Weekend Wordsmith - Flag

The Geography lesson was over and it was time for Art. The children had been looking at flags and the teacher had said to her class of nine-year-olds, 'I'd like you all to make a picture of a flag or a picture with a flag in it. You can design your own or you can choose one you particularly like and draw that. If you're copying, though, please make sure that you're very accurate, particularly if you choose the Union Flag.' The children giggled at this.

She told them they could use any medium they liked, pastels, charcoal, poster paints – whatever they thought would be best for their individual composition – and that they would have forty-five minutes to finish. Then there would be a fifteen minute period when everyone would display their creations.

A number of hands went up and she pre-empted the question by saying, 'Yes, you may use computers if you wish.' At this several of the pupils eagerly pulled out their lap-tops ready to start work.

'Can we draw pennants?' asked another child.

'Is a pennant a flag?' she countered.

Several of the children nodded.

'Can you think of any other different names for flags?' she continued. 'Think of places we might see flags.'

She was pleased to discover that they knew several terms. Burgee and ensign were offered by one or two who had done a lot of sailing. Offspring of the Parent Teacher Association Committee Members predictably mentioned bunting and banners and streamers. The rather serious son of a serving Army officer suggested colours and standard.

After a lot of murmuring the class settled down. The room wasn't silent but there was a purposeful working hum. The teacher decided that she would not tour the room, looking over shoulders at work in progress but wait for the show. That way her reactions would be as fresh and spontaneous as the children's.

There was an undercurrent of excitement when the time for the art show drew near. Each child was to hold up their picture and comment on it if they wished or answer questions.

There were a number of castles, forts and pirate ships. The Army officer's son had portrayed the Trooping of the Colour with all the soldiers' and horses' legs precisely synchronised. One of the girls had painted a magnificent galleon. The PTA Committee Members' children had sat together and produced lively, detailed collages of the School Summer Fête.

The children had been generous in their appreciation of their peers' efforts but were beginning to get restless as the show drew to its close. Finally, the last picture was displayed.

There were grunts and protestations as the artist held up her water-colour. Even the teacher was taken aback for there, painted against a backdrop of graceful trees and water, stood a clump of wild Iris.

As she drew breath to comment the little girl said shyly, 'You said we could paint a flag we particularly liked and I really, really like Yellow Flags.'

The teacher smiled and the rest of the class said, collectively, 'Ohhhh!'

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Weekend Wordsmith - I protest

'I protest,' she said,

'You accuse me unjustly -

I did you no wrong.'



He would not listen,

His heart was engaged elsewhere -

He wanted her gone.



She wept and pleaded -

He scorned her and turned away.

Her fate was thus sealed.



He showed her mercy

And allowed her a French sword

To strike off her head.



So Henry moved on -

His Jane bore him Prince Edward.

Anne was forgotten.


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Weekend Wordsmith - Forgotten

Many things had slipped between the dusty floorboards of the classroom. Bored children had often posted things through the cracks. In the space beneath the floor lay work sheets, pencil leads and shavings, detention slips, a few coins - all resting amid the mouse droppings and cobwebs.

The school was closed, the doors and windows locked for the last time. It was demolished and weeds took over, covering all traces of the building. There had been plans to erect smart new homes but grandiose ideas require funding and there was no money to spare so the site remained abandoned, a haven for wild life. At night foxes crossed the ground, trotting purposefully about their business, calling sharply to their mates, voices echoing in the stillness.

Years passed and now trees and shrubs had taken root, providing shelter and food for birds and beasts. The company that had intended to build was now defunct and the planning permission from the local council had long since expired. Local children played in the area in daylight and their teenage siblings larked about after dark. There was talk of tidying up the place and rubber-gloved volunteers regularly traipsed across it with refuse bags removing the debris and detritus left by unthinking users.

One of the new young volunteers was the grandson of a former pupil of the long-gone school. He was a conscientious litter picker, careful not to disturb small habitats or wild flowers. Bending down to remove a carrier bag that had been entangled in brambles he noticed a metal object half-buried beneath earth and leaves. It had a coloured ribbon, faded but still discernible. He pulled it from the soil and rubbed it with his thumb. It looked like a medal. He was sure his grandfather would be able to tell him something about it.

Cleaned up it was revealed as a medal awarded for service in the Persian Gulf from 1909-1914. Around the edge was the name of the sailor to whom it had been awarded and his ship – HMS Highflyer. The grandfather sighed deeply and rubbed a hand across his face. 'This medal belonged to my grandfather, your great-grandfather 'he said. 'I never thought I would see it again. I sneaked it out of the house one day to show my teacher but one of the boys snatched it from me and pushed it down between the floorboards. I worried for years after that my father would find out it was missing but he never did. I had forgotten all about it until now.'

HMS Highflyer – Light Cruiser 5,600 tons

In August 1915 it was announced that His Majesty the King was pleased to sanction a medal to be known as the Naval General Service Medal, to be awarded for service in minor naval warlike operations. The medal was to be awarded with a clasp inscribed 'Persian Gulf 1909-14' to officers and men of HM Ships employed in the operations for the suppression of the arms traffic in the Arabian Sea or Persian Gulf.