“Bend over the chair and put your hands flat on the seat.” Again, I did as I was told. However, at the time I could only do as I was told. In retrospect, he definitely got a kick out of seeing boys’ bare bottoms. I don’t know whether Mr Dawson was actually authorised to make young boys take their pants down for the cane – I suppose it was a private school and they could do what they liked in those days. “Take down your trousers and your underpants.” I had no idea it was to be on the bare bottom and I almost felt like crying there and then. “Come and stand here.” I obeyed and was treated to the briefest of lectures – we both knew the rules – then I got a real shock… “Close the door behind you, Roberts.” I did so and turning back to him, I noticed a hall chair which had been placed in the middle of the room. We sometimes called him ‘Hitler’ behind his back because of the resemblance, but wouldn’t dared to have done so to his face, of course. He wore an academic gown and had Brylcreemed hair with a ‘toothbrush’ moustache. I went in through the door and there was Mr Dawson, already holding the cane. “He says you’re to go in now,” he said before sloping off.īy now I was absolutely terrified but there was no escaping my punishment. A further, final whack followed.Įventually, the crying coming from the office died down, and after a further wait Paul emerged with a tear-stained face and furiously rubbing his bottom. Then there was another stroke of the cane, and this time Paul started to cry properly. Suddenly, I heard a firm ‘whack’ and Paul let out a huge ‘ooww!’ There was a little more talking by the head – again, I couldn’t hear what he was saying. The door closed and although I could hear talking inside, I wasn’t able to hear what was being said. Come with me.” Paul shot a final, scared look over his shoulder at me and followed the headmaster into his office. The headmaster, Mr Dawson, was evidently already in there as we could hear him moving around the room, but we knew you had to wait outside until you were called.Īfter what seemed like a lifetime, the door finally opened Mr Dawson appeared.
When the final bell of the day had rung out, Paul and I made our way together, both very wobbly-legged, to the corridor outside the head’s office. It was the first time for us both and we were both very frightened – the most I had ever had before was a dose of my dad’s slipper on the seat of my trousers.
We received our fourth demerit fairly early on in the morning, so we had all day to think about what would happen. Both of us had been sitting on three demerits – and now the time for sitting had come to an end!Īny boys needing to see the headmaster were ordered to wait outside his office at four o’clock, the end of the school day. Both I and a friend of mine, Paul Jennings both got a demerit in the same lesson for constantly not paying attention. I can vividly recall my first visit to his study. You were allowed up to three demerits per term without punishment – after that, your bottom had an appointment with the headmaster. However, the school also operated a ‘demerit’ system for minor acts of disobedience, such as running in the corridor, being late for class, talking during a lesson etc. Obviously, serious misbehaviour was dealt with summarily, and there was a handful of boys each month who were sent to the head in those circumstances. Unfortunately, as I found out before too long, there were basically two ways to earn a visit to the headmaster’s office for a whacking. And actually I was – I was certainly no rebel, and fully expected to stay out of trouble. My parents had warned me before my departure that the school used the cane, and the warning was accompanied by a severe admonishment to be a good boy.
When I was seven years old, I was sent away to board at a private preparatory (prep) school for boys in the south of England – this was in the 1970s and corporal punishment was still available for errant schoolboys.