Teachers apparently displayed surprising imagination when christening their slippers.
Names remembered include:
Tonker.
Charlie.
Fred.
Sammy the Slipper.
And the magnificently straightforward:
Mr Slap.
It sounds almost comical today.
To the pupils sitting quietly at their desks, however, the appearance of “Mr Slap” from the teacher’s drawer probably seemed considerably less amusing.
Giving the slipper a name also made it part of classroom folklore.
New pupils heard about it from older pupils.
Stories circulated.
Its reputation grew.
Before long, the slipper might have become famous without even leaving the drawer.
