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WITH THANKS TO THE ADAMSON FAMILY In 2004 the School received an immensely generous legacy from the Adamson family who held the School in high regard for over 100 years. Born in 1876 to William and Celina, Florence Elizabeth Young enjoyed a privileged and enlightened childhood. The family firm, Thomas Young & Sons, enjoyed great success supplying napiery to ocean liners at the height of the romantic and remarkable age of ocean travel, servicing great Tyne & Wear built liners such as the RMS Mauretania and Carpathia. Her Mother, Celina Young, was a champion of female education and enrolled her daughter Florence at Central Newcastle High School when it opened on Park Terrace in 1895. She became a stalwart friend of the School, maintaining a vivid and tireless interest in its welfare. Florence too was devoted to the School. Appointed Head Girl in 1900 she remained very much part of the School community as Secretary of the Old Girls’ Guild and subeditor of the School magazine. Remembered for her sympathy and sweetness as well as her organising power and method and the way she ‘mildly but grimly’ extracted donations of garments for the poor
from members of the guild for institutions such as the infirmary and the orphanage. She vigorously encouraged old girls to join the guild and stand by the School they believed in, its methods and its results, in the friendships established and its ability and commitment to support the needy. Her retirement on marriage to Mr David Adamson in 1913 was greeted with great despondency by Miss Moberly, the in-dominatable Head Mistress upon whose character of integrity, tolerance and generosity the School was built. David and Florence had two children, Yvonne on 5th November 1917 and David Frederic (Fred) on 4th June 1919. Both children were
enrolled at Central High Kindergarten, Fred until he turned six and the School became girls only. Yvonne stayed throughout her School career, winning prizes for her peppermint creams, poetry, botany and swimming and followed in her mother’s footsteps to become Head Girl in 1934. Yvonne was awarded a place to study Modern Languages at St. Hilda’s College, Oxford, completing her degree in 1939 just as Fred took up a place at Oxford. Fred’s career as a student was however short lived. At 11.15am on Sunday 3rd September 1939, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared the Outbreak of War
