Boys Home in the 1960s


by David Frean

This happened many many years ago, Ive written about it on groups but it was with encouragement of Archie and Dan that Ive tried to put it together. I must state that at no time were the boys abused either with _s_e_x_ or physically. I pride myself that I would have not worked there, but I was young and impressionable. However most boys were spanked in the 60s and these boys who had been away from parents and a firm hand needed it more than most. Some had been in trouble some not, it was all a bit of a mix up back then. Humiliation was used and it worked like a dream and I dont think left lasting effects because there was a lot of kindness for the boys. The head of the home was called Stennett and he ruled with no questions asked. He had methods and thats what we used all the time. They were based on the idea that if a boy, whatever age (and the oldest were till 18th birthday) behaved like a child was irresponsible and untrustworthy then they lost their privilege and the right to have their views taken into the frame. The staff by the way were mostly men but 3 old women worked in the kitchens and the laundry and they saw the boys being punished. There were two very unintelligent girls who worked in the laundry and kitchens too. About 15 years old and they were spanked too by Cook and Mrs Bradley in the laundry. Its not the subject of this group but I enjoyed seeing them get their bare bottom reddened and nothing was hidden from our view when it happened.

Its worth saying that for the boys it was a very modest Christian house and that made the punishments worse. Each boy had a cubical for his bed screened curtains. Each bath had a cubical too and a dressing gown was worn in the corridors.

There was lots of methods to let a boy know he was been treated like a youngster and put down a few and maybe more in my next post.

One was sitting on the potty. Not to use it, although I have seen boys relive themselves whilst sitting there but to underline that naughty boys loose their privacy and dignity. The potty was put down in the corridor. Maybe in the evening out side the boys dormitory, during the day outside the Officer in Charges office or outside the dining room. The boy was stood in front and told off. He was then told to take his trousers and pants down to his knees. Maybe hed get another telling off with his face now very red from his privates being out on view. Then he would have to squat down. It wasnt a childs potty but an institutional white one and of course it made his private parts the absolute target of where you looked. Ive seen boys sitting there for over an hour, shame faced and very humiliated as been treated like a little boy. Then they would be spanked, good hard and proper in front of other boys and staff. The boys had no loyalty and they liked seeing another being diminished and were always interested to look between a naughtly boys legs. If a boy was large or particularly small, over developed or better still underdeveloped for his age then so much the better. Its amazing how the most aggressive boys turn out to have tiny hairless genitals!

Of course it depended on the time of day but often a boy was stripped from the waist down and left, hands on head outside the Chief Officers office to await punishment. It saved time of course and did no harm except for the lads pride. I remember one lad standing there naked as the day he was born except his socks and plimsoles, his gym shirt and socks neatly folded on the floor in front of him. It was a busy day and everyone forgot he was there. We had a group of guests, the Lord Mayor and three other guests, one was an older women and they came round the corner and there he was. They stopped and looked and asked what the boy had done, asked about the punishment, about other punishments. The boys was pink faced and very ashamed. In the end the Chief officer said would they like to see the lad punished ? The woman declined, she has two sons at home and would rather see the kitchen but the others said they saw no reason not to and they were taken into the office Apparently the boy stood in front of them, was given his telling off and got a full erection with all the attention! He was ridiculed for this and it was the source of much amusement and of course the boy had nowhere to hide! He was then spanked standing in front of them with the assembled company watching his little _c_o_c_k_ subside as he got his bottom reddened and he began to cry with the same and pain! I wasnt there but the time a boy got a _c_o_c_k_ stand in front of the mayor was a story of the home for many years to come.

Spanking were always done with the door open so everyone could hear and the lad could not pretend bravado when really he was sobbing like a 3 year old. Pyjamas before punishment were common and I recall a particularly naughty lad having to wear them all weekend and frequently finding himself in just his slippers and pyjama top. Of course he want spanked each time but the threat and humiliation of exposure was there.

Another humiliation before spanking was a day spent in underwear. In those days that was white vest, white pants and grey long socks. I remember one lad very shy, thin lad who was new and had let the bath run. It became obvious when he stripped to his pants that he would be very popular with the ladies when he grew up. It was decided to spank him on the dais during tea as it would be educational for the boys. The lad had to bare all and then was spanked to tears. It was over the knee so his thick, long penis was dangling there, swinging from side to side all through the punishment for all to see. He then had to apologise to each of the housefathers who were sitting at the head of each table. So he goes around the hall, just in vest and socks, teary face, red bottom and everything open to the view of every boy and member of staff! One housefather, he was a bit of a sport actually, pointed at this boy and said What happened to you, swallow an elephant? There was a roar of laughter and boy started crying again. But we got the point across that he should pay more attention in future.

If of interest I can write more.


More stories by David Frean