CARDIFFREMEMBERED School days tales offer rare glimpse of life in the city

CARDIFF Remembered reader Stephen Day has kindly sent me a copy of the reminiscences of his great uncle John “Jack” Kelly about his early life in Cardiff.

Jack lived from 1903 to 1994, and this week – in a rare and fascinating glimpse of our city from more than a century ago and through World War I – we take a look at his school days.

He wrote: “I went to school when I was five in November 1908. My mother took me.

“She wore a long camel coloured coat with a cape over the shoulder and her dress had leg o’ the mutton sleeves.

“The school was Ninian Park Elementary at the corner of Virgil Street and Sloper Road, Grangetown.

“We were received by the headmistress, Miss Camp, and when my mother left me I kicked out at Miss Camp and cried at being left with a stranger for the first time in my life.

“However, I soon learned to love Miss Camp and, many years later, saw her obituary in the local Echo which reminded me of my first day at school.

“I also revered the headmaster of the boys’ school.

“His name was WH Nettleton. His handwriting was beautiful and he singled me out from the hundred or so boys because I was thin and delicate looking.

“At playtime he called me aside and gave me some sandwiches on several occasions, so must have thought I was ill-nourished.

“I probably told my mother about this but she never went to the school to complain about it – she may have been conscience-stricken, having become a drunkard by 1917 as my father was serving as a Merchant Navy sailor with the Royal Navy in the job of minesweeping at Scapa Flow, the naval base in Scotland.

“During the 1914-18 war, he only got leave on a few occasions, so was out of touch with family affairs.

“I had two sisters older than myself – Lilian, the eldest, and Mabel.