The Londoners of Aberystwyth

If you were to stroll down Marine Terrace at any point between the spring of 1939 and 1945 you could be forgiven for thinking, upon first inspection of the grand Victorian houses which tightly hug the coastline, that these were the homes of local entrepreneurs, businessmen or important families. However, during this volatile period, these buildings played host to one of the oldest higher educational institutions in the world, University College London.

Shortly before the true onslaught of the Blitz was brought down upon London, it was decided that, to preserve the continuity of education and perhaps even the institution itself, University College and its departments would relocate outside of the capital to less dangerous areas. It may not be surprising that several, well-connected, university cities in England were chosen including Oxford and Cambridge; however, it was rural Wales whilst remote, yet with an established educational pedigree, which proved the ideal place for the majority of the University’s departments. These departments were consequently spread out amongst the colleges which made up the then University of Wales.

 

Map showing the distribution of UCL students during the WWII evacuation

 

 

As the above map shows, Aberystwyth, amongst the other colleges, provided refuge to several departments. The departments included Arts, Economics and Chemistry. As neatly summed up in the preface of the 1942 study handbook for new students, university life would be different, but still at its core the same:

 “Though exiles from their home, the Departments of the Faculties of Arts and Science, now at Aberystwyth, are far from having lost their life and vigour in the dwelling-place allotted them on the outbreak of war…While students will miss some of the cherished amenities of college life in London, which would have been theirs in happier days, they will also find some compensations for their loss. Their work will lie in the midst of a delightful countryside and among a kindly and hospitable people.”

It is almost impossible to not draw some parallels between students starting university during the Second World War and those who started during our current Covid-19 pandemic. Likewise, during this period of disruption student life did indeed continue. To keep a sense of community alive, the New Phineas magazine, was created to ‘unite the scattered ethos of U. C’ [University College London] and circulated amongst the evacuees. This was particularly important given that some of the students may have found it difficult settling into the culture of what was effectively, a different country. A cartoon from New Phineas in 1939, below, portrays a Beadle on the lookout for students in the evacuated UCL, with nearly all of the student lockers unsurprisingly available.

 

UCL students also continued in their extracurricular activities and the Dramatic Society shared their work with the locals by putting on a performance of Little Plays of St. Francis at the Kings Hall, a former hub of local life. Unfortunately, this venue has since been demolished and now provides a seating area on the seafront along with a restaurant and flats. The play was performed again to the students of the University of Wales the following year for students located in Bangor, North Wales.

 

University College London also shared its own educational expertise with the local community during its time in Aberystwyth. The physiologist and former President of the British Psychological Society, Dr. S. J. F. Philpott, gave an address on “The Price of Freedom” to the students of Ardwyn School. He compared the ideals of freedom in countries under totalitarian rule with those of democratic countries and how in the former they had been turning people into slaves of the state, whereas in the latter, the ideal of free citizens in a free nation is at its core. He also discussed some of the difficulties which were met in developing men and women with free minds and independence. He went on to comment that one of the key objectives of education should be to teach young people that they were born to be free to do any job they liked within the limits of their abilities but aided with the tools that a good education provides. He also shared commentary on the current issues of the day in the Welsh Gazette of 23rd February 1943, where he stated, “The state of Europe to-day seems to indicate that a new something is required”.  He concluded there was a need to protect young people against the poison of propaganda and extremism, and it was through education that they would be able to recognise it. It could be concluded this need for open-mindedness and tolerance is one that is especially relevant today.

University College London also generously commissioned a writing table for the senior staff common room, providing staff with a reminder of the ever-present link and history between the two educational institutions. However, this table is yet to be traced.

To many Londoners, Aberystwyth may seem a distant and remote place; however, for those London students between 1939 and 1945, the town and its university welcomed them with open arms and accommodated them within its unique community. Even today many Londoners come to Aberystwyth to study and holiday in a place far removed from home for the same benefits as those evacuees from UCL - tranquillity, reflection, and perspective.

 Blog by Andrew Wolckenhaar

 Many thanks to the Records Office at UCL and Ceredigion archives for providing access to the above documents.

Beagle cartoon and ULC distribution map reproduced from The World of UCL, eds. Negley Harte, John North, and Georgina Brewis, UCL Press, 2018