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THETFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND COFEPOW

David Seymour M.A.(Oxon) M.Phil(UEA)
Head of History, Thetford Grammar School, Thetford, Norfolk

A. INTRODUCTION

Thetford Grammar School and COFEPOW came together in the autumn of 2001 when I was trying to make contact with organizations which would be relevant to the subject of its 2001 Remembrance Service. No more appropriate contact could have been made and together we were able to put together, for the pupils of Thetford Grammar School, a meaningful and memorable Remembrance experience which fitted in well with the recent practice of Remembrance at the school.

In recent years it has been my intention to create amongst the pupils a greater awareness of the reality of the loss represented by Remembrance by focussing on a former pupil of the school, to foster a greater interest in the theme of Remembrance in general, and to set both the particular and the general in a clear historical framework.

Our Remembrance Services began their new format in 1997 with a study of the loss of two Old Boys, who had joined the school on the same day in 1909, on the first day of the battle of the Somme in 1916. 1998 continued the First World War theme in the eightieth anniversary year of the Armistice. 1999 saw us turn to the Royal Navy in the Second World War, and 2000 the Royal Air Force in that same conflict.

B. REMEMBRANCE SERVICE, NOVEMBER 2001

For our Remembrance Service in 2001 we remembered all those who have died in the service of this country and in particular Ernest Gothard, Alec Dove and William Lord, Old Boys of this school. All three died at the hands of the Japanese in the Far East during the Second World War. Ernest died during the defence of Singapore on 12 February 1942. Alec and William died in 1943 whilst working as prisoners of war on the Thai-Burma railway. The horrific conditions under which they laboured, and which finally killed them, formed the basis of our Act of Remembrance this year.

School records show that Ernest Gothard was born on 2 October 1917 and that he joined the school in September 1929 at the age of 11. His family lived in Watton, where his father was a motor mechanic. Ernest left school, aged 16, in March 1934. William Lord was born on 20 January 1919. He joined the school a year after Ernest, in September 1930 at the age of 11. His family lived in Thetford, where his father was a blacksmith. William left school, aged 16, in July 1935. Alec Dove was born on 3 June 1918 and joined the school in January 1931 at the age of 12. His family lived in Great Ellingham, where his father was a farmer. Alec left school, aged 16, in July 1934. Their names are recorded on the war memorial and in the memorial book in the School Library.

The Act of Remembrance was in the style of recent years at the school. Use was made of the recollections of ex-Far East Prisoners, as well as extracts from a medical officer's report written in one of the camps in 1944. The Act of Remembrance was led by COFEPOW's Carol Cooper, whose own father died on the railway. In the secret diary which he kept whilst a prisoner he mentioned the death of Bill Lord on 14 September 1943. Thus there was a very strong connection between Carol and the school. Of the pupils who read in the service one had a grandfather who had been a FEPOW.

After the service there was a ceremonial tree planting to honour the memory of the Old Boys featured in the service. The tree had been chosen by the school by ballot following a display of the most suitable trees by members of the Environment Club.

After this, guests, including three veterans of the prison camps representing both the Cambridgeshire and Royal Norfolk regiments, were invited to view the commemorative exhibition which featured material kindly lent by COFEPOW as well as displays by pupils. Amongst the material which Carol had lent were water colours depicting events in his imprisonment by FEPOW Fred Seiker. These vivid portraits of FEPOW life had a profound effect upon the pupils who viewed the exhibition.

Proceedings concluded with a buffet lunch during which the guests, including veterans Cyril Ramsey of the Royal Norfolks, and Walter Badcock and Peter Legge of the Cambridgeshires, and their pupil hosts were able to continue discussions stimulated by the events of the morning.

On the following Tuesday Alec Dove's widow, now re-married, visited the school to view the war memorials, the exhibition, and the commemorative tree.

The pupils were very moved by the story of Carol's search for the story of her father which they had seen on video in the days running up to the service. It was all the more poignant for them that he had known one of the Old Boys whom we were commemorating. The presence at the service of veterans of the prison camps brought home to the congregation the reality of the events which they were hearing described in the Act of Remembrance.

The Memorial Tree with foliage a few months after planting

C. COFEPOW EXHIBITION AT THETFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL, MARCH 2002

Thetford Grammar School was delighted to host COFEPOW's Spring exhibition in order to enable the charity to reach an audience in south Norfolk and north Suffolk, to support it in its quest for funds for its memorial in the National Memorial Arboretum, and to highlight the importance of Remembrance throughout the year.

The exhibition, mounted for COFEPOW by local collector Vic Brown, showed thousands of documents and artefacts relating to the war in the Far East and to the experiences of the prisoners of war. It was very well attended throughout the day.

Pupils of the school's Archive Group attended and were fortunate to meet and interview a wide range of people, who had either been prisoners in the Far East or were members of their families. The pupils sought the reactions of the visitors to the exhibition, finding out what had brought them to the exhibition and learning about what they had discovered from the thousands of items on display about the fate of family members in the Far East. This event was important for pupils' realisation of Remembrance as a continuing process, not something which we only consider on November 11, and for the opportunity which it afforded for them to discuss the issue with visitors. Extracts from two of their reports of the event are included below:

The first report:
'The first person I spoke to was involved personally since her grandfather had been a prisoner of the Japanese. Her whole family had lived in Burma and when the war with Japan began her family had to go and live in the jungle to avoid the bombing. In the next two years her family moved from place to place to avoid being caught by the Japanese. Finally in 1944 her grandfather was arrested by the Japanese and accused of spying for the British. They took him to a prisoner of war camp where he died as a result of his ill-treatment there.

The main reason she came to the exhibition was to research as much as she could about what happened in her village and about the people who were sent to Japan. Her reaction to the exhibition was very positive. "The information was very detailed and good, although I would have needed much more time to look and study all of it." As well as using the exhibition she has also talked to brothers and sisters of people who died in her village, and has spoken to people in Brandon to help her with her research. She found the exhibition very personal, as she was able to speak to people who, like her, were involved in some way.

She feels that Remembrance is very important because it is easy to forget the bravery and courage of all the people involved.'

The second report:
'The COFEPOW exhibition at Thetford Grammar gave me a lot of inspiration for the school Remembrance Project and made the whole project seem more real!

The majority of the people at the exhibition were friends and family of Far East Prisoners of War, many of whom had died in the camps. Most of the people I spoke to told me that the parts of their relatives' lives spent in the camps are black holes in their family histories which only one person could tell them about. In most case the torture and pain of the camps left them unable to talk about it in detail so these men and women, of a very different generation, have to use their own resourcefulness to uncover the facts about their fathers, brothers, uncles and cousins.

One man I spoke to had a father who was killed in one of the Far East camps and he told us about his quest to uncover information about his father's life. This may sound difficult but in fact it is not as difficult as you would think! His main resource was the COFEPOW website. Letters, seeking details of a relative, can be inserted on the Information Page and other members are also willing to help with details and names of camps, ships etc. So far this has been very successful but to find out more precise facts he writes to record offices and army documentation facilities which give him record cards and enrolment details which give him a surprisingly personal insight into his father's life.'

The Memorial Tree in 2005

The Memorial Tree in flower for first time June 2008

Copyright - D Seymour 2002

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