Ypres British School.
First Report.
246
THE YPRES TIMES
THE School is situated in the Ypres British Settlement, immediately west of
the Cathedral.
The School was opened in April this year. Separate desks and chairs
are given to each child, and the latest modern equipment necessary for teaching
has been provided.
We have to thank the Education Officer, Brig.-General G. H. Gater, and the
officers of the London County Council, for securing suitable teachers for the
School; it speaks well for the enterprise of these teachers, as there were over 100
applicants for the post.
Mr. and Mrs. Morris were chosen and have fully justified the confidence placed
in them in every way. No two people could have faced the uphill work ahead of
them with more courage; for example, only five of the children understood English
properly, yet so successful has been their influence over the children and their
parents that at the end of June the numbers attending school were doubled, and
now number 76 (43 boys, 33 girls). An extra room and an assistant teacher had
to be arranged for.
In three months all these children were receiving an English education, and
they were being brought up as British citizens, to the intense relief of their parents.
I am informed that the system of education and technical training has gained
the admiration of all the Belgians who have studied it.
A deep debt of gratitude is due to the assistance given to the School by the
Imperial War Graves Commission in bringing in the children from the outlying
cemeteries free of charge; for those who are acquainted with the Salient, I give
a list of these places, from which it is easy at once to recognize the magnitude of
the work entailed.
1. Artillery Wood Boesinghe
2. Bedford House Zillebeke
3. Boesinghe Churchyard
4. Cement House Langemarck
5. Dickebusch
6. Hooge Crater Zillebeke
7. La Brique St. Jean
8. La Plus Douve Ploegsteert
9. Messines Ridge
10. New Irish Farm St. Jean
11. Oostaverne Wood Wytschaete
12. Passchendaele.
13. Ploegsteert
14. Pond Farm Wulverghem
15. Railway Dug-Outs Zillebeke
16. Rifle House Warneton
17. Spoilbank Zillebeke
18. St. Jean Churchyard
19. Tyne Cot Passchendaele
20. St. Quentin Ploegsteert
FINANCE.
The teachers are paid on the Burnham Scale and altogether we have to
find about £800 per annum; it is calculated that each child cost £10 per annum in
addition to the fees paid by the parents.
An appeal to some Public Schools, signed by Lord Plumer and Archbishop
Lord Davidson, was issued on June 6th; from the results of this appeal we can
only calculate on being able to pay for the education of forty children. When it
is realized what a benefit the School is conferring, I am certain that the necessary
funds will be forthcoming from companies, public bodies, regiments, and
