Dodgy hygiene practices

Share your memories and stories from the Hertford Christ's Hospital School, which closed in 1985, when the two schools integrated to the Horsham site....

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icomefromalanddownunder
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Dodgy hygiene practices

Post by icomefromalanddownunder »

Last Friday, while observing a set of very sweaty armpits, and discussing nerve blocks and Botox with a colleague, I had a flashback to being required to sew 'things' into the sleeves of our Sunday blouses. I remember them as being there to collect the secretions of our sweat glands, so that our blouses only required laundering once, at the end of term.

Please, someone, tell me that my memory is playing tricks!

If it isn't, is anyone able to answer the following questions?

Did we replace the offending objects only at the beginning of term?
Did we use new ones, or were they laundered?
Did they smell? How bad? How far into term did they become offensive?
Are they still available?
Caroline Payne (nee Barrett)
Hertford 6.20 1965-70

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Post by Katharine »

When I was in 6s we did not have them (dress shields) in the Sunday blouses, but we did in the Coatfrocks, our prevoius Sunday uniform. As far as I remember, we changed them several times a term, or more if you wanted to, but nobody did! (We had the hideous Yellow Dresses for Summer Sundays so did not wear the coatfrocks in the very hot weather - can't remember about dress shileds in yellow dresses) I think they were washed but can't guarantee that. They are still available, also available as disposable paper ones. I have used these in silk outfits on occasion and always think of school!
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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Post by icomefromalanddownunder »

Katharine wrote:When I was in 6s we did not have them (dress shields) in the Sunday blouses
Dress shields - of course!
Thank you Katharine.

Disposable paper ones for wearing with silk sound like a good idea, but from memory we used cotton covered rubber - although this makes little sense to me, since rubber is non-absorbent.
Caroline Payne (nee Barrett)
Hertford 6.20 1965-70

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Post by englishangel »

Caroline, you are absolutely correct in all respects. We had them in both summer and winter blouses and I suppose we took them out and washed them as necessary.

You can still get tehm in John Lewis, in fact we were just discussing them the other day as a colleague had taken a sleeveless silk dress to be cleaned. You cannot of course use shields in a sleeveless dress.

She had bought the dress in Oxfam or some such for £8.00 and it cost £6.50 to be cleaned!!
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Post by Vonny »

We didn't have these when I was at Hertford. I've never even heard of such a thing!
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Post by midget »

Vonny wrote:We didn't have these when I was at Hertford. I've never even heard of such a thing!
But did you still have the coatfrocks? If you did it seems strange that the youngest and the oldest missed out! We certainly didn't have dress protectors. I don't know when (if at all) the coatfrocks were cleaned but the collars were laundered roughly half way through each of the winter terms and we had the horrible job of stitching the brutes back on. We reckoned the laundrey used tot try to distort them as much as possible.
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Post by Katharine »

Coatfrocks went in my time, I know I was confirmed wearing one in Spring 1962, by the following year the veils had been replaced with far flimsier ones but I cannot be sure whether the new veils were worn with coatfrocks. I was taken to Chelsea Flower Show by DR when I was in LVI, May 1964, and was wearing a grey dress then.

We far preferred the coatfrocks to the grey pinafore dresses which replaced them. The collars were still washed once a term in my time, and I well remember stitching them back. Some people never learnt the art of getting the points of the collar the same both sides.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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Post by Vonny »

midget wrote:
Vonny wrote:We didn't have these when I was at Hertford. I've never even heard of such a thing!
But did you still have the coatfrocks?
No - never heard of them either! :oops: :lol:
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Post by kerrensimmonds »

I have a photograph of a Hertford uniform display in the Museum at Horsham.
The model is wearing a coatfrock ..... and a panama hat.
Ah well :roll:
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Post by englishangel »

hmmm, sounds as though they need some help.

Panamas were for summer and velours for winter, so a coatfrock would have been worn with a velour and a yellow dress with a panama.

Both before my time as I only overlapped Katharine by a term and Kerren by a year.

There are photos in the CH book.
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Post by Katharine »

I think coatfrocks were worn all year round until the yellow dresses came in in 1952, so it may not be an anachronism. Perhaps Midget would know.

I went to Horsham Speech Day my brother's first year, 1953, (I was only 6) and distinctly remember the BIG girls there, wearing yellow dresses with gloves. We never had summer gloves.
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Post by midget »

Katharine wrote:I think coatfrocks were worn all year round until the yellow dresses came in in 1952, so it may not be an anachronism. Perhaps Midget would know.

I went to Horsham Speech Day my brother's first year, 1953, (I was only 6) and distinctly remember the BIG girls there, wearing yellow dresses with gloves. We never had summer gloves.
I can't remember what we wore to Horsham Speech Day, but we wore coatfrocks with blazers and PANAMAs to the St Matthews Day service in 1951 (and lisle stockings).

We had Sunday cotton dresses in summer, in various blue checks. They were of course totally shapeless. The yellow dresses were introduced in 1953, and I remember that at OG's dat that year the 6th form were moaning about them, as hey apparently didn't suit anybody.
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Post by kerrensimmonds »

The yellow dresses also were a magnet for greenfly and blackfly....
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Post by Katharine »

kerrensimmonds wrote:The yellow dresses also were a magnet for greenfly and blackfly....
How well I remember that! The greenfly anyway, not so sure about the black ones.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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Post by kerrensimmonds »

There was one celebrated night in 5's when it was thundery and the dormitory ceilings became laden with fruit flies from the tulip tree out at the back on the corner of the Field. We were so hot we just had our sheets over us, but in the morning they were black with the flies which had died and dropped off the ceilings, onto our beds and onto the floor. YUK. Does anyone else remember that??!!
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