Until the late 1950s it was normal for school boys to wear short trousers until they were in their teens.

An example of a teenage boy in short trousers is seen in a photo of Bill Heath, who was a pupil at Osborne House School, in Church Street in the 1920s.

The picture is damaged but it gives an idea of Bill in his school uniform, with school tie and cap, short trousers and boots. He is standing in Church Street outside the school wall. He reminds me of the fictional ‘Just William’, being somewhat scruffy even for a photograph.

Another fashion that is long gone, is that boys wore ties with squared off ends, unlike men’s ties with their V-shaped ends. These boys’ ties were undoubtedly much cheaper to make because conventional ties are elaborate structures.

In school photos taken before 1910, little boys were wearing trousers that reached nearly to their knees, accompanied by long socks that also nearly reached their knees. Older readers may remember elastic garters that held one’s socks up. Getting the balance right between their doing the job for which they were designed, but not being too tight, could be tricky.

One of my favourite photos is of a class of little boys, aged about 5, that had been taken in 1897. They were pupils at the Infants School in Church Lane.

Some of these infants were wearing Eton collars and another had a jacket reminiscent of a sailor suit. They all seem to have hobnailed boots. It is interesting that the class has both a female teacher, and an assistant who is wearing a maid’s pinafore.

School uniform was, in those days, and for many years to come, reserved for private schools, for which fees were paid, and uniform was part of the expense of being privately educated.

The exception was that boys whose school fees were provided by charities were provided with clothing so they could attend and they had distinctive markers such as coloured hat bands. In the 18th and for much of the 19th centuries, the town had two educational charities that were provided under the wills of John Nowes of Lee and John St Barbe of Broadlands.

Much male clothing, being based on wool, quickly lost its shape and men and boys are now immeasurably smarter with the use of synthetic fabrics, which are washable and retain their shape.

Phoebe Merrick
Romsey Local History Society

Pictures

817 Boys Infant Class at the Abbey School in 1897

9419 Bill Heath, a pupil of Osborne House School in about 1924. The school has been replace by Abbey Walk