James Tipper was the fourth Master to be appointed to Winkleigh School: the school had had a very difficult start against the considerable prejudice of both the farmers and the labouring poor, many of whom who saw elementary education as an unnecessary expense to themselves (6d per week for a farmer, 1p. for a labourer) as well as depriving them either of labour or a modest income. For 14 years James and Sarah Tipper struggled against the meanness and lack of support from the School Board whose main concern was to fulfill the dictates of the law with as little financial support or encouragement as possible. Only the Rev.Bremridge, a member of the Board, was James Tipper’s constant supporter, children’s friend and a genuine believer in the power of a good school to change and benefit the lives of those in the village. There are many examples recorded in the school log books of Rev. Bremridge stepping in to intervene and solve a difficult problem or dispute.
The 1891 census records the family after their arrival in Winkleigh four years before. James was 35, Sarah 34. Their eldest child, Eleanor aged 12, was to remain with her mother for many years to come. Harry and David were 11 and 7: eventually both were to play their part in the war. Arthur was 1. Living also in the crowded household was James’ sister Sarah, 40 years old and unmarried. By 1901 and following the death of her husband, Sarah was living in Vine Street with Eleanor, Harry, David, Arthur and George who had been born in 1895. Sarah moved there after an initial refusal to vacate the school house after James’ death, on the obvious grounds that she could not possibly afford to support the family and rent elsewhere on her very meager salary. A bitter controversy with the Board ensued, ending only with a compromise to allow the new master, John Dupere, his rightful possession.
After 14 years of constant struggle to raise standards and vastly improve attendance, James died in 1900 aged only 44, the result one can suspect of constant stress and living in the school house - damp, insanitary and with a pump supplying the water supply in the kitchen that later proved to have been contaminated. There were no sewage pipes or even a cess-pit, either in the school yard or the house. The Board consistently refused to make any improvements to the house or the school, although one of the young Tipper children had already died in 1887 in a similar manner. There are records of the girls in particular refusing to come to school to face the horrors of the bucket system in the toilets.
The records show that the family was united in their determination to survive and fulfill their mission, as James Tipper saw it, of bringing educational enlightenment to the village children. In doing so, however inadequately, James laid a foundation that was taken up with enthusiasm and success by Dupre’s successor, John Lane (master from 1906 to 1922). The 1902 Education Act had finally removed all control from the School Board, and placed educational responsibility for the elementary schools in the hands of Devon County Council: with this support, and the enthusiastic encouragement from a first-rate Headmaster, Winkleigh School between the wars flourished as never before. John Lane is rightly remembered in Winkleigh: the contribution of James and Sarah Tipper is perhaps too long ago to be in any way recalled, but it is hoped that this web-site might help a little to restore some acknowledgement of their heroic contribution.
Growing up in such a family and in these particular circumstances, their futures managed by their parents, the boys saw careers for themselves by becoming pupil-teachers and working to help support the family finances. It was a traditional story of children following the family ‘trade’. The route into the profession of an elementary school teacher began early. With the school leaving age of 12 or at the most 13, the first step was to return to the school aged 14 as a monitor, a relic of the mid-century ‘discovery’ by Joseph Bell of the ‘monitorial system’ and first tried out by the Church of England with native children in India, the system to be brought to England and used in both their ‘National Schools’ (Winkleigh’s Castle School was a pre-1870 example) as well as their evangelical rival’s ‘British Schools’, established by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The system was copied and continued in the post-1870 Board Schools, more a means to obtain the cheapest possible way of staffing a school than with any belief that the system could possibly produce a beneficial outcome. Often these young monitors had to struggle with children that seemed older or larger than themselves, with very varied success. The next step was promotion to pupil-teacher, a form of apprenticeship with a tiny salary paid by the school board. A pupil-teacher was expected to study before moving on to the next step to become an uncertified teacher. Basic exams in reading, writing, arithmetic and drawing had to be passed in order to attend this status and eventually to move on to a teacher-training college (requiring at least a good reference from the school as well as the exam entrance qualifications), which would lead to the qualification of certified teacher. After several years gaining experience a certified teacher could then apply for the post of master of an elementary school. Throughout the system a master was expected to give instruction to pupil-teachers, monitors and uncertified teachers aspiring to go to Training College, though the latter could be studied via a correspondence course. A master’s ability to do this would depend on his own time available, personal stress or professionalism and was obviously a very weak link in the system. All this is illustrated very well by the story of the Tipper family. Meanwhile, however inadequate and haphazard was the staffing of the Winkleigh school and however disastrous for the children in their care, both the ratepayers and the school board of farmers could at least congratulate themselves on its cheapness!
