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Page 20 text:
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THE BRANKSOME AND SHERBORNE TRADITION The Beginnings: June — September 1940 Don ' t worry. Canada will never let you down , and how right he was, that former Prime Minister of Canada, R.B. Bennett, who in June 1940 sent us off with these encouraging words. The Editor-in-Chief of The Slogan has asked me to write of the trials and tribulations of that time, but as I re-read my diary the only trial and tribulation I find having mention was the, to us, intense heat and humidity, but I find also that even Miss Read said she had never been so laid out by the heat before ! What has far more frequent mention is the tremendous kindness of everyone we met, from the Headmistress Miss Read (as she was then known) and members of staff who gave up time in their holidays to look after us or entertain us in their homes, to members of the school and their parents who also opened their homes to the English arrivals. At one time in the summer of 1940 it looked as though a large number of girls would be coming from Sherborne and that the first party of 27 girls and three staff was but the advance guard going ahead to prepare the , way. As it turned out, however, only indivi- duals followed, and the numbers never ex- ceeded 47. The uncertainty with regard to how many were coming made planning difficult, particularly as on our arrival in Toronto we were thinking in terms of at least one hundred and trying to find accommodation for that number. From the start Branksome Hall gave us a wonderful welcome. Miss Read had immediately opened the school at the beginning of July (term having ended in June) to be a transit hostel for war guests from Britain, and we found ourselves taken there on arrival. Awaiting us were many invitations to homes of Branksome parents and to summer camps, and in a very short time all the girls had gone away with their hostesses, leaving the three Sherborne staff to set about finding accommodation for the autumn. We looked at hotels and golf club houses and explored empty houses of many shapes and sizes, helped all the time by Miss Read, our indomitable hostess. From her we had the assurance that if there were sufficient Sherborne girls and staff to run a separate school, we might have the use of the Branksome library, swimming pool and games and winter sports facilities. However, by the end of August it became obvious that our numbers would remain small and that we would be wise to accept the generous offer of the Branksome alumnae to furnish a house for us, the girls to attend Branksome as day girls. A large house at 40 Maple Avenue was offered us, and directly we moved in a continuous stream of furniture and equipment, both new and loaned, poured in. So much was provided in this way that little had to be bought, and by the beginning of term all was ready. Although we moved later on into another house (now called Sherborne House) the pattern was to remain the same for the next three years with all the Sherborne party living together, but attending Branksome Hall daily and Dame Diana Reader Harris Page 1 8 The Branksome Slogan
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Page 21 text:
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spending holidays and Saturday afternoons with, for the most part, Brank- some friends and their parents. No wonder that letters back to England from the start so frequently contained sentences like this one, quoted in the Sherborne Magazine of November 1940: I think that it is the generosity of the Canadians which strikes me most . . . they are ready to put themselves out to be friendly to everyone. Ail of us who experienced that generosity and friendliness will never forget it. Nor shall I forget that the alumnae of Branksome Hall had undertaken to offer it to even more individuals than were able to take advantage of it. This exchange of cables surely speaks for itself: From Branksome Hall to Sherborne Alumnae meeting today decided undertake remaining 96 and necessary teachers , and then from Sherborne to Branksome Hall We find it difficult adequately to express our gratitude. Because of the increasing danger to shipping in the Atlantic only a very few of those 96 came but all who did still find it difficult adequately to express our gratitude . Diana Reader Harris Dear Branksome friends, This year has been a great experience for me, partly because I had never been to Canada before and was really excited about coming here. Most of all I was going to meet a whole lot of new faces at Branksome. Branksome is a really friendly school. This hit me as soon as I arrived and everyone said hi to me in their very Canadian accents. The troubles I found myself in at the beginning of the year when I used my English phrases, which no one understood, forced me into making long, drawn-out sentences to get across the point. We have had so much fun in MacNeill this year, playing jokes galore on each other. I do not know how Mrs. McMillan has stood it. I have really enjoyed myself being over here. Thank you, teachers, for attempting to teach me. If ever any of you are in England, do look me up. Love, Gill
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