During the nineteen thirties, I absented myself from the Dockyard School in Malta every Thursday afternoon and was never caught.The Dockyard School was an educational establishment in Malta for the children of British residents employed in the government service and for most families that meant the Armed Forces, especially the Navy. At that time Malta was a Crown Colony of the British Empire and a large fleet of warships was based on the island. As its name would indicate the school was originally established for young employees of the British Naval Dockyard but, after the First World War, a separate Childrens' Department was set up and it continued under various names and sites until the British left Malta in 1979.
The headmaster and senior teachers were naval officers whilst the junior pupils were taught by the wives of naval officers of the Fleet.
In fact I was fairly happy at school but just could not abide singing and Thursday afternoon was taken up with singing - the whole school being assembled in the main hall for that purpose.
I have never been able to sing, tone deaf I suppose, and I honestly thought that all that doh ray me business made music as a result of just saying those words and as a result sang in a monotone. That my voice was beginning to break was another factor in my producing such horrible noises that week after week I was singled out for punishment on the assumption that I was playing the fool. I tried to explain my problem, to no avail and since there seemed to be no alternative, I simply absented myself from the hall on those afternoons.
First thing in the afternoon we were registered in our classrooms and then assembled in the hall.There was so much confusion with the coming and going of every class that I had no difficulty in slipping out of one of the doors
Now the Dockyard School was situated in a fort built by the British as an addition to the immense Cottonera Lines constructed by the Knights of Malta (it is still a school to this day but part of the Maltese educational system) and at first I was hesitant to try to get out of the fort and so hid in one of the toilets that were in a separate block - taking a book to while away the time.
Unfortunately the headmaster, Lieutenant-Commander Plant of the Royal Navy sometimes walked about the school buildings to check on cleanliness and state of repair and one Thursday, accompanied by his dog, he inspected the toilet block. The dog barked at the door of my cubicle which was cut short at the bottom (beware the dreaded limbo dancer) whilst I stood on the seat but the worthy seafarer did not even try the door and when his dog persisted he actually shooed it towards the entrance and went on his way.
Not wishing to risk another encounter, I at first sought dog resistant hiding holes and then eventually found a quiet way out of the fort. How I managed this and what I did with the freedom shall be recounted in another article.
E-mail to: Peter Prictoe
Return to Main Page