The following article is taken from Gervase D'Olbert's book "Chastisement across the ages", published in the 1950's. It provides an interesting glimpse of school life in the UK at around that time. Does anyone have any similar, authentic tales of continental practices?
What system governs the number of strokes inflicted on boys during a school flogging? Is there any uniformity between different schools of the same period or between different periods in history?
In the first instance it should be noted that the days of excessive CP are gone, perhaps forever. In Victorian times, it was quite normal for the headmaster to administer 36 strokes of the birch to the offender's bare buttocks, quite often in front of the school. Perhaps the most celebrated instance was that of Moss, Headmaster of Shrewsbury School, who once inflicted no less than 88 cuts to a boy in one session.
As time wore on, the birch was replaced by the cane, still administered to the victim's bare bottom, though in many cases this now took place in the privacy of the Head's study. As the cane was a much more painful instrument, 36 on the bare was a more serious punishment than it had been with the birch.
The Rev Sabine Baring Gould was reported to have inflicted the tradition "36 on the bare" with his cane, to one of his pupils, before going on to complete his famous hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers". A prefect in the early 1900's was rebuked for inflicting 30 strokes of an ash-plant to the trousered rear of a 14yr old pupil at Winchester school, a process known as "Tunding". As he broke no less than 6 such switches across the unfortunate youngster's tender backside, it made the press. In the 1950's, an arab boy was sentenced to Life Imprisonment and 20 cuts of the birch, whilst a boy from the Indian hills was awarded 30 cuts of the birch, both for political offences. In schools, though, where each culprit is flogged more often, such totals are not normally necessary.
In some schools, however, a distinction is made between caning on the hands or the posterior. Some Jesuit Schools prescribe a maximum of 24, 12 on each hand, for hand chastisement, with even more being given to the buttocks if necessary. In one particular establishment, boys of "Preparatory School" age received the "Pandy Bat" [A thick leather strap with holes drilled in it] across their bare buttocks, whilst older boys received the same instrument across their hands. Boys of BOTH age groups rceived in excess of 24 [As many as 40 strokes] across naked buttocks for crimes of a "moral" nature.
However, we will be dealing with posterior punishment in this article.
One and two stroke punishments are rarely given outside state schools. Three is a more normal number as it provides a sense of the sustained nature of the penalty with a minimum duration and actual pain.
More popular than three, however, is four, especially for older boys. Five is less frequently applied, perhaps because it equates too closely to the traditional "six of the best". Five is, however, used in certain circumstances; as in the Royal Navy where five or more "black marks" entitled the cadet to a beating, that is five marks of a sharper, redder, sort. These were applied by the Lieutenant in charge fo the mess and usually on the bare bottom. Five has also been known in Public Schools, where prefects wish to mark an offence as being less heinous than others.
As to the psychology behind the selection of numbers of strokes, it may be said that up to six, the punisher tends to think of each stroke as an independent entity, whereas beyond that total he will arrange them in groups and consequently administer them with a greater rapidity.
Six appears in beating to be an almost "Holy" number. It acts like a magnet, as witness the colloquial phrases "Six of the best", or "A good, round, half-dozen!". This popular distinction is shared with its compound - 12 strokes. "A Dozen of the Best" or a "Good, round, Dozen" are on every prefect or master's lips and in every boy's mind. Sometimes six are given as an extra emphatic form of four. In many public schools the quota is four for a lesser offence and 6 for major crimes, with really serious moral sins being punished with 12 of the Headmaster's birch or cane. Again, six may be expected when four have been ordered and the culprit discovered with padding in his trousers. Generally, however, six is inflicted from the start as the most just number. In films and stories, plus reminiscences of school life, one usually finds six strokes, usually no less and no more. It is possible that six strokes enable the psychological effect of the punishment to sink in with sufficient crescendo, in a way which would be hard with five and impossible with three cuts. It is undeniable that six is the most frequent number of cuts given and this applies whether the strokes are given with a cane, strap or birch or whether the penalty is inflicted upon the trousers or the bare buttocks.
Seven is an infrequent total, though what was intended as six may become seven or even eight, either through miscounting, or more often as a penalty for protesting or making too much noise whilst under punishment.
Eight is more common than seven. It is a "rounder", more reasonable number. In a book of reminiscences, a distinguished artist records how, at the age of 11, he was given 8 strokes for talking after lights out. In this case, though, the punishment consisted of two "Fours", the prefect repeating the dose because the boy was not sufficiently repentant after the first round! Similarly, though very rarely, six may be two "Threes" and a dozen two "sixes".
Another way in which eight may be awarded is when the system classifies offences into 3 classes. In this case, the mildest offences get 4, more serious ones, eight, whilst the worst of all offences get the full dozen.
Nine is not often found, though one case has been recorded where a Glasgow priest awarded nine on the bare bottom to a boy who, when asked how many stripes he was used to at school, replied "Six, Sir." Obviously wanting to make an example, the priest inflicted 9 strokes to the unfortunate lad.
Ten strokes is a number found in semi-educational establishments. It is undoubtably more sever than 6 and is felt to be less sever than 12.
Eleven strokes are almost never found, whilst 13 is also unusual, except where the infamous "Baker's Dozen" can be found in some schools.
Twelve, however, is a favourite complement of strokes. More serious offences, especially, which demand public thrashings, are apt to involve twelve strokes, whether it be with Birch, Strap or Cane. The infliction of twelve strokes is often made in an attempt to cure a boy of his criminal tendencies. Twelve strokes are more than twice as painful as six, as the pain tends to multiply, while the strokes mainly add to the "fire". Moreover, many of the second half-dozen will probably fall near to, or actually upon, the weals raised by the first six. Many masters in fact aim to put these second strokes over the first lot, thus increasing pain dramatically. Thus it is that twelve stripes constitute an especially severe thrashing and for that reason are inflicted rather than six or eight.
Beyond twelve, it is rare to find any normal total. A boy in a prep school at Ealing reported that he once received fourteen strokes across his bare buttocks. Possibly the master intended inflicting more, but wearied before completing the intended quota. Certainly, the boy reported, these fourteen were severe and as the master was suffering from Hay Fever it may well be that his strength was prematurely exhausted.
In some schools, especially serious offences [such as truancy or running away] are punished with a high total of strokes. As many as twenty or thirty on the bare bottom have been met with in prep schools, in each case as the penalty for running away. A school in Lienster also specialised in excessive thrashings. Before the entire school of some 200 boys, the wretched victim would have to remove trousers and pants and receive as many as forty strokes with either cane or birch, his comrades clapping and counting each stroke as it arrived.
The question of whether to bare the bottom or not has never been solved. Some bare the bottom as a matter of course; this is particularly prevelant in preparatory schools, for boys aged seven to thirteen. Other schools have a system where ordinary offences are dealt with by a wahcking on the trouserd bottom, or sometimes thin gym shorts [no underwear allowed], either by masters or prefects. For more serious offences, the boy takes the strokes on his bared bottom, usually from a master. Even here, methods differ. In some schools, the boy bares himself whilst in others he has to stand still whilst a master removes his trousers for him.
Birching is always inflicted on the bare bottom and usually in front of the school although some schools, and many prep schools, inflict birching privately.
Other instances of bare bottom punishment involve resistance to an infliction across trousers or shorts. Here, the boy may protest or struggle, in which case his bottom is bared and the thrashing continued on the bare flesh. Indeed, some schools discount any previous strokes and start again on the bare bottom. Another instance of this is where padding is discovered in a boy's trousers. Again, the trousers are often removed and extra strokes given.