For Tom Greenwood, history isn’t found in abstract textbooks, it is found in the tangible records left behind by those who lived it. As a former History teacher and now the Archivist for Norwich High School for Girls, Tom bridges the gap between the school’s Victorian roots and its modern-day identity.
We sat down with Norwich High Archivist Tom Greenwood to discuss his journey from a childhood surrounded by antiques to managing a collection that captures the ‘maverick’ spirit of Norwich High girls across the centuries.
A Life Surrounded by History
Tom’s connection to the past was forged early, rooted in a home where history was a daily presence. “I think most people with a love of history also have a love of archives and that’s because archives are the history!” Tom explains. “Without archives (records of the past) we wouldn’t know much about the past at all.”
He credits his early environment for his keen eye for preservation. “Growing up in a normal little house I was surrounded by antique furniture, antique advertising from the 1800s-1950s, old documents and thousands of old photographs and books. I still like to be surrounded by old and interesting things today!”
Uncovering the Norwich High Legacy
Tom’s formal involvement with Norwich High School for Girls archive began in 2012 while he was teaching History at the school. With the centenary of the Great War approaching, he wanted to make Remembrance Day more relevant by capturing what young women specifically contributed to the era.
“It soon became apparent Norwich High had a wonderful archive,” Tom says. “Over the years it had been collected together by many dedicated members of staff and Old Girls, so I’m certainly not the first person to work with the archive. However, if archives aren’t continually used, they lose relevance quickly and end up being lost. As such I saw a need to use the archive more, properly preserving it and growing it for the school community.”
This dedication eventually led to a Master’s dissertation focused on the school during WWI. Even after leaving his position as a teacher in 2022, Tom couldn’t walk away from the records. He now spends several hours a week maintaining the collection, which has grown to fill a room behind the Library and at the top of Eaton Grove. “Even with that space it’s a bit of a squash!” he admits.
While many institutional archives focus on financial ledgers or official portraits, Tom finds the most value in the everyday output of the students.
“To me the really special thing about the Norwich High Archive is how much material we have related to children,” he says. “That might seem obvious but often it’s children’s work that gets lost quickly; people don’t think to preserve it. We now have examples of schoolwork dating from the 1880s to the 2000s.”
One standout collection is of Sophia Mottram, which spans her entire school career from age 3 to 18. “The most wonderful collection is that of Sophia Mottram; it starts with a picture book drawing of a yellow duck from 1931 and ends with her Greek translations in 1945!”
Surprises and Mavericks
Through his work, Tom has enjoyed debunking the ‘lazy stereotypes’ people often have about women in the past. The archives paint a picture of independence and, occasionally, a bit of mischief.
He points to Hilda Watson as a prime example of this spirit. While teaching in Palestine during the 1930s, she wrote back to the school about hitching lifts across the country with all sides of the conflict, “a revolver tucked in her trousers if she needed it, but mainly getting by on her sheer self-confidence.”
“One of the things that surprised me was how confident and independent the girls were in the 1900s through to the 1920s. They really did seem independent, pretty maverick and sometimes a little wild! One of my favourite stories was how they paid for an organ grinder to disrupt lessons by playing underneath classroom windows when they got bored!”
A Witness to Global History
Perhaps the most striking discovery in the archive is an account of Norwich High girls witnessing a Nazi Rally in 1936 while visiting Germany. Their perspective provides a unique, human lens on a pivotal moment in history.
“The Norwich High girls watched one and reported how, amongst all the speeches and flag waving, many people looked increasingly bored as it went on too long and how, slowly but surely, people slipped away from the meeting as the night got colder. That account is a really unique perspective, a discovery of something very special right here at Norwich High.”
A Call to the Future
Tom views the archive as a living entity that requires the participation of the current student and teaching community to remain vibrant. “Archives need to keep growing; they grow as a community grows,” he says.
For those wondering how they can contribute to the school’s legacy, Tom has a simple suggestion: “The best thing you can do is write an article for the school magazine; that’s where the really interesting material for the future will be found.”
