April, my month and my father’s, a big celebration in our family. Ironically, he always used to say a bad month for business. This year, is a big month for three of the Abrahamic Religions, with Ramadan and Passover starting on April 2 and 15 respectively and Easter Sunday on April 17. And for those who find solace and joy in nature, Earth Day is April 22
Here in Winchelsea, our March Second Wednesday talk came off the front pages and into the New Hall. Mary Smith, the former head teacher of Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, spoke to us about “A Schoolgirl’s War”.
War in Europe, is no longer just in black and white, but now in glorious technicolour on our screens daily. The previous Sunday evening many of us had attended Micha Galant’s piano recital in aid of Ukraine, held at St Thomas’ church.
Mary reminded us that along with the high-tech of smartphones, the low-tech of paper and paint is equally vivid. The British Army still has official war artists after all, commissioned to document specific conflicts. The most familiar to us may be Paul Nash, who lived in Rye for a short time. He recorded both the first and second world wars.
After her chance discovery of “War Diary 1939-46” and a network of bomb shelters built under the school, Mary has made it her life’s work to highlight the beautiful artwork of Helen Keen and the social and architectural history of life for schoolchildren during the second world war. Helen was the art teacher who kept that diary, a record of daily life, in sketches and watercolour. Her pictures are bright and humorous but packed with historical detail, making them a unique archive.
She tracked down and interviewed 60 old girls and staff, who gave her their first-hand recollections of school life in those underground tunnels. They were able to explain some of the logistics of learning in such cramped and inhospitable conditions, not immediately obvious to those not present. The damp walls were lined with benches, where the girls would sit, opposite one another, knees touching. When the teachers needed to get past, the instruction was “legs left” and a path immediately appeared, allowing them through.
As someone clearly passionate about education and the wellbeing of children, she also touched on the effects of the pandemic and how today’s Maidstone girls have also expressed themselves through art, using Helen’s paintings as inspiration.
Women and children suffer very specifically during conflict. Their unique vulnerabilities make them an easy target, but it’s ultimately their strength that allows a society to rebuild itself.
When President Zelensky took office in 2019, he said this in his inaugural speech: “I do not want my picture in your offices, the president is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang your kids’ pictures instead and look at them every time you make a decision”.
Wise and prescient words.
Image Credits: Mary Smith – 'A Schoolgirl's War' .