Gone with the Wind

It was victory night and approaching end of term in June 1945. Freda’s plans were to study medicine in Trinity while I faced two hateful years in training college. It rained heavily outside.

We seniors in Navarre were ready for bed and Miss Kent was on duty. She was having a bath and the light switch was outside the bathroom. Freda kept switching it off till finally Miss Kent emerged in her dressing gown and went downstairs to her room.

Freda threw a loofah down at her and Miss Kent came back up and ordered Freda up to the main school to report to Miss Jagoe who was a strict disciplinarian.

Freda set off in the rain and the rest of us went to bed and were soon soundly asleep. I was woken at 2am by Miss Kent who demanded to know where Freda was hiding and of course I knew nothing about it, so I had to waken the rest of Navarre and we all had to get up and search for Freda.

We were none too pleased about it. As we looked out it was wet and dark and we could see lights moving all around the grounds.

Perhaps an hour had passed when we heard a tapping on the window leading out on to a flat roof over the apple store shed. There was Freda calmly asking us what all the activity was about and she just stepped in to the room while we could have strangled her we were so angry and tired.

I went to find Miss Kent who marched Freda back up to main school while we went back to bed to sleep till morning bell at 7.30