Interesting piece. It has, however, one major omission.
It is indeed true that – for men and boys – flogging was only abolished as a criminal sentence imposed by the courts in 1948, and only abolished as an internal disciplinary procedure within the prison system under section 65 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967, with the last actual flogging of a male prisoner said to have occurred in 1962.
However, what is ommitted in this piece is that the interesting fact that the flogging of female offenders – both within the prison system and as a sentence imposed by the courts – had already been prohibited absolutely well over a century earlier, under the Abolition of the Whipping of Female Offenders Act of 1820.
This is, of course, a fact also conveniently ommitted by feminists in their histories of the supposed oppression of women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Nicely-documented, Simon - thank you. As I was reading it, I was reminded of the corporal punishments I received in the 1970s whilst at infant, junior and secondary schools in Huddersfield. As you reference in your final paragraph, corporal punishment in educational establishments was common place until relatively recently.
The first time I was on the receiving end was at the age of 5 when a teacher by the name of Mrs Brown smacked me so hard on my thigh (we all wore shorts in those days) that it left her hand-print on my leg for the rest of the day. My ‘crime'? - 'grinning' whilst she took the register. Then, at secondary school, I was slippered by a certain Mr Oates who, in full view of the class, bent me over his desk and smacked my arse with a series of blows from a plimsoll he kept in his desk for just that purpose. My ‘crime’? Turning up late for afternoon registration.
During my time at secondary school - from 1976-81, I was twice 'caned' by the head teacher, Mr Dakers, with a number of blows from a hefty ruler across the hand. The ‘crime’? Fighting, on two separate occasions, with a couple of boys who had challenged me to a 'scrap'.
Did it deter me? Not a chance - after all, we have a god-given right to defend ourselves when attacked. It simply strengthened my anti-authoritarian stance. All the best, my fine fellow!
I was also beaten at school and I don't think it ever deterred me either! It just made me more cunning about not being caught. I think this is why they abolished the practice in the end.
Why am I not surprised to hear that, Simon?! It’s certainly the case that it lingered on into the 1990s, in particular at the insitution I attended - notably amongst those who seemed to love dispensing it.
"At the Central Criminal Court, yesterday, the RECORDER passed sentence of three years' penal servitude and twenty strokes with the "cat" on JAMES CHANDLER, 35, seaman, who was found Guilty of robbery with violence on a sailor in the East End."
I too found myself on the receiving end of ‘the whack’ as it was called at school. And for a long time felt that corporal punishment was not the answer.
However, such is the level of mindless violence nowadays and prison such a poor deterrent, we have to explore other avenues.
Let’s imagine if you are caught carrying a knife, the Law meant you could be taken to the nearest Police Station and birched no ifs or buts. If applied stringently I suspect it would have a positive impact on knife crime.
I'm a Canadian boomer who received corporal punishment in the 1960's from both the vice-principal at my school and my parents, most of the time well-deserved. I don't believe it to have had a bad effect on me, although a small number of times I was resentful of a punishment because I was either innocent or the victim or the punishment seemed disproportionate.
"Birch the buggers" is a comment I often hear when a certain ageing, extended family member reads about someone committing some crime or other in the newspapers....😅
Interesting piece. It has, however, one major omission.
It is indeed true that – for men and boys – flogging was only abolished as a criminal sentence imposed by the courts in 1948, and only abolished as an internal disciplinary procedure within the prison system under section 65 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967, with the last actual flogging of a male prisoner said to have occurred in 1962.
However, what is ommitted in this piece is that the interesting fact that the flogging of female offenders – both within the prison system and as a sentence imposed by the courts – had already been prohibited absolutely well over a century earlier, under the Abolition of the Whipping of Female Offenders Act of 1820.
This is, of course, a fact also conveniently ommitted by feminists in their histories of the supposed oppression of women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Sources:
https://www.corpun.com/counukj.htm
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Corporal_Punishment
Yes, that is a fair point and an omission on my part!
Nicely-documented, Simon - thank you. As I was reading it, I was reminded of the corporal punishments I received in the 1970s whilst at infant, junior and secondary schools in Huddersfield. As you reference in your final paragraph, corporal punishment in educational establishments was common place until relatively recently.
The first time I was on the receiving end was at the age of 5 when a teacher by the name of Mrs Brown smacked me so hard on my thigh (we all wore shorts in those days) that it left her hand-print on my leg for the rest of the day. My ‘crime'? - 'grinning' whilst she took the register. Then, at secondary school, I was slippered by a certain Mr Oates who, in full view of the class, bent me over his desk and smacked my arse with a series of blows from a plimsoll he kept in his desk for just that purpose. My ‘crime’? Turning up late for afternoon registration.
During my time at secondary school - from 1976-81, I was twice 'caned' by the head teacher, Mr Dakers, with a number of blows from a hefty ruler across the hand. The ‘crime’? Fighting, on two separate occasions, with a couple of boys who had challenged me to a 'scrap'.
Did it deter me? Not a chance - after all, we have a god-given right to defend ourselves when attacked. It simply strengthened my anti-authoritarian stance. All the best, my fine fellow!
I was also beaten at school and I don't think it ever deterred me either! It just made me more cunning about not being caught. I think this is why they abolished the practice in the end.
Why am I not surprised to hear that, Simon?! It’s certainly the case that it lingered on into the 1990s, in particular at the insitution I attended - notably amongst those who seemed to love dispensing it.
This is from The Times of 1 May 1923:
"At the Central Criminal Court, yesterday, the RECORDER passed sentence of three years' penal servitude and twenty strokes with the "cat" on JAMES CHANDLER, 35, seaman, who was found Guilty of robbery with violence on a sailor in the East End."
I have mixed feelings on this subject.
I too found myself on the receiving end of ‘the whack’ as it was called at school. And for a long time felt that corporal punishment was not the answer.
However, such is the level of mindless violence nowadays and prison such a poor deterrent, we have to explore other avenues.
Let’s imagine if you are caught carrying a knife, the Law meant you could be taken to the nearest Police Station and birched no ifs or buts. If applied stringently I suspect it would have a positive impact on knife crime.
I'm a Canadian boomer who received corporal punishment in the 1960's from both the vice-principal at my school and my parents, most of the time well-deserved. I don't believe it to have had a bad effect on me, although a small number of times I was resentful of a punishment because I was either innocent or the victim or the punishment seemed disproportionate.
"Birch the buggers" is a comment I often hear when a certain ageing, extended family member reads about someone committing some crime or other in the newspapers....😅
Yes, it used to be a popular cry at one time among older people!