Clitheroe Royal Grammar School

To Dave

Re PE kit outdoors as far as I remember for football etc we wore either a singlet or football shirt which was non descript. No team brand shirts those days.

Being a school in town Cross country or the rare occasions we did it was confined to lapsof the secluded sports field and we were topless for that. I do not remember winter runs..

The PE kit was explained to parents at an evening before we joined secondary school. Dad came home with a uniform list and said pe was white shorts(mine were nylon I think they were cheaper) and no underpants would be worn and plimsolls (the old type black ones and no socks)

In that era 1961 to 1966 during which the pe kit was always the same I do not think we had any inhibitions about going shirtles. It was an all boys school.

In fach because of the cut off the shorts I can rememebr during handstands with feet up in the air being suppoted by another lad there was quite a bit of exposure of our anatomy. But as I say we seemed to have no inhibitions what with communal showers and changing room.

With regards to have no tops on it is evident all the time at swimming pools and in the summer. Ater all nowadays with the baggy pants lads seem quite keen to advertise their underwear, some thing we would never consider doing.

I am sure now at schhol for pe it is all cover up protect health and safety. How did we ever survive?

Hi Cyril!

Were you shirtless for outside lessons for example track and fields and cross country either?
How did you play team ball games everyone being barechested.
How did you get to know your PE kit for the first time.Was it in a PE uniform list that you have to do PE shirtless or the teacher was the one who told it to you?
What was the reaction of boys about the PE kit. Was it ever a topic of conversation amongst you?
How did you feel having to be barechested for PE?

To Tim Yes memories. You refer to the nylon swimming trunks. I remeber that up to the mid 60's I onl;y had horrid wollen swimming trunks in a briefs design which were both saggy when wet and extremely itchy. I was so pleased when the seemed to be no longer available and parents had to buy I suppose they were nylon.

We certainly did not know about "named" brands. Cheap & cheerful was the mantra.
The only time this changed was one Christmas I was given the actual brand Y Fronts briefs. though it was wonderful to have a brand name. Usally presents were hand knitted cardigans. Bit of a differnce to Christmas present for children these days.

My PE kit was thin white nylon shorts in secondary school 1961 to 1966. We were not allowed a top or underpants. ( All boys school )

Tim is right. I was at school in the 60s and we wore those loose white cotton shorts for PE, much like those shown in the picture.
Some here mention that they wore those thin nylon short shorts for PE, but as far as I remember those type of shorts were only seen in the 70s, or later.

As for swimwear there were all types from shorts like to briefs, mostly cotton, not like the later modern synthetic and nylon types like speedos.
About compulsary nude swimming in some schools I was not aware of this happening in any school before the advent of the Internet, on forums such as this.
It seems that this nude swimming requirement was even more common in American schools, both public and private, though only for boys.

I've been meaning to make this post for ages. Back in July Sterling commented:But we didn't have Nike, Speedo or money back then!

Memory plays tricks but I can say with certainty that in the mid-1960s you could buy a pair of boys swimming trucks from Wakefield's Army Stores (Remember them?) for 1/11d (10p). A pair of men's trunks were 2/11d (15p). I have a recollection that you could buy a pair of nylon trunks from Woolworths for 2/6d round about this time, whilst a pair of cotton football shorts (as worn by Bobby Moore)from a proper sports outfitter was about 10/- (50p). As a comparison a Series 1 'Airfix' construction kit was 2/- (10p)- the most expensive was 12/6d (63p).

Memories ...

T

Dave - yes it should remain normal and healthy from a common sense point of view but it seems that political correctness has little to do with common sense and forbids such a natural habit where it can.

For some years now it has been fashionable to feminise boys in the interests of "equality." I heard the sad story of a Scout Leader who, soon after he took over, stopped the boys in his care from taking off their shirts at camp. The "reason" he gave was because the girls couldn't do it! Presumably he should be instructing the girls not to have babies later in life as the boys can't.

"Exercising shirtless seemed so normal and healthy for boys in those days."

Yes it did but still seems normal and healthy.Boys still enjoy exercising shirtless.Many of them take their shirts off at sport courts for ball games...etc. They don't seem seeing it as a big deal.So I can't see what's the function of T-shirts for PE nowadays.

I see there are a number of interesting comments since I last visited this site.

Max - your attack on those who claim to have run cross country barefoot and shirtless seems rather harsh and unnecessary. Things were so different in the 60s - often better then though I'm sure many schools had their boys run with both shirts and shoes. I would not dream of calling you a wimp for doing so - we all did as we were told back then.

Martin - having read your post it makes more sense that we ran barefoot and I'm all the more grateful for it. Our course was usually muddy and plimsolls getting stuck in the mud could have been a problem if we had worn them. It might have led to boys trying to avoid the muddier patches by going round them whereas we were happy to go straight through them in our bare feet. The most significant advantage in running barefoot, however, seems to be that we did not have to clean filthy plimsolls after each run - being naturally lazy that would have been quite a chore. I am all the more grateful to my school now for their common sense approach. Exercising shirtless seemed so normal and healthy for boys in those days.

Like Martin I was at a Grammar School in the 1960's.
Although it was mixed PE etc was done single-sex.
Kit was simple:- stripped to the waist both indoor and outside and again barefoot was the norm even for cross-country.

I was at secondary school in the 60s but only attended one Grammar school so can't claim to be an expert on other schools. I do, however, have a little knowledge of what other school teams wore for cross country.
At my all boys school we wore just a pair of shorts for indoor p.e. and for athletics and various games on the playing fields. When it came to cross country we were told we had to wear our plimsolls though we weren't told to wear shirts so we didn't. There was quite a long stretch of the run which was normally very muddy and it was not uncommon for plimsolls to come off feet in the mud. We pleaded to be allowed to run barefoot to avoid the problem of getting plimsolls out of the mud and having to clean them when we got home. Unfortunately, we were never allowed to run barefoot.
I wasn't good enough at cross country to be in the team but a group of us non-competitors turned out on Saturday afternoons to be markers along the route for inter-school fixtures. If the visiting team wore shirts our team didn't but if the visiting team didn't wear shirts then our team had to. So there was always one team in plimsolls and shorts and one in plimsolls, shorts and shirts. Until one day when a visiting team changed into their kit - just shorts - no shoes or shirts. Our team had to wear their plimsolls and shirts and were soundly beaten by their less well clad opponents, in part at least because the barefoot boys could get through the muddy section much more easily. Even after this we were still not allowed to run barefoot, either in class nor the team - no reason was ever given.

Like thousands of other British schools our official indoor PT or gym kit consisted of white shorts!
Footwear and vests were optional for XC!

The plimsoles we wore offered our soles very little protection
Forgetting them would not excuse a boy and, if unable to borrow plimsoles, he would HAVE TO go barefoot!
One must remember we often went barefoot at home then and some simply had not the money to buy them!
A recent genealogy search turned up photos from 1940s and 50s when barefoot was often the order of the day.
It's easy for a young person or someone with little knowledge of recent history to think you guys are barking mad
But we didn't have Nike, Speedo or money back then!

While I'm sure this forum has its' share of fantasists, I think it's a little unfair to call them paedophiles. They are fantasising about themselves and wishing, that in their schooldays, they had had the opportunity to show off and prove how macho they were.

Reading through all these comments, I don't personally believe a fraction of them! I was a child in two different UK Grammar schools in the 60's and 70's and all this stuff about running through the streets in winter bare chested and barefoot, I think it is just sad paedofile fantasy!

Like Kevin we were always stripped to the waist and barefoot for all PE (indoors and outside) and again I don't recall any injuries resulting from running barefoot.

I was at secondary school during the 60s and bare feet and chest were required for all p.e. including cross country - not just detention. I don't remember any-one being particularly bothered by our rather sparse kit and I certainly don't remember any injuries from running barefoot through the streets and nearby countryside.

P E detentions were quite common - always done stripped to the waist and barefoot and normally also done after school hours usually from 4 p m until either 5 or 5.30 p.m.

Like George our PE teachers had us stripped to the waist and barefoot for all sessions both inside and outdoors.
It was difficult running over gravel and in the streets outside but we got used to it and I don't recall any injuries as a result.

No we never were informed who's parents complained, probably some of the overweight lads who detested being skins. It was encouraging my mate to lose weight!
After school sports could still be done shirtless but during PE and X country we were not allowed to remove a sweat soaked shirt. We used sunscreen during football matches and it was used for PE once during a mega Sept heatwave.
George, I suppose feet quickly toughen.
Can't see it ever happening again here due to our 'claim culture' but I'm told its commonplace in Oz and NZ!

My old school took health and safety to extremes!

Calvin - why did parents object to Shirts vs Skins - that must have humiliated their sons!

As for injuries whilst running barefoot - I was certainly not aware of any and I think the school would have stopped it if there had been any.

The first lesson we had P.E. outside the teacher had us running round the grass running track barefoot and shirtless and made sure we did not land on out heels. He said this would help us avoid injuries to our joints. At the end of the lesson he had us run up and down a rough gravel track nearby to see how we could cope with the surface. I don't think any-one had any great problem and, from then on we were always barefoot and shirtless inside and outside including for cross country. You could feel if you stepped on something sharp but it never punctured the skin.

We really didnt believe our PE teacher when he told us how he punished guys by making them run barefoot!

He still used shirts vs skins until their were objections by parents then on rare sweltering day it was prohibited to take off a shirt which was sticking to you!

INJURIES?
Were there many injuries to the feet??

PE detentions meant running laps around our large school yard in just PE shorts, which was football pitch size but no turf, till we were exhausted. Then, all sweating, we were marched to the showers for a good wash, with shorts off.
Incidentally did anyone have female teachers supervising in the boys changing room or showers? Not at my school, but just curious.
There is also mention on other forums on this site that some schools had compulsory nude swimming for boys.

Oh yes, I remember the PE and games punishment of having to run around the perimeter of the field throughout the lesson if you forgot any kit.
In my case I am not sure what was the bigger punishment, the running or the particular game at the time.

My school was like Stuart's in that we had PE detentions where we had to strip to the waist. If you got detention you had to report back to the gym after school and change into usual PE kit (white vest, shorts, socks and plimsolls). Then after inspecting your kit the teacher would order you to remove your vest. That seemed a bit pointless but I suppose the idea was just to remind you this was a punishment. Then it was a question of whether you'd be told to go to the gym (which wasn't too bad) or outdoors for a run (which was no picnic when it was cold or raining, or both). Still, from some of the other accounts here I should probably be grateful we only had to run bare chested and not in bare feet too!

Our normal PE and cross-country kit was white shorts and bare chest and bare feet.
We also had PE detentions. For these we had to wear black or navy blue shorts and were again stripped to the waist and barefoot.
These always took place after school from around 4.p.m. until 5 or 5.30 p.m and involved continual running around the athletic track.There were usually other boys watching us and sometimes jeering at us.

Our kit for all PE (indoors and outside)was just white shorts i.e. stripped to the waist and barefoot. This was OK when it was fairly warm but going barefoot and bare chest in snow and ice was a different matter!!

For normal indoor PE we wore white cotton shorts, plus some boys wore plimsolls, and for xc we wore shorts, vest and plimsolls, all year around.

We also had PE detention sessions and all this changed. All boys had to strip to just a pair of shorts, no top, bare feet. This wasn't too bad inside but the same kit rules applied for the cross country run which we also had to undertake as part of the punishment, so in all weathers we were made to run 5 miles stripped to the waist and with nothing on our feet.

I first got a detention within a couple of weeks of starting at the school, aged 11. One evening immediately after school we had to report to the gym, and get changed. To say the least it was a bit of a shock when I realised that I was going to be forced to run outdoors in the freezing cold with bare feet, and even worse, stripped completed to the waist !

Yes, we could run quite fast in snow if it was not too deep as it was not slippery and it didn't matter if you fell over anyway. Ice was another matter - we were always aware how easy it was to slip over running on ice and how painful it would be later if you did land on a hard, unforgiving icy surface. Running in a few inches of snow was no problem but running on icy surfaces was not much fun at all!

Doing cross-country stripped to the waist and barefoot in snowy and icy conditions would certainly stop you dawdling along and make you get a move on.

I think it helped getting used to doing p.e. barefoot and stripped to the waist at primary school like Pete but we didn't go out of the school gates like that until we did cross country at Grammar School.

I remember running in snow barefoot was quite fun - what I wasn't so keen on was running along the pavements or across roads where the slush had frozen into ice. Running barefoot and topless in such conditions was certainly exhilarating and did us no harm.

Like George I enjoyed doing PE stripped to the waist and barefoot most of the time.
It did take some getting used to doing it in the depths of winter with ice and snow around.
It was also strange at first doing cross-country in the roads near our school while stripped to the waist and barefoot.