As British man not that far from 40, I am among the last generation of those who got the cane at school. True, it was dying out before I left school in 1987, but it was still in use with some vigour in the 1970s. It actually continued until 1999 in independent schools, so assuming he was 16 when he got it, an ex public schoolboy as young as 26 could have been on the receiving end of it. In fact, if he was unlucky enough to have got it at the same age I was when I first received it (8), he would only be just be leaving school now! That is pretty unlikely though: it really was the exception rather than the rule by that stage.
But in the 1970s and early 1980s it was still very much the norm. I'd heard from my older cousin about the cane. He'd got it a few times at his school. I also remember one afternoon when I bombarded the older boy who lived next door to us with questions about it. With hindsight, he was very keen to tell me all about it! I was reasonably well behaved. I realised though that there was a chance that I might be one of those unfortunate enough to have his name called out in assembly to take the long walk up to the headmaster's study where the cane would be waiting on his desk to do its duty.
I remember as long ago as the late 1970s, there were regular articles on calls for the abolition of caning in schools. It finally happened more or less as I left school. In a way, the calls all seemed a bit academic to me. I never thought I'd get it. It only really happened to other boys.
Was this punishment of choice of a byegone era wrong? Oh, you can hear the cries of "Human Rights Act gone mad". etc. A bit of a nonsense really, because the cane was abolished in this country years before Tony Blair brought the much needed Act in. Our views have changed with time.
That said, Europe played its part. Throughout the 1980s a number of boys took cases to the European Court of Human Rights. It was a slow process. In 1992, Matthew Prince, then aged 25, was awarded £8,000 as a result of a four stroke caning he had received when he was 15. A decent amount of money. Certainly enough to enable him to get his foot onto the property ladder. I am sure many of us would have welcomed a windfall like that in our mid 20s!
It was a good incentive to me, I reckoned to keep my head down and off the radar of the powers that be. Certainly, quite a few of my friends now who are my age seem to have got it. English, Aussie and Kiwi mates have mentioned having got the cane at school. That said, Kevin Pietersen mentions in his autobiography getting the cane when he was at school in South Africa and he is 10 years younger than I am.
"It didn't do me any harm" is the oft said response. Not sure I agree. It left me with very bruised buttocks which made even walking around very difficult in the immediate aftermath. Even a few days later I remember running for the bus (keen not to get it again, this time for being late) and still being aware that my backside was tender. In the showers after PE lessons, you could easily see who had been on the receiving end of the cane.
But in the 1970s and early 1980s it was still very much the norm. I'd heard from my older cousin about the cane. He'd got it a few times at his school. I also remember one afternoon when I bombarded the older boy who lived next door to us with questions about it. With hindsight, he was very keen to tell me all about it! I was reasonably well behaved. I realised though that there was a chance that I might be one of those unfortunate enough to have his name called out in assembly to take the long walk up to the headmaster's study where the cane would be waiting on his desk to do its duty.
I remember as long ago as the late 1970s, there were regular articles on calls for the abolition of caning in schools. It finally happened more or less as I left school. In a way, the calls all seemed a bit academic to me. I never thought I'd get it. It only really happened to other boys.
Was this punishment of choice of a byegone era wrong? Oh, you can hear the cries of "Human Rights Act gone mad". etc. A bit of a nonsense really, because the cane was abolished in this country years before Tony Blair brought the much needed Act in. Our views have changed with time.
That said, Europe played its part. Throughout the 1980s a number of boys took cases to the European Court of Human Rights. It was a slow process. In 1992, Matthew Prince, then aged 25, was awarded £8,000 as a result of a four stroke caning he had received when he was 15. A decent amount of money. Certainly enough to enable him to get his foot onto the property ladder. I am sure many of us would have welcomed a windfall like that in our mid 20s!
Yes, it belongs in the past now. Calls for it to be brought back sound like voices from another age. We have moved on. It still surprises me in my relatively short life how quickly that has happened though.
Did YOU get the cane when you were at school? If so and you are happy to share your experiences, you might find www.cprem-forum.com interesting!
