The School Grounds and Sporting Activities

After the removal of the eighty-two trees from the Mina Villa grounds and the clearing of the site, the plans for the school playground were elaborate in the extreme.  Two football or hockey pitches, two tennis courts, four netball pitches and a cricket pitch, was, in the view of a Mr Clark, superintendent of parks, Aberdeen, the best possible layout of the grounds.  The estimated cost was £1200 and it was not clear where the finance would come from.  The elaborate plan and the cost induced a number of councillors to speak against such a scheme.  In particular, Mr D.G. Campbell said, ‘Thurso is one big playing field.  You have the bay, the sands, Sir George’s Park, facilities for bathing, fishing and games.  Though you lay out the finest playing grounds, you won’t get half a dozen boys to come back to it.  After school they want to be away from the school environments.  All that is needed is a few trees taken out and make a football pitch.’

The school was represented at the meeting by the Rector, Mr Ironside, and he would appear to be in agreement except that he was concerned by the time lost going to the public park and thought a hockey pitch was a requirement.

The playground was not always as tidy as it might have been.  In 1938, Carting Contractor, George Hendry, gave a price of ten shillings and sixpence for the removal of old corrugated iron lying at the Miller.  In an effort to further improve the surrounds the janitor had his attention drawn to the unsatisfactory condition of the grounds.  It was further noted that he did not perform his tidying duties to the satisfaction of the Thurso School Management Committee over the holiday periods and the ground should be kept up to the same standard in the holidays as in term time.

It would appear that, in 1940, there was a problem in getting the grass cut.  As a temporary measure a request was made to the Thurso Golf Club for the use of their motor mower.  The request was not granted.  By the end of the war it was realised that the school required a mower of its own.  Mr Ironside made a request to the Management Committee who in turn passed the request to the Caithness Education Committee.  This group agreed to the purchase of a motor mower on the condition that 50% of the cost was paid by the School Fund.  This was agreed and the machine obtained.  It was not until fifteen years later that a shed was obtained to house the mower and other tools.  This shed, which still stands adjacent to the boys’ shelter shed and against the Lover’s Lane wall was requested by Mr Grant in June 1955 and he was told the work would be carried out over the summer holidays if Caithness Education Committee agreed.  I am not sure if the work was carried out as planned over this holiday but in any event the timescale is very impressive as compared to the present situation where generally only health and safety considerations can elicit such a response.

The account by Margaret Neil of her experience of hockey on the Miller Academy playing field is worth including for its humorous reporting of the event.  She says, ‘Miss MacKenzie, the Gym teacher, made us play hockey in gym shoes and shorts in frosty, foggy weather – result; crippled and dreadful chilblains. In Castletown, netball had been our sport and the rules of hockey were never explained – off-side remains a mystery to this day.  In order to TOOT that silly whistle at us, the dear lady was comfortably clad in fur coat, hood, and long fur lined boots.  The Thurso kids had their own hockey boots and sticks!’  And this is not the only negative comment that hockey received.  Elizabeth Sutherland (Dundas) says, ‘Playing hockey was a misery for me.  Lucky if we could muster 5-a-side, and played on a full sized pitch. Utterly exhausting.’

Playground games have always been a source of enjoyment to pupils and a source of wonder to adults.  Anne Baird vividly remembers and writes about playtime skipping and playing ‘elastics’.  She talks of the rhymes, many of which are now dying out.  Three she mentions they used to sing are ‘lipstick, powder-puff’, ‘in tippy out tippy’ and ‘not last night but the night before.’  British Bull Dog was another game frequently played and, of course, she remembers the ‘Clackers’ craze, those two plastic balls on a string that made so much noise.  Fiona Matthews (nee Watson) also remembers British Bulldog and Leapfrog and ‘Kiss, Cuddle or Torture’.  The grass fights which Mr Brass disapproved of also get a mention! and in winter the slides down the slope in front of his building.  Jackets were used as sledges and they used to get soaking wet, much to the annoyance of the teachers, but the children didn’t care.

Unfortunately, I remember clackers too and hula hoops, marbles, yo-yos, etc. not once but on at least their second time round.  And now we have ‘Cyber Pets’, ‘Furbies’ and ‘Pokemon Cards’!  What next?

The playground has always been a place to vent emotions – anger, joy and loyalty to the school.  Anne Baird was proud to be a Miller Academy pupil – ‘wonderful school’ she says.  The emotion really came out when children supported their school at Football, Netball and the Sports – school and inter-school.  Shouting until hoarse was not an uncommon event and not surprising when indulging in the chant, ‘2, 4, 6, 8, who do we appreciate? – M. I. L. L. E. R..  MILLER!!!’  In her memory the school always won but as now the main memory was of Sports Day being a highlight of the year.  She notes the names of two particularly good athletes, sisters, Yvonne and Hazel Miller.  There have been many more too who have produced great performances for themselves and for the school.

Football has always been a sport of great importance in Thurso.  The school grounds have been used not only by the school but by other groups for many years.  Boys’ football in particular has benefited from the use of school pitches in general and Miller Academy in particular.  Now with the sport at primary school level being seven-a-side it is not unusual to see many dozens of boys, and some girls, involved in inter-club and inter-school competition.

Memories of exploits on the football pitch figure strongly in the minds of former pupils.  Donald Mackenzie submitted the 1950 photograph of the Miller Academy team and David Crowe the 1956 photograph.  Donald tells me the team played Wick High School in Wick and unfortunately lost 5-2.  The most memorable aspect was having the match refereed by celebrity Scottish referee Peter Craigmyle.

Miller Academy Senior Football Team 1950

Back row left to right:  Donald Grant, John Manson, Bob Bell, Andrew Sinclair, Donald MacKenzie.

Front row left to right:  William Begg, Hugh Mackay, Norman Munro, Sinclair MacLean, Andrew Calder, Ronnie Sutherland, Richard Cardosi.

Miller Academy Senior Football Team 1955-56

Back Row:  James Mackay, Raymond Cardosi, Donald Jack, Will Murray, Hugh Ross, David Bain, William Reilly, David Crowe.

Front row:  Billy Christie, David Watt, Colin Campbell, Murdo Waters, Andrew Manson, Dickie Mackay, George Robertson.

This earlier football team from 1938-39 were probably one of the first to play in the new grounds at Miller.

Back Row:  Allan Munro, David Lindsay, Ian Angus, Hamish Sutherland, George Ironside, George Mackay.

Front Row:  George Ross, Donald, Swanson, Ted Goulder, David Sinclair, Jim MacDonald.

As well as Football, Hockey and Netball have featured in the sporting activities of the Miller Academy.  The pictures below show the Miller Academy IV, V and VI year Hockey player of 1956 and the Netball team of 1983.  One of the several Miller teams that have won the County Netball Cup.

Back Row:  Jean Gow,Elizabeth Sinclair, Mary Morrison, Margaret Rankin, Rosemary Kerr, Christine Gair.

Middle Row:  Isobel Budge, Ebeth Robertson, Adrienne Cooke, Jean Sutherland, Christine Gunn, Louise Munro, Janetta Miller, Kay Sinclair, Myra Baikie.

Front Row:  Kathleen Geddes, Rosemary Anstey, Maisie Sutherland, Doris Craig, Christine Downie, Margaret Cormack, Joan Kennedy, Phyllis Munro, Jeanette Coghill.

Back Row:  Jackie Suprenant, Carole Mowat, Jackie Murray, Margaret Miller.

Front Row:  Caron Stevenson, Kirsty Labor, Caroline Wordie.