I have been more in touch with Yvonne in adult life than with the others. Daphne went off to America after a shotgun wedding to Gary Goldschneider, a super pianist. She was in fact engaged to Mike Garrett, a jazz musician, but for some reason suddenly dashed off to Paris with Gary and then to the States and they had 2 sons. Subsequently they divorced, she remarried and separated again and had other relationships. She lectured in drama and theatre studies.
Sonia married a theologian whom she met while at university. They lived in the states for most of their lives and had 2 sons. We visited them in Boston and met from time to time when Sonia was over in England.
Betty married someone she met at university, an agriculturalist, Ken. We visited them in South Africa twice while we were in Zambia. Tony, their son and Luke were very friendly until their teenage years.
Dorothy married an MP - he was a student at Swansea where she was also a student. And was in the diplomatic service before becoming a barrister and then an MP. They were stationed at Budapest for a while. We also went to their wedding and Dorothy to ours. Dorothy's twin, Grace, had been born with one leg shorter than the other. She wore calipers on the shorter leg. She had to have treatment including operations and went to Oswestry in Shropshire. The twins were rather favoured by many staff - because of their twin-ness, I suppose - but particularly by Uncle Toby. (All the domestic staff were called Uncles or Aunts). He would go up to visit her in a car and take Dorothy and I usually went along too. It was quite an adventure. It meant a very early start and picnic lunch and it was a change. Subsequently Grace did business studies, worked in Uganda but ended up as her brother in law's secretary in the House of Commons. We all thought her very plucky - she participated in everything she possibly could. Eventually she had to have her shorter leg amputated because bone disease set in. She never married but Dorothy had 3 sons.
People I recognise from this photo are: Yvonne, back row, second from left; Betty 4th from left back row; Dorothy 5th from left back row; Ina, third from left front row; sister Agnes second from right front row. I am guessing as there are mixed ages here and no boys this is maybe the hockey or netball team. It is also at a later stage than Ina has so far described in Part 3 as Agnes is here and she came to the school later, to be described in Part 5. If anyone sees any mistakes or can fill in any other names let me know.
In the next Part 4 Ina digresses to talk more about her family. Then in the post after that she comes back to Swansea and school.