Sarah never in her life progressed beyond uncertified teacher: she had no need to do so. With a husband to support her, she had quickly concentrated on the Infants’ class, where it was not considered necessary in those days to show any particular skills, apart of course from the necessity to draw well on the blackboard the ‘objects’ that formed a part of the curious system of ‘object lessons’ that was an essential ingredient of the early curriculum.
The Tipper boys were encouraged to go much further, although the records of the school show that David was not entirely dedicated as a young man to the work of disciplining rowdy children or studying hard to pass his exams. Harry made faster progress. On May 1st 1894 Harry James Tipper aged 14 was already indentured straightaway as a pupil-teacher (by-passing the monitor level in order to save costs) to be paid £1 per month, raised only in October 1897 to £12 per annum. Aged 18 or 19 Harry was entered in March 1899 for a Queen’s Scholarship to pay the necessary fees for entry into a Training College, (a required step for any family who could not afford it) before he could move on. Meanwhile he had reached uncertified teacher level a month later in the same year, earning £3.6.8d per month. David was indentured on October 4th 1898 as a monitor, paid £5 per annum. It was obviously a huge struggle for him to survive: the board minutes record on February 14th 1899 that he was admonished and warned that there were complaints of his awarding irregular punishments. On 23rd March 1900, David (now 16) himself became an uncertified teacher, but with a poor record earning only £1.7.6d per month. A few months later, on 10th September, James Tipper died. Sarah was now dependent on her own pitiful salary of £3.15.0d per month and that of her two sons, but with accommodation in the school house. Money became very tight indeed after the introduction of the first superannuation scheme in May 1901 for both uncertified and certified teachers, that was paid in Winkleigh by deductions from salaries, already as we have seen as low as possible on the basis of supply and demand, and before the introduction of a national scale.
There are indications that his father’s death left David without the strong guidance that he seems to have needed. Almost his first act was to follow Harry’s example by enrolling in the Devon Volunteers, very largely for the opportunities offered by a paid holiday at annual camp, together with ample opportunities for cricket and shooting during the year, much of which of course drew him away from his studies and his teaching. Annual camp for the brothers in July 1901 caused a huge problem of staffing: even Eleanor was drafted in as a makeshift class teacher. David took the pupil-teacher exam on 7th January 1902, and just scraped through with a ‘below fair’ mark and a failure in drawing. The entry fee cost 10/- which the board was very reluctant to reimburse to Sarah, despite pressure from Rev. Bremridge, who later made arrangements for David to be enrolled on a correspondence course for a scholarship entry to teacher training college. Meanwhile, Harry progressed well and on August 5th 1902 enrolled at Winchester Training College. His was a hard act for David to follow.
Despite his moderate success, David continued to have great difficulties in the school. The inspectors’ report of December 1903 referred to his low standard of ‘failing discipline’, but in spite of this and in some desperation he had been seconded to Hollocombe School in July 1903 to help cover the absence of the un-certificated teacher in charge, Lucy Snell. Attendance at camp always caused difficulties. In July 1902 he took further time off to play cricket for the Volunteers and in September for a military prize shooting contest. The August camp that year was at Hayton, just before the harvest summer holiday. David finally entered for ‘The King’s Scholarship’ on 15th December 1902, no doubt assisted by Rev. Bremridge in his correspondence course. An impossible target, he failed the exam, dismally. Despite the setback, in the May of 1903 he was back at Hollocombe covering the absence again of Lucy Snell. Later, in October he took time to visit Harry in Winchester. Due back on a Sunday, he arrived on Monday afternoon, explaining the lack of a Sunday train. Classroom control did not improve, emphasized yet again in the inspectors’ report of January 1904. He was away as often as possible: July 1905 saw him on a church choir expedition to Ilfracombe. Still trying to climb the ladder it was 1908 before he finally achieved the full status as an un-certificated teacher, although he had actually been in full charge at Winkleigh for a few weeks between the discharge of James Cann in 1906 and the arrival of John Lane.
In his very mixed career so far David had shown practical and leadership skills rather than academic ability, but there is no doubt that his progress was greatly affected by his father’s death and the miserable attitude of the Board to the school. Only after 1910 did he really flourish: In 1910, aged 27, he married Camilla Joan Inch, the 23 year old daughter of Samuel J. Inch, a rural postman living in Park Place. It was an excellent family. Interestingly, there are two marriage records for David and Camilla, one in 1910 and a second record in 1912. This might be because the first was at a Registry Office and the second after the couple decided to get married in church.
Camilla had been at one time one of David’s pupils. At the school inspection in February 1903 Camilla was commended for her attendance record. David and Camilla had three children, David George, born in 1910, Christian Kathleen, born about 1912 (died 1997 in Gloucester) and Vernon J. born in 1914.
