Feature: The Harris Institute in the Second World War

If the warning sirens began to wail over Preston during the Second World War, the Harris Institute was prepared. Students had already woven and pieced together 2,000 yards of their own blackout cloth in readiness. Thankfully, interruptions from air raids proved to be few and the time lost, on war work and the everyday educational life of the institute, was limited.

Wartime reports were wary of giving too many details, but an important component of the institute’s war work was testing a wide range of materials, undertaken by the Engineering, Building and Chemical departments. Staff expertise in this area was obviously highly valued, as an official Metrology Laboratory for testing materials was established at the institute under the auspices of the National Physical Laboratory.

Students from the junior technical and commercial schools made their contribution, regularly helping to bring in the harvest at special out-of-school camps. Over 300 knitted garments ‘of useful size and shape’ were displayed before being distributed to HM Forces. Students in the Art School helped to maintain morale by painting scenery or designing posters for social events put on by local organisations, and evening art classes were a popular form of recreation for war workers.

By Christmas 1944, the pressures of war began to ease, allowing the first festive dance to take place since 1939. In other respects, there was much more to do. Student numbers had grown throughout the war years, especially those attending more ambitious daytime courses. Employers increasingly recognised the value of more highly educated personnel, and further education was set for a major expansion following the 1944 Education Act. The Harris Institute, having played its part in the conflict, was ready to contribute to post-war reconstruction.

Keith Vernon, Historian in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences