Chapter 2 — Upton

Physical abuse

The recorded punishments varied according to the offence committed, and consisted of being hit with the leather strap on the hand or the buttocks. They were usually noted as being ‘over pants’, but on three dates in 1953 the book records that boys were punished by slaps ‘without pants’. Their offences were ‘run away, stole school property’, ‘run away’, ‘give cheek to a Brother’ and ‘destroying clothes’. The number of slaps with the leather strap on the bare bottom ranged from 6 to 15. These three dates in January and February 1953 are the only occasions when punishment was recorded as being given on the bare buttocks.

The following table provides some examples of offences and punishments for 1952 and 1953:

Date	Offence	Punishment
26Nov 1952	Giving cheek and being disobedient	6 over pants
20Dec 1952	Disobedience in continually playing soccer	6 over pants
20 Jan 1953	Run away, stole school property [3 boys committed this offence]	10 without pants [for one boy] and 15 without pants [for two boys]
22 Feb 1953	Give cheek to a Brother	12 without pants
23 Feb 1953	Destroying clothes [2 boys]	6 without pants [each]
22 April 1953	Disobedience, sulking, slothfulness	6 on pants
22 June 1953	Disobedience to Prefect	6 on hands
24 June 1953	Disrespect for teacher	6 on hands
25 June 1953	Lying and helping himself to bread and butter in the pantry	Six on hands
5 July 1953	Fooling and talking at Mass	8 on hands
6 July 1953	In boiler house having a rest	5 over pants
9 July 1953	Destroying his coat	4 on hands
2 Sept 1953	Throwing good food away	5 on hands
5 Sept 1953	Neglect of religious duties	12 over pants
21 Sept 1953	Stealing and running away	6 over pants
28 Sept 1953	Smoking in W.C.	6 over pants
13 Oct 1953	Plotting against the Prefects – an enemy in the camp	10 over pants

The entry for 19th September 1954 marked the beginning of the period of intense concentration on immorality. The last entry recorded that 18 boys were punished for immorality. The first 10 of them were guilty of ‘wretched’ immorality, and each of them received 20 slaps over pants. The remaining eight boys were also found guilty of ‘wretched’ immorality but ‘yet not so frequently’. Despite this mitigating circumstance, these eight boys nevertheless received the same punishment of ‘20 over pants’. A simple calculation shows that, on this day, one Brother administered 360 strokes of the leather strap on the buttocks of 18 boys.

An entry in the book dated 17th November 1955 recorded punishment, for immorality with other boys, of ‘20 over pants’, and concluded with the comment: A coward when faced with the music. But when Arturo Toscanini took the baton in his hand, there was more music in Beethoven’s “Fifth” than one expected to find.

This was not explained in the book but it seems to be a self-congratulatory and pejorative reference to the cries that the beating produced. The Prefect, Br Alfonso,6 who made the entry gave evidence to the Investigation Committee, and denied that the reference to Beethoven in the context of being conducted by Toscanini had anything to do with striking the boys, but was to do with making them sing.

A further entry dated 20th November 1955 recorded sexual offences by nine boys, including the same boy referred to in the above quotation. This time, the entry reads: Observe that these boys have repeated the same offence – they were up to their eyes in it any time they got a chance: their activities were confined to their own happy circle and no one else could enter – where angels fear to tread.

A comment about one of the boys displayed an awareness of peer sexual abuse, as distinct from immorality among consenting boys: A new offender interfered with many small boys.

Other examples of punishment in the latter part of the book, from 1954 to 1963, are set out in the following table:

Date	Offence	Punishment
19 Sept 1954	Immorality – wretched [18 boys]	20 over pants [each]
19 Sept 1955	Immorality – wretched, yet not too frequently [one boy]	20 over pants
19 Sept 1955	Immorality – not so extensive [one boy]	15 over pants
19 Sept 1955	Bad conduct – immorality [4 boys]	10 over pants [each]
19 Sept 1955	Immoral talk [2 boys]	3 over pants [each]
28 Sept 1956	Immorality [2 boys]	4 over pants and 6 over pants
31 Jan 1959	Immorality under the eyes of others in the billiard room [2 boys]	10 over pants [each]
26 Feb 1960	Immorality with others [6 boys]	10 over pants [for 5 boys] and 8 over pants [for one boy]
04 Mar 1960	Immorality with others	10 over pants
05 Mar 1960	Immorality with others [2 boys]	10 over pants each
08 Mar 1960	Immorality with others [2 boys]	10 over pants each
04 April 1960	Immorality with others	10 over pants
5 Jan 1962	Immorality in school giving bad example to small boys also going on with filthy talk	20 over pants
9 Jan 1962	Immorality with others while supposed to be working in sacristy	20 over pants

The first punishment book for Upton spanned the period 1889 to 1893. For most misdemeanours, the punishment ranged from three to eight slaps of the leather and, for the more serious offences such as immoral conduct, cursing, immodest language and absconding, the number of strokes ranged from 10 to 15. The highest number recorded in the book was 15, and this occurred only twice. The next highest number of slaps was 14, which also occurred twice.

Sexual acts amongst the boys did not seem to be a major problem at that time. A few instances were recorded in 1890 of immodest conduct and immodest language. A boy received 15 slaps on 5th April 1890 for immodest conduct. On 9th June 1890, nine boys were found guilty of immorality in the fields, and six were given 12 slaps, two received nine slaps of the leather, and one boy received no punishment. The only other example of immorality amongst boys is recorded on 11th December 1893, when five boys were found guilty and were stripped, and four received eight slaps and one received seven slaps of the leather.

The most striking difference between the two books is that the earlier book is systematic, with a chronological method of recording the information. These entries make it probable that it is a full account of punishments for serious misconduct during the period covered, as required by the rules. The later book compares unfavourably with it: it is not comprehensive, it is unmethodical, and is often not chronological. In addition, the severity of punishment in the later book is greater than the earlier one. Impact of 1952–1963 book

The information in the 1952–1963 book tended to undermine and contradict the recollection of former staff of the School as to the punishment regime.

The severity of punishment, as recorded in the book, is greatly in excess of what some respondent witnesses remembered. Br Alfonso was insistent that the amount of punishment was not excessive, and he was quite vigorous in defending his position. The numbers of blows recorded in the book, however, were wholly in conflict with his recollection, and counsel for the complainants suggested to him that the evidence of this book was more reliable because it was a contemporaneous record, and the Prefect or other person recording the punishment in the book had no reason to exaggerate the amount. The intention must have been to give an accurate description of what was inflicted.

Apart from Br Alfonso, the Investigation Committee had evidence in the form of correspondence from Br Giovani,7 who served in Upton for one year in the 1950s, a period covered by the entries in the book, which gave a different impression of the level of punishment from that indicated in the punishment book.

The entries in the punishment book demonstrate that the severity and frequency of beatings were greater than what were recollected by the staff. This discrepancy explains why accounts given by complainants, whose credibility was not in doubt, differed so markedly from the accounts given by respondents. This conflict appears in other institutions investigated.