Figure 1.--HBC is not sure just what this group is, but the photograph was taken at "Haute Vienne" during 1954. It may be a holidays camp. Notice the capes and berets. |
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Boys in the holiday camps mostly wore short pants. The camps were for school-age children, mostly older than 6 years old. In the camps as in schools the boys did not wear rompers. Rompers were common for boys until about 5 years of age, although boys of 6-7 years might wear them at home, on special occasions, or on holidays. Usually uniforms in summer camps, called in French "colonie de vacances", would be limited to a cap and a kind of T-shirt, certainly not to pants. In most cases there is just a list of garments to be taken at camp, with however free choice about styles and colors. Usually boys at these camps wore shorts. Younger boys might wear suspender shorts. Boys in Catholic camps might wear white shirts on Sunday. The boys often worn Scout-like neckerchiefs ("foulards") to help destinguish different groups. Berets were common at some camps, but were not commonly seen by the 1960s--except at Scout camps. We have also noted capes at some camps.
The photograph here was taken in 1954. HBC is not positive that it pictures a camp. It could be a catholic camp. Ther were also camps organized by local town councils. A French reader tells us, however, that he is sure that "it can't be boys from a municipal camp because they wear a bérets and have no uniform. The town councils until about 1968 normally supplied basic uniforms for the children, short pants and a shirt." Bérets by the 1950s were no longer popular with French boys as they were seem as old fashioned. Thus groups waring bérets were likely to be a private school or Scout group.
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