Hilda Annersley

Miss Annersley joins the school in September 1933. After Mlle Lepattre falls ill in November 1936, Miss Annersley takes over as Acting Headmistress, and becomes the permanent Headmistress in April 1937. In January 1944, she is joined by Nell Wilson as co-Headmistress.

Subjects:
Miss Annersley primarily teaches English. She teaches the Juniors in the Fall term of 1934. She becomes Senior Mistress in February 1935, after Miss Maynard leaves. She is the Form Mistress for the 6th during the 1935-1936 school year. At various times throughout her teaching career, Miss Annersley, in addition to English, teaches Literature, Civics, Poetry, and Scripture.

Names:
Her full name is Hilda Mary. She has occasionally been called Nan or Nanny by the staff. Among the girls, she is commonly called 'the Abbess'.

Family:
Hilda was born between 1898 and 1900. Her mother died when she was 13. She has a cousin, Wing Commander Edgar Mordaunt who lives in Gloucester with his wife Gertrude and daughter Althea. Edgar dies at Easter in 1954. Her cousin, Nell Randolph, is Edgar Mordaunt's niece.

Appearance/Personality:
She has glossy, straight, waved sunny brown hair, with grey threads running through it. She wears her hair in a bun at the back of her neck. She has keen blue-grey eyes, which express a quiet kindness. She is tall and slender. She has a pleasant face with a kindly expression and a quiet, gentle, musical voice. She has a clear ringing laugh and a ready smile that lights up her whole face. Her bearing is stately and graceful.
She is kind, patient, understanding, gentle, and soft-hearted. She is kind-hearted and very humane. She is a calm and level-headed person. She is the best staff member at using gentle irony to get her point across. She has a sharp tongue and is famed for her punishments. Although considered the be one of the gentlest staff members, she can be very strict, stern, and sarcastic as necessary.
From her arrival, Miss Annersley is a great favourite among the elder girls, but is held in awe by the younger girls. She can be "a great trial over preparation", and expects girls to do their best. Her pet peeve is when people use "Can I" instead of "May I".

Notes:
She is English and Protestant.
Miss Annersley has an MA, presumably in English.
She is close friends with Nell Wilson.
She is not well during the Winter Term of 1943, but continues to teach. She is involved in a bus accident in April 1943 where she hits her head, and makes a slow recovery. She does not return to school until April 1944. During the Fall Term of 1956, she takes an educational tour of Europe as a sort of Super-inspector.
The Chalet School was her second posting. Her first posting was at a large day school near her home in England.

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