[Averil Thomas does not name schools she attended in her memoir; at the age of fourteen (1907) she earned a scholarship to a grammar school in Leicester and went on to train as a schoolteacher] 

Besides the Sunday school anniversary each year, there were also other treats—the Sunday schools had treats too. One Thursday afternoon in July, the town band would be hired for the ‘Nonconformists’ and on another Thursday for C. of E. The scholars, and there would always be an influx just before treat day—would meet at their respective Sunday schools—Wesleyan, Primitive, Congregational and Baptist, there they would form into a procession and led by the band would make their way to Egerton Back Park, kindly lent by Lady Wilton. Each chapel took a turn in being the one just behind the band. It was quite a walk for our school as we were furthest from the park. As we entered the park, we rolled up our flags […] and were given a ball to play with during the afternoon. The band stayed and played at intervals […]

[…]

Singing games were played and thus kept in mind. ‘In and out the windows’. ‘I wrote a letter to my love’. ‘Poor Jenny sits a weeping’, ‘Here we go round the Mulberry Bush’. ‘I’ve a prisoner, here, here, here’ and others. […]

[…]

Nearing tea time the processions would all form again and march back to their schools for tea, and plenty of it […] Then back to the park again this time on entering to be given a 4oz bag each of boiled sweets to sustain us through the evening […]

When night came on we reformed and marched together with parents and friends to the market place where we sang a hymn, ‘The day thou gavest Lord is ended…’ and dispersed. I always stayed until the end because it gave me a wonderful thrill to hear the crowd, happy but tired singing as if they meant every word. I daren’t think of God in the same way as I thought of the King who, I presumed, must be very gratified at all his people singing ‘God save the King’.