Clitheroe Royal Grammar School

It was really just a way to get more of us to take off shirts and save the school from any trouble if our shirts kept getting muddy. As I said, the vast majority of us went shirtless because we knew that, in reality, keeping your shirt on wasn't really an option unless you were prepared to do some push ups after in the cold weather.

In the late 1950's when we got changed for pe our kit was strictly shorts and plimsolls, nothing else to be worn.When we were sent out for a cross country run therefore we were always stripped to the waist.This didn't bother me or any of the other boys as we were used to it and felt no embarrassment.Everyone seemed to enjoy running, even those who perhaps were not so good at it, and I would say that as a result it made us all more confident about ourselves.

To Bradley

Since it wasn't compulsory to run stripped to the waist, what right did the teacher have to punish any boy who got mud on his shirt?

Some did keep them on, yes, but the vast majority of us went without shirts. It was heavily discouraged and the guys with shirts on were warned to "not get any mud on there" or else they will have to do push ups after the race.
The course was full of puddles, mud and generally it was quite a workout. It's worth nothing that the boys who wore shirts tended to be the ones who were not very good at cross country!

Its definitely strange, especially since I only left school a couple of years ago. We were lucky in the sense that our cross country grounds were in an enclosed area and only teachers were there apart from us.

Rob
By no guidance re outdoor kit, there was no "uniform" or house colours to be worn just a t shirt, and we were not allowed to wear pants under our shorts when outdoors either

Steve,our pe kit was the same as yours in the gym, but we wore nothing extra for cross country and athletics.We played football, not in pe lessons but seperate double lessons when our pe shorts doubled up as football shorts, but still without underwear, and football shirts, boots and socks.So you must have received some guidance on tops for outdoor sports activities if you usually wore a T shirt.

Like most boys,I certainly wasn't bothered about wearing just shorts and plimsolls for pe and soon got used to having to go in the communal showers in the nude after pe and games. We did as were told without questioning it.

When our class had it's first pe lesson in secondary school which was an all boys school, I knew in a advance that we would not be wearing underwear or tops for pe. Our parents had been told at a parents evening held some months before we went to secondary school that pe was strictly shorts,plimsolls and that was it.
So they told me when we were buying uniform that I only needed shorts and plimsolls for pe. When outdoors there was no guidance on tops and we usually wore a t shirt. However, in summer most of us were bare topped.

So we turned up for pe and the teacher a big imposing man said "remember no pants or socks shorts only". He did say he might check ( the punishment was the slipper)but as far as I remember he never did.

I do not think only being allowed the minimum of clothing bothered me. It was the rules and that was that.

Bradley, did some boys keep their shirts on for cross country then? You said nobody was forced to run shirtless so I wasn't clear. Either way, the logic does seem a bit strange.
I left school in 2003 and, while we always wore tops for cross country, shirts and skins was commonplace for other aspects of PE. Like others here, I was one of those selected to play skins more often than not, maybe because I was on the school football team and the teacher in charge also took my class for PE. In football training it was usually shirts v skins as well so I got used to being a skin right the way through school.

The reasoning that was given was that some parents constantly complained of having to wash muddy shirts after cross country since our track had some very slippery parts to it, especially after it rained. We weren't forced to go without a shirt- it was just a recommendation- but most of our parents agreed. After all, our fathers probably all did their XC shirtless.

Our XC was done by everyone. We had competitions between different houses so everyone had to take part.

'Falling in mud and ruining your t shirt'
Strange excuse. With that argument who would ever wear a shirt during strenuous activity!
I don't believe a reason was ever given to us to us when we had XC. And the team trained shirtless during my time at School. The region has the lowest temperatures in the UK.
I'm sure the shirtless regime put many off joining the XC teams!

Warren, i agree that cross country in the winter is harsh, especially if you have to run without a shirt on.I certainly felt it was quite unfair to have to run in cold weather, sometimes freezing, without my shirt because there was a risk of us "falling in mud and ruining our shirts", especially when we normally did PE lessons with shirts on.

Like Toby My PE teacher had his usual suspects when it came to shirts versus skins. He was also XC Coach. After school runs were compulsory shirtless even in harshest Northern Irish Winters. He tended to pick members of the Football and XC teams. Which suited the beefier lads!

When I started at an all boys school in the late fifties we were all told before the first PE lesson in the gym to get changed into gym shorts and plimsolls.We were not allowed to wear shirts,pants or socks and this was our kit until we left at aged 18 both in the gym and outside including cross country running.After all PE lessons it was compulsory for everyone to go naked into the communal showers. We did as were told without question and no-one ever said anything about being shy or embarrassed; we just got used to it.

Hi Paul,

Unfortunately for me I was one of the favourites to strip. I have no idea why though. I was quite sporty but nothing special in any way. There were around 2 or 3 lads in each class who were singled out and that was the same in each class. Being honest once I got used to being a skin I didn't mind it too much, not that there was anything I could do. I do remember when I was 11 one of my friends saying his younger brother who was in the 1st year was singled out to strip down too. I think it was totally random but you got used to it. We were always pushed hard and was common for skins to be sweating freely, especially in the gym or playing basketball. At those points I was pleased to be a skin and it always got girls attention so bonus points there!

Toby, were you one of the 'favourites' in your class? How did you feel about it if so?
Don't remember anyone being singled out in that way myself, although we did have vests vs skins in PE quite frequently.

Wayne, your teacher sounded the same as ours. We were "introduced" to skins and vests as 9 year olds. I remember the very first lesson and being picked to stand in front of the class and was simply told " Right lad, vest off and drop it on the floor" soon after he picked others at random to drop their vests. To make things worse he had his "favourites" who always ended up as skins. It was the same every lesson until leaving at 18. If you had a punishment session it was always outside, we had to change round the back of one of the mobile classrooms and you had your top off regardless of weather or conditions. This was done during assembly time and always made you really late for the first lesson.

Hi Tom,
We did most sports activities in skins at some stage - football, basketball, volleyball and athletics were probably the most common. I was 12 the first time I did PE with my shirt off and that continued regularly through to 16. My first punishment run was at 13 or 14 but unfortunately it wasn't my last!

Wayne, how old were you when you started to strip to the waist and what activities did you play in skins?

Matt's PE teacher sounds like the one I had in the 80s. He was something of a disciplinarian and boys who were deemed to have stepped out of line - as I discovered - found themselves subject to a punishment run. These could vary in length and difficulty but there was one certainty, you'd be made to take your shirt off before the run started. If there was a nip in the air that was too bad, you just had to run faster to get warm! Sometimes he would order boys to strip to the waist in ordinary PE lessons as well. I'm not sure there was any reason other than to remind us who was in charge.

If I remember correctly we just had to roll up the sleeves of our blouses for the BCG test.

For the actual BCG injection we had to unbutton our blouses sufficiently to be able to slip them off one shoulder.

Thomas. If my recollection of the early 60's is right, the BCG test was done clad, then most boys had the injection against TB. For a few showing antibodies, like me, an X-ray was required just to check we were OK. The worst thing was that my mates found out and ribbed me about it the next day!
A "new broom" PE teacher made us run shirtless. It was initially for punishment runs, then for his classes and finally for all. He said it was to let air and sun to our bodies when we'd been cooped up inside. Also it let him see exactly what we were doing, although I can't think how that applied for running. And finally, there was the disciplinary aspect - we did what he told us to do. Although essentially a fair man, he was a hard taskmaster and stricter disciplinarian. Most Scots lads from the 60's will remember what that meant!

I only remember having two school medicals, one in primary and one in secondary, when I was at school in the late 50s and 60s.
In primary it was done in the last year or the year before from what I remember, so we were about 10 or 11 years old.
They were done in two adjoining classes or empty offices, one was were we stripped to underpants and the other the examining room.
We were taken one class at a time, boys and girls separately, accampanied by our class teacher who happened to be a female in that year. So we were about 12 boys in our group.
As soon as we arrived the teacher told us to strip to underpants in the waiting room, then taken in one at a time in the exam room where the nurse told us to take off our underpants and did the preliminary checks like height and weight. Then the doctor would examine us. He happened to be a male doctor.
Actually there were two of us boys in the exam room to speed things up, while one was being examined by the doctor another one was called in to be checked by the nurse.
Our teacher stood in the doorway between the two rooms to immediately call in another boy as soon as one was finished, so she actually had a view of us being examined in our naked glory.

The secondary medical exam had a little more privacy, but about that in another post maybe.
I can imagine the embarrassment of having mothers or other witnesses at secondary school medicals when one is in their teens, as some have mentioned.

Thomas Somehow I managed to avoid the BCG at school. However, our school medicals sound similar to yours except they were held in a designated classroom the windows having been covered up Ours was an all boys school. We we called into the classroom from out of our lessons about 6 of us at a time. We lined up in the room stripped to the waste and stood in line one behind the other. Then we were called forward to the doctor and after several checks on ears eyes etc we told
to " drop em" Anyone being shy or coy got a gruff "I said drop them right down".

Of course this exposed your bare backside to the next person in the queue. The worrying thing (bearing in mind we were about 14 years old,) was that parents we invited to be present and usually those days mums stayed and home and it would be them. As far as I know much to the relief of us lads no ones mum ever attended. It was bad enough having a female nurse present.

Matt, was it ever explained why you had to strip completely for the BCG? Seems very strange. We had our BCG injections at school when I was 12-13 (in the 1980s) and I remember we were told to strip to the waist and queue up but we kept the rest of our clothes on. It was the same for general medical exams at school, although those were done in two stages. For the first part you were shirtless, then you went individually into the doctor's office and had to strip naked when instructed.
By the way, I wasn't clear from your description of cross country; did you run without a top? Quite a few people here have mentioned shirtless running as standard for boys in that era but I wasn't sure.
Sometimes boys did run shirtless at my school but only in warm weather and by choice. I can't say it would have appealed to me in winter conditions!

As well as nudity in medicals, I remember it for X-rays. The first was when I was 8 or 9 at the local hospital. I was told to take off all my clothes in the changing room before the X-ray. That meant I had to walk naked in front of all the people in the changing room, and of course had to walk back.
The second time was a couple to years later after the BCG test for TB. I was in puberty and self-conscious about my body. I was told as a boy I had to strip completely - adult men only had to strip to the waist. I was then sent along a corridor to await my appointment standing outside the door while surprised looking, shirtless men came and went. It seemed an age, but it was soon over.
By the way, we did cross country/long distance running in brief, 60's style PE shorts and gymshoes. All weathers - I actually came to like frost, rain and wind!

I remember school sports physicals being quite overwhelming.
Maybe upwards of 40 lads at a time packed into the gym.
We had strip off in the changing room and proceed to the gym in our birthday suits.
As boarders we were well used to stripping off, but once we spotted the awaiting Female Doctor's and Nurses hands began quickly covering crotches.
They quickly put a stop to that!
There was no provision for privacy. No screens or curtains.
During college Physicals we had Male Physician's and kept our underwear on until the hernia check, performed behind a privacy screen.

I can recollect having two medicals during my time at Secondary School. The first was soon after I had started and was done in vest and pants (although the vest had to be lifted up enough for the doctor to use her stethoscope).

The second was in the 4th or 5th year, by which time the vest had given way to a bra. I did have to unfasten that and slip it down slightly to enable the (female) doctor to do a visual examination. Similarly I had to pull the top of my pants forward to allow her to see down there. I'm not sure what she was actually looking for, but she did ask if my periods were regular.

We had swimming lessons in our local municipal pool (which was closed to the public at that time) and had to wear a blue one piece costume.

Sid at Secondary school the only experience of nudity apart from being in the all boys class in the showers was the dreaded school medical exam. All lined up made to strip to our briefs and then line up. We approached the doctor individually, and at the end of the examination the doctor nearly always a lady would without warning tell you top drop em & cough. That was the worst thing.

Gavin - no problem! I went to Bedford Modern. We played against your school in rugby and cricket

Ian, it was not uncommon for boy scouts to swim nude in those days. Even at my prep school we had to take swim class in the nude, often with female teachers and instuctors for us young boys up to age 12 or 13.
Someone asked what it would have felt like being made to swim nude at school. Well, I guess some boys were really embarrassed but most of us got used to it since we had no choice. The worst part was standing at attention for roll call and instuctions at the begining of class with everything on display, but once in the water we all had fun.