Liz Beckley, London

Dancing through Life

When eleven year old Liz Beckley (nee Berry) attended her first day at The Royal Caledonian Schools she had a spring in her step, which led into reels, jigs and strathspeys and a lifetime enthusiasm for Highland and Scottish Country Dancing.

Liz Beckley was born in London in l943. Her father, Gavin Kerr Berry, was from originally from Paisley in Scotland and a private in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders during the First World War. His wife, Margaret Berry (nee Paterson), was 27 years younger than her husband and was born in Kilwinning in Ayrshire.

When Liz was 10 years old, her father was nearing retirement and her mother was ‘in service’ working for a wealthy Scottish family living in London. The lady of the household approached Liz’s parents and asked if they would like help with their daughters’ education. Liz had a twin sister called Bea, short for Beatrice, and 2 older brothers, the elder of whom was in hospital at the time with tuberculosis.

The Royal Scottish Corporation which had been going since the 1600s, sent welfare workers out to visit the Berry’s home in North London, on behalf of the Royal Caledonian Schools, which catered exclusively for the educational needs of children of military serving personnel, to see if the twins were worthy of being admitted.

Official correspondence in connection with the aforementioned visit dated 22 April 1954 states: “Visited in July, Mrs Berry made a good impression. Her home was spotlessly clean and she has obviously been used to hard work in order to keep her head above water. She has no debts, but she finds it impossible to renew her own and her children’s clothing while paying travelling expenses to Bishops Stortford to visit her son John who is in a Sanatorium suffering from Tuberculosis of both lungs….she is anxious that her two twin girls now ten years of age, should be admitted to the Schools and I am sure her application will receive sympathetic consideration.”

Their application was granted and a few months later Liz and her sister were enrolled at the Royal Caledonian Schools in Bushey. “I still vividly remember the day my parents proudly informed us that we were going to boarding school” said Liz. “From day one we were happy. We attended Victoria Secondary Modern Girