The History of Windsor Boys & Girls School, Hamm, Germany 

WINDSOR SCHOOL 1953 – 1983

Windsor School opened its doors to pupils on November 17th 1953 in Argonner Barracks; at the end of the war it was Brixton Camp and housed displaced persons, which in 1952 had crystallised as a Polish Unit Bks.

In the autumn of 1953 Windsor boarding school was opened to augment King Alfred School, Ploen and Prince Rupert School, Wilhelmshaven which already existed on the North Coast of Germany. The original 90 pupils came from such diverse locations as Berlin, Hannover, Paderborn, Osnabruck, Köln and Hook of Holland. By January 1954 the school had grown to 230 pupils and the following year to 525 pupils. As the location of British Army units moved southwards from Northern Germany to their present dispositions so the educational requirements shifted. Queens School, opened in Mönchengladbach in 1956 and King Alfreds closed in 1959 coinciding with the splitting of Windsor into the single sex schools, Windsor Boys remaining in Argonner Bks and Windsor Girls opening in Newcastle Bks some 1\frac{1}{2} km distant. For the next 22 years these two schools were to provide the main boarding provision for pupils in Germany, at their peak having about 650 each.

In the early years much had to be done to physically convert the barracks into a school and to overcome adverse propaganda. Rumour has it that pig-rearing took place on the top floor of what are now the boarding houses. In the Spring of 1954 it was reported in Bielefeld that Windsor pupils were suffering from plague when in fact, it was only an outbreak of scabies and impetigo necessitating the scrubbing of each boy & girl in the school!

The school was officially opened on July 10th 1954 by General Sir Richard Gale, C in C BAOR. It was a time of optimism and expansion of the facilities. A new Assembly Hall was built that year and in the following year Block 5A (boarding block) was rebuilt. A new gymnasium was made out of the old Cavalry Riding School. The R.C. chapel in Block 1 was created and a new school chapel for non-Catholics was built in the grounds and dedicated by the Bishop of Fulham on Passion Sunday. The service was broadcast.

However no major building projects took place after that time. Sterling grew weaker and the Deutschemark grew stronger. Boarding provision became very expensive and ways of reducing this expense were constantly being investigated. In 1972 Prince Rupert School closed as a boarding school in Wilhelmshaven and reopened as a day school in Rinteln. By now most pupils of secondary age were attending day school located within reasonable travelling distance of the garrisons. Further cuts brought the closure of schools in Singapore and Malta and a reduction in numbers in Cyprus. In the late 70s it was decided to amalgamate the two Hamm boarding schools on one site and the coeducational Windsor School was resurrected in Argonner Bks. But close on the heels of this decision came a more drastic decision to end boarding in Hamm and replace it with weekly or full boarding in annexes attached to day schools and so in July of this year Windsor closes after nearly 30 years.

One of the major problems of the school out here is coping with the high turnover of pupils brought about by the exigencies of the service. This becomes critical in the years leading up to the public examinations. To some extent the boarding schools could reduce this handicap by implementation of the retention scheme but even with this the 7574 pupils who have passed through the gates of Argonner Bks have, on average, only attended the school for 2 years. Some pupils have had a new school for each year of their lives. As far back as 1955 Mr Nigel Nicholson MP visited the school prior to a Defence Estimates debate in the House of Commons on March 8th 1955 and he described Windsor School as "having the characteristics of an educational marshalling yard shunting children in and out". I hope we have improved somewhat since then but this handicap is still with us and remains a cause for concern.

One of the strengths of Windsor has been its diversity of pupils drawn in the main from Army & RAF units as far as Goch, Berlin, Oslo & Kiel. In 1965 the American Company Du Pont opened a factory a few kilometres outside Hamm and the location of an English-speaking school featured largely in their choice of site. At their peak some 60 U.S. executives worked there and their children introduced us to their finer points of basketball and the subtleties of July 4th celebrations.

The school motto is 'Concordia' which has proved to be particularly apt. It was suggested by one of the original Housemistresses in the formative years of the school and was adopted as the name for the annual rugby sevens competition held at Windsor each Easter since 1965 when a certain Captain Mundell led the 1st batt. Duke of Wellington's Regt. to victory. It gave us, therefore, much pleasure that our Garrison Commander, Brigadier Mundell, was able to present the prizes on the occasion of the 19th and last 'Concordia Sevens' to be held at Windsor.

The school has always exerted a deep effect upon its pupils, one way or another, and the dominant factor of boarding is largely responsible. The fact that many pupils have very proud and happy memories of their school is borne out by the number of visits we receive and by the impressive attendance in London of the former staff and pupils at the 21st & 25th anniversary dinners. It is sad the school has to end but on the other hand it is remarkable that it has lasted 30 years. I don't suppose it was ever envisaged that British Military Families would be stationed still in Germany 38 years after the end of the war. Such a phenomenon has had a big sociological effect and many pupils have German mothers. Such integration by marriage and by residence must help us to enter more easily into the spirit of the European Community concept.

And so on July 22nd we close. The last of the SCEA boarding schools. It will be a sad occasion for those who have worked hard for the success of the school and its pupils. Many of the German ancillary staff have served the school for many years and some throughout its existence. For them the closure will bring hardship as well as sadness in many cases. On behalf of all my predecessors and myself I should like to thank them all for the loyalty and devotion they have given to the school and its pupils down the years. I know that for a long time they will remember this 'corner of England' they have served and we hope the memories will be happy ones. I know there are very many former pupils and teaching staff who will cherish the memory of their times in Hamm. There is no counterpart to Windsor anywhere else and we who have served here will always be grateful for the opportunity afforded us.

The text above was published in the final Farewell '53 - '83  Concordia magazine.

The pdf version of the magazine can be viewed on the 1980's Timeline page which will be added in the near future