Miss Langley showed me the letters the girls had written to their parents, in which they expressed themselves as being very unhappy and as having never before had "their clothes turned up" and a whipping given them on the seat. All these letters were burnt and Miss Langley undertook to tell the girls that they must write to their parents and say that they were going to be good in future, instead of harping on what had happened. I then saw Gladys Corbett alone, an older girl, who [...] was very bitter at first about the fact that Miss Langley whipped girls Corporal punishment shall be used only as the last resort when all other methods of maintaining discipline have failed and its administration shall be subject to the following conditions:- Now she had a vehicle for her pride. She had always been proud of her daughter, a bright intelligent daughter. Not many from the village had got into Grammer School in recent years. She knew that a lot of her peers in the W.I. Would be saying that very night…”I hear Karen got into Grammer school, she deserves it, her Mummy will be so proud.” Mildred was walking by, the strains of the spanking symphony drifted through the window turning into a cocophony of sound, hard whups! and long, long howls of pain! She nodded satisfactorily. “Good old Mummy, keeping up the standards, that’ll teach her!”

The Superintendent (Miss Langley) had only recently taken charge and there is no doubt that the girls had got badly out of hand under the late Superintendent. Corporal punishment on the posterior was not forbidden by the rules in force at the school, though the managers strangely enough did not appear to know that it was in the power of the Superintendent to inflict it. I think Dr. Norris was perfectly right to adopt the course he decided to take, and but for his prompt action the state of affairs might have become much worse. I stuttered out everything including possible punishing. Then mother borrowed me a paper handkerchief to blow my nose and dry my face from tears and we got off.It didn't make me bitter, and I didn't come away with a chip on my shoulder about the world. I just thought those are the rules and that's what happens when I break them."

I was 9 or 10. The first time I got it bare was from my mom. I don't remember what I did. I just remember her telling me to take my pants down. I wasn't sure what was going on yet but I complied. She came out of the walk in closet with the belt and I pretty much figured it out. That first swat took a second to burn in and the second one landed on top of the first just as the stinging pain set in. I think it literally took my breath away for the first couple of swats with that belt. During the walk parents talked about neutral things and acted as if nothing had happened. Only sometimes touched my stomach, butt or shoulders to make my posture more correct. You know that's difficult to remember. The one I recall the earliest was when I was 6...I was told I was going to be spanked..I remember getting spanked over my mothers lap and I remember crying before I got spanked and during the spanking..Which probably means I was spanked before that..For the record the spanking happened because my younger brother (he was 4) and I had misbehaved during church service. When we left church we were told we were getting a spanking when we got home..It was a quiet walk home I remember lol On 11.6.23 Miss Langley rang me up [...] I asked [...] about my letter and she said that she and the managers had considered it, but feared they must continue to use corporal punishment on the seat when occasion arose, because it was what the girls had been told they would get [...]I stood close to the door, trying to hear what was happening, but I could only make out the sound of voices and not what they were saying. It was easy to guess, though, that Lindsey was getting a good telling off. Without doubt there would be a degree of jealousy from some with troublesome daughters too, and even though she would never admit it, that gave her satisfaction too!

The girls I liked regarded it as a matter of honour to accept the discipline of certain nuns whose character we respected, and to tell the truth, especially where to do so would have serious consequences. “Ah, Elisabeth: On 6.6.23 I returned to the Home Office and reported to Mr. Harris, who drafted a letter for me to send to Miss Langley asking her to stop corporal punishment on the seat until the matter had been further considered [...] The question now arises whether corporal punishment on the posterior is to be allowed in this school in future. In the new Model Rules it was decided after discussions with representatives of the Managers and Superintendents that the only corporal punishment in girls' schools should be on the hands -- not exceeding three strokes on each hand with a light cane or tawse. Dr. Norris agreed to this rule at the time though he says he always felt doubtful whether it would be possible to maintain it in dealing with certain classes of girls. The Managers are unanimous in asking permission to keep their existing rule which leaves the Superintendent a discretion as to the infliction of light and moderate corporal punishment (whether on the hands or on the posterior).While she was still on her way Mrs Seaton went on to say that, in the absence of the headmaster, she would be punishing the boys, too. She read out my name and form and that I was to be punished for being sent out three times, and then told me, too, to wait outside her room. We then faced each other in some kind of bizarre mexican stand off as we weighed up our options. I knew I'd got something in my pants. He knew I'd got something in my pants. He knew that I knew that he knew that I'd got something in my pants. However, I was damned if I was going to admit it and he was going to have the devil of a time proving it. I wish to make it clear in putting forward this recommendation that I am very strongly opposed to corporal punishment of this nature; that I feel that the circumstances under which it should be necessary will be very exceptional indeed and may never occur. It must be remembered, however, that many of the younger girls in these reformatories are of a hooligan type and have had no training whatever, have no refined tastes and are not particularly sensitive and cannot therefore be appealed to in the same way as a girl who has been better trained. I would further point out that up to 1913 and even later this form of punishment was very prevalent in practically every Reformatory and that the Departmental Committee of 1913 which investigated this very carefully by means of a small committee presided over by Sir George Newman recommended that the power of corporal punishment should be retained by the Superintendents but expressed the hope that it would not be necessary to use it. The unique recordings capture from 12 hours to 36 hours of data from each mother, mainly the daily ordinary activities such as fixing supper and bathing children, said Holden, lead researcher on the study.

The terms of the model rule were settled after considerable discussion with representatives of the Managers and Superintendents of certified schools including girls' schools, and it was decided to limit the infliction of corporal punishment in girls' schools to three strokes on each hand with a light cane or tawse. The rule proposed by the Managers (which is based on the existing rule) would allow corporal punishment on the seat to be given at the discretion of the Superintendent and without any limitation as to the age of the girl to be punished or as to the The next day I was amazed to find that my friends had not prepared for their beating. I'd crammed five hankies down my pants. I probably looked like I'd got the biggest arse in the school, but I wasn't worried about that. Rings, bangles, clips or any other kinds of adornment were forbidden. The nuns were far too experienced not to know that even ofMrs Seaton gave me a real telling off, saying how important it was to behave in class and not to disrupt the lessons for everyone else. I tried to pay attention, so that she would see how sorry I was, but all I could think of was the effect that awful cane had had on poor Lindsey and that I was about to get the same.