SCHOOL UNIFORMS: A TRIBUTE TO MR PETER FORKGEN

 SCHOOL UNIFORMS: A TRIBUTE TO MR PETER FORKGEN

As I key in this blog post on May 25, 2022, I wish to pay tribute to an Old Lawrencian: the late Peter Edward Forkgen on his 93 rd birth anniversary. Peter was one of the oldest contributors to "Glimpses Of A Glorious Past: An Informal History of The Lawrence School, Lovedale" 

I first got in touch with him in 2015 when we started the Glimpses Project. Despite his advancing age, difficulties with computer-related work and health issues he was a cheerful contributor. He took great pains to pack in exhaustive details in his descriptions as is evident from the material from him reproduced in this blog post. 

Peter was born on May 25, 1929. His family came to Bengaluru ( then Bangalore) in 1932 from Karachi. He was a student at The Lawrence Memorial Royal Military School from 1935 to 1946.  In 1947, he went to the United States where he lived and worked in many places. His last home was in Bradenton, Fl where he stayed from 1976 till he passed away on October 30, 2017. 

He wrote to me:- 

" I am the last of 16 of the extended Forkgen family admitted to the School from 1862 to 1935, descendants of two British army men, my great-grandfather and his brother, who arrived in India in about 1830. Also my mother's family were living in India, and she and her three siblings spent all their elementary school years at Lovedale between 1902 and about 1912.

I attended from 1935 – 1946. At the age of 5 years and 9 months I was like hundreds of other boys and girls enrolled there from a very tender age. For a great many it was the only school we attended. I like to think that such a long association with the School is what engendered in us such a love and fierce loyalty for the institution."

 

Here's what he wrote about the UNIFORMS of those days:-

 “Description of uniforms — The Lawrence School in the 1930's and 1940's

 

The standard day time uniform: During my years at Lovedale (1935-1946) this consisted of khaki colored cotton twill shorts held up with about a 2-1/2 inches wide brown leather belt with brass buckle. Our shirt was the same material as the shorts, short—sleeved, two breast patch pockets with flaps and button, and shoulder epaulettes.

 

We also wore a tunic or coat. It was of fairly thick serge material; and we generally wore it only in the colder weather, and then it was worn over the khaki shirt. The tunic was olive drab in color, long sleeved, and reached down to about mid-buttocks level, had an upright 1-1/2 inch collar with two hook-and-eye fasteners at the throat; it fastened down the front with 5 or 6 brass buttons; two patch pockets on either side at chest level; two ”cargo” pockets on either side at the bottom; all pockets with brass buttons for closure; shoulder epaulettes with a brass button.

 

The collar caused some discomfort for the first week or so back in school, rubbing our necks a bit raw because of the rough material against skin tenderized by less restrictive shirts over the weeks of our long holiday.

 

The lower cargo pockets on the tunic were certainly useful to keep any number of treasured possessions of a normal young schoolboy away from home — marbles, a pencil stub, a small pocketknife, a folded and crumpled letter from home, and other seemingly incongruous

items like perhaps a ball of string, a rubber band.....and who knows what e|se?....you name it !

They also came in very handy when we roamed the ”jungles” surrounding the school grounds when we were on free time, and went foraging for edible berries such as the hill guavas and jum-lums, and the pockets served to keep for a later time the excess of berries we didn't eat while we were picking them....)

 

We wore knee-length, wool, olive drab socks and black leather lace-up boots. Over the socks we wore the iconic British military ”puttees”. These were a strip of serge, olive drab cloth about 3 to 4 inches wide and about 6 feet long (I don't remember the exact measurements) which were wound spirally around the leg from the top of the boot to just below the knee, and fastened at the top with the attached length of cloth tape, and with the top 3 or 4 inches of sock folded over the top.

 

The ceremonial uniform (also used on Sunday for church): Navy blue, gabardine long pants with a 1-1/4 inch wide red strip down the outside of each leg from waist to cuff. The tunic, worn over the undershirt, was similar navy blue gabardine, long-sleeved, each sleeve with a broad (3 inch) red wool cuff. The collar was upright, 2-1/2 inches wide, and the same red material as the sleeve cuffs and pants stripe, with two hook—and—eye fasteners at the throat. The tunic fastened down the front with 5 brass buttons, and had two patch pockets at the top with brass buttons, and epaulettes with a brass button, and there were no lower pockets. We wore a 2-1/2 inch wide brown leather belt at the waist; also two small brass badges (school crest design) on each side of the collar.

 

A cap completed the uniform — the typical military peak cap design, blue felt top with a red band, and black polished leather peak, with a white stiff cotton cover over the blue top. A brass badge , similar but slightly larger than the collar badges, was pinned to the front and center of the red band.

 

The prefects (considered ”officers") had a different design ceremonial uniform. Although they wore the same style pants as the rank and file, and also the same style cap, the upper part of the uniform was different. They wore a white cotton shirt and black tie under a navy blue suit-type tunic, with the open collar and fold-back lapels; two upper patch pockets and two lower cargo pockets each with the brass buttons.; and a brass school crest badge was worn on each lapel.

The prefects carried a sword rather than a rifle like the rank and file, so in addition to the broad leather belt at the waist they also wore the Sam Browne narrower leather strap, right shoulder to left side at the waist, which supported the sword scabbard.

 

Of course all the ”brass” associated with the uniforms, and the leather belts, to say nothing of the boots, had to be maintained with a high degree of polish and shine - the boots coming in for the figurative, and literal, spit and polish treatment, which could , and with the more industrious and conscientious boy did, result in a patent leather , see—your—face—in—it shine.

 

Those boys who cared enough to have a knife—edge crease in their ”Sunday” pants, folded them  appropriately when they were not in use, and placed them flat between their lower sheet and mattress rather than hang them in the communal dormitory cupboard as they did with their tunic. Thus they were able to maintain the good crease in them effortlessly while they slept....)

 

With a view to the old saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words, ” I have attached two color photos of the weekly Sunday "March past” parade. The photos are presented here courtesy of Ian Firth: he obtained black and white copies from a friend, and class mate, of mine, alumna Rita (Cabral ) Gorham , with whom I am still in frequent mail contact after 71 years !, and Ian ingeniously added the proper colors, and sent them to me.

 

 

After the church service the students from the Upper School (as separate from the Preparatory School age students) assembled behind the church, and then marched past the reviewing stand, on their way back to the Boys’ School. The Principal generally took the salute; in these two photos , taken in 1943, it was the Revd. F. R. L. Brooke. However, if a distinguished person, military or otherwise was visiting the School he would take the salute, with the then Principal at his side and just a little back from him !

The March past parade would be led by the School band, followed , as in the first photo, by our much respected and admired School Sergeant Major, Earnest J. Nicholls. The Head Prefect followed Sergt. He was followed by several platoons of students, each led by the Prefect in charge of each platoon. 

I venture to say from seeing a slightly enlarged copy of the second photo, that the single striper ( lance corporal) second in the right column is myself. The student in front of me is Peter Atkinson and the Prefect leading our Platoon is Jimmy Eldridge." 

Peter finds mention in the October 2021 episode of Glimpses of a Glorious Past on the OLA's YouTube Channel. 

I am glad Peter went through "Glimpses" as it was published in May 2017. He told me he spent hours glued to his computer reading a few pages every day. I last heard from him on July 25, 2017. He wrote: " Thank you so very much, Prem, for sending this to me.   I am really delighted to have this.  -  .   

It is a job well done -- thanks to all who have been responsible.

Kind regards,  

Peter. "

Thank you for all your help, my friend. Rest In Peace.