Hesketh Fletcher Gym Team

When I went to secondary school we had to do PE topless.
I wasn't very happy at having to strip to the waist in a changing room full of other lads but I soon got used to it and eventuaaly enjoyed it and even went about bare-chested whenever I could.

I was kept shirtless by my dad for most of the time.
As soon as I got home from school I had to strip to the waist and I remained bare-chested for the rest of the day.
Of course I was bare-chested all through the weekend.

I had to move to a different school to do my A Levels.
We had PE and when I went into the changing rooms I soon noticed that all the boys were stripped to the waist and with well developed upper bodies many also with hairy chests.
I soon got used to being bare-chested in the gym and also for cross-country runs.
Again we were in a built up area and the locals were watching us and passing comments about us which we could hear.
It soon got me used to being stripped to the waist whenever possible.

When I was 14 my dad got a job in a different town and we had to move, which meant I transferred to a different school. Before I started there the school sent out a letter outlining the uniform I would be required to wear and also the kit I would need for PE lessons in the gym.
At first I thought there must be a mistake in the letter: the PE kit listed white shorts, white socks and plimsolls or training shoes - but no mention of a shirt of any kind. My mother rang up the school to check and was assured there was no mistake, the items listed were my full PE kit, no more or less.
I was horrified - at my old school shirts had always been worn for PE and it had never occurred to me that it might be any different. I was small for my age and also on the skinny side, so the prospect of doing every PE lesson with my chest bare, in front of people I didn't know, wasn't an appealing one.
I was dreading PE and, when the time came, I reluctantly trooped into the changing room and started putting on my shorts and plimsolls first. Most of the other boys changed a different way, taking their shirts off immediately. That didn't help ease my fears as some of them revealed upper bodies that made them look closer to 18! Eventually, of course, I had to take my shirt off and line up with the rest of them, feeling very self conscious and imagining everyone else was looking at me.
To my surprise, no one batted an eyelid or made any comment about my skinny body, they all just got on with the lesson -which proved to be quite intense. We had to work hard and I was soon covered in sweat, as were most of the other boys. They'd all been used to doing PE with bare chests for a few years and, as I got to know some of them, I realised they viewed it as no big deal. Before long, it wasn't such a big deal to me either. In the long run, PE helped make me feel more confident about my body and it's a shame boys today aren't helped to do the same.

I also well remember always doing PE stripped to the waist not only indoors but also outside whatever the conditions.
We all also seemed to be well developed and muscular young lads.

As is said being stripped to the waist is the only real way to do gym etc.
These lads are all well- muscled and all look very fit.

In the sixties there were many times when boys used to take off their vests and do PE stripped to the waist whatever the conditions.

Here at this URL is a Video from across the Pond ; American boys doing Gym outdoors. This is another RT from the Burnley Grammar School Photo Thread, enjoy.
Any comments, either post on that page :

http://www.historyworld.co.uk/photo.php?id=1607

or email me direct.
JohnL

As has been said it was normal practice for young youths to be stripped to the waist and nothing was thought of it.
It certainly toughened them up and instilled a sense of discipline which is lacking today

Have a look at this Film; from around time 05'15" the film cuts to the Boys doing a Gym Display. They are all extremely Fit and well-drilled and correographed and of course, are stripped to the waist..
(RT from a post on Burnley Grammar School Picture page on this website):
http://www.historyworld.co.uk/photo.php?id=1607

John

I also agree that being stripped to the waist enabled you to sweat freely and for that reason I always went bare-chested in the gym and outdoors.

I agree. Our teachers always maintained that by being bare top for PE and Games we could and did sweat freely during lessons. We were split into 2 teams, vests and skins. By the end of an indoor session it was common to see vests sticking to boys backs at the end of an indoor session.

I agree with Philip that doing PE stripped to the waist was normal in the sixties.
I think most lads quite enjoyed being bare-chested even outdoors when it was quite cold.

Like so many others PE barefoot and shirtless was the norm for me at school in the 60s including cross-country, even in the winter. It was just normal, nobody complained - on the contrary, I think most of us enjoyed it and we were made to work quite hard so it didn't matter if it was cold. Schools are not doing boys any favours these days by letting them (or making them) wear shirts, shoes etc and I'm sure it isn't healthy or practical.

Looking at this Photo is very enlightening; these lads are superbly Fit; there does not appear to be an ounce of surplus fat on any of them, and also superbly Drilled i.e. Coreographed . It is also understood that these lads would have been just lads from working and middle-class families and were obviously having their wellbeing taken very seriously by their Instructor and taking it very seriously themselves.. Great Photo.

At my school in the 1960's the official uniform for PE and cross-country was shorts only.
As we started cross-country in September by the time the weather got really cold we were used to being stripped to the waist and barefoot.
Again in the Summer Term we did athletics bare chested and barefoot.By that time there were of course a lt of hairy chests on display among the sixth form lads.

Hi Lars,
You should have come to my school in the UK then! Every boy had to do PE in white shorts and bare chest and that was the same until I left school at 18.

Hi,
I am Lars, 19 from Germany. Yes I like this nice picture. All these good looking boys, stripped to the waist, just in gym shorts....
since I am bisexual, I like the straight athlitic bodys.
People told, that the did cross county running during PE even in winter with snow and just in shorts!
I like that, and run also wtripped to the waist in winter across our near forrest.

Lars

Good Photo. The only way to do Gym really.
We did Gym in White tees and white shorts but several of the Boys used to strip off their Tops at any opportunity and do the Class Stripped to the Waist. (Independent Grammar School, N-E England, early to mid 1960s).

It was the same with me - the girls could see us in the gym and outside too. All down that corridor was re-inforced glass doors as the gym was also used for assembly and other things, there was also a stage and adjacent a large storeroom too. Strangely our teacher insisted on vests being worn going into the gym and then made each lad strip down, leaving a line of vests along the front of the stage. In the second year, the girls came up with a plan to get a better view so when they were outside they'd "forget" something they needed for their PE lesson so 2-3 girls would be picked to come into the gym to get it. They timed it so they'd come in just as we started to strip down. However for outdoor sessions we were all stripped to the waist before going out onto the yard or field.

Dave:- This was in the 1960's.
Some lads didn't like having to go bare-chested while others didn't mind.Of course we didn't have any choice as we had to go stripped to the waist in any event.
We didn't have mixed PE but the girls could see us in the gym.
Also we often took our shirts off outside at breaks when the weather was warm enough.

Barrie:
When was it? What was the reaction of boys having to go shirtless for PE. Was it the same outside or only in the gym?

Did you have to go barechested in mixed PE lessons? You've written that girls admired your physics.

Like Dawson my Dad kept me and my three brothers shirtless for nearly all the time.
As soon as we got home from school we had to strip to the waist and were kept bare-chested for the rest of the day.
We were all well built muscular lads with hairy chests and No.1 haircuts.
It goes without saying that we all did PE stripped to the waist(and bare-foot) and because of our muscular phyiques we were admired by the girls and other lads who were less muscular were jealous of us.

I was always stripped to the waist for swimming so there was no problem for me in having to do PE while stripped to the waist.

Adam said “most dads would expect their sons to go bare-chested as a matter of course.”
This was also my experience. During the early 1990's my former HS track Coach encouraged us to go shirtless during practice. We trained and even competed shirtless, weather permitting. He maintained that having a shirt sticking to your back was unhealthy and clogged pores. His own son was always shirtless, no matter how cold it was.
My Uncle kept my teenage cousins shirtless most of the time. He was ex military and insisted on buzz style haircuts and a daily exercise regime. I recall a camping trip when they arrived without any shirts. Despite the cold nights they would remain shirtless and when offered the loan of shirts they refused. They had muscular physiques and encouraged me to work-out more, however that didn't last.
My Coaches son also had a great physique. It makes sense that being shirtless would lead boys to care more for their bodies.

Yes Dave, my school was in the south of England and the reason was pretty much what you've said - the idea that making boys strip to the waist encourages them to keep their bodies in good shape. The change came about when I was 14 and a new head of PE decided that fitness standards among the boys needed improving. He sent out a letter to our parents explaining the changes that were being made and that included the new kit - basically our old kit minus the vest! And Adam's right about the attitude of dads, mine said going bare-chested would do me good as that was how they did PE in his day. I think it was mums rather than dads who complained. But the policy came into effect and I think it was successful, personally I definitely made more effort and got fitter. Also it was a great confidence boost when I realised girls were eyeing me up in the gym!

In my school boys always had to be stripped to the waist for PE.It would have been no use getting your parents to protest and most dads would expect their sons to go bare-chested as a matter of course.

I think boys take care more of their bodies if they aren't allowed to wear shirts for PE.Shirts are very useless. They're unsafe for some exercises especially for gym exercises.

Connor was it in the UK? What was the reason given of the minimal PE kit?

Most of us felt very uneasy when we first learned we'd be doing PE with our vests off in front of the girls. There were several protests and a few boys got their parents to contact the school and argue against it. But the school wouldn't budge and made it clear that vests were no longer part of the permitted indoor PE kit for boys. So while the majority of us hated having to go barechested, I think before long a kind of macho pride took over and we wanted to look good in front of the girls.

Kikoi,Maybe some do but when I was at school if the teachers made you go shirtless then you had to go stripped to the waist whatever you felt about it