St George's House,
Northern Police Orphanage. 1898-1956  Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.

 

 

 

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Assembly

 It is not clear what the Assembly procedure was in the earlier days of St George's but certainly in the 1940's every day after
 breakfast, everyone, including staff, had to attend  morning assembly, this was held in the Assembly Room located in the main    building.  There was a low level stage in the room, rows of wooden chairs, each with a holder fitted to the back to house prayer
 books and hymn books  (rather like the ones used in church). Patterned linoleum covered floor, no hassocks. Miss Knocker would 
 lead the morning prayer service with Miss Adams or Mr Moffatt accompanying on the piano for hymn singing.

 Miss Knocker would then stand at her wooden lectern on the stage and deliver her 'address', starting with the text for the day
 and referring to one of the many large religious pictures, which she hung over an easel also on the stage. Any Notices about the
 St George's events of the day were given out by her, after which we children would leave the room to either get ready
 for school, or on Saturdays get ready for 'Boot Parade'. On Sundays we would get ready to go to church.

 If there was a notable friend of St George's visiting the House, e.g. Miss Hopkinson, Miss Bell, Mr Hudson Pope or perhaps a 'man
 of the cloth' they would often be invited to give the address.

                                          
                                        As no Assembly Room photos are available, this picture taken in the Gymnasium
                                is included to give some indication of the manner the assemblies were conducted.

In addition to the usage described above, the Assembly Room was used at the end of the Summer Term, when with everyone present, including staff, Miss Knocker would read out each child's school report. Very occasionally, during the winter months, the room was also used for an evening religious service, when the weather was too bad to attend church. It needs to be said that it was a rare occurrance when the children  did not walk to church.
In the Assembly Room during the winter, occasional films or slide shows would be enjoyed by all.  The room would also be used for a gathering of the children on Annual General Meeting of the Council Day in June. Miss Knocker and the Police Watch Committee always convened in the Senior Girls Room, after which followed tea for the committee and then a Gymnastics and Countermarching display, plus various tableaux, on the front lawn,by the children, after they had returned from school.
The Committee would then mingle with and meet the children prior to the official ending of the day's events.

 

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