A Cold War schooling. A comprehensive history of the British Families Education Service boarding schools in Hamm, West Germany. Over 16,000 pupils, nearly 1,000 teachers and several thousand administrative and ancillary staff studied, taught and worked at the schools in their 30 years of operation. A history with walk on parts by Hitler, General Montgomery, Clement Atlee, Pierre Trudeau and Mrs Thatcher.
The book is in two parts. The first is a narrative history. It starts by asking the question “why did British schoolchildren need schools in West Germany?” The story sees the creation of the British Families Education Service, the first secondary schools in 1947 and the opening of Windsor School in November 1953. In 1959 the school split into two, a kilometre or so apart. By 1981 the two schools remerged prior to closing in 1983. The second part is a series of chapters of the life of the school, including teachers, matrons, activities and sports, Anglo German relations and the school bands!. The book is part oral history with memories from many former pupils and teachers supplementing considerable contemporary writings including the school magazines, Ambassador and Concordia.
It provides key historical details on a small but important part of the UK´s engagement in the Cold War.
The e-Book can be downloaded. These are uncorrected versions so plenty of typos and punctuation glitches!!!
- from https://windsorschool.cicadastudio.com/viewers-content/stephen-green
- from https://www.bfposchools.co.uk/archivepart3 (pdf also available at this webpage)
or email me at wbswgshistory@gmail.com
The book is free, although a donation to support Ukrainian refugees would be welcome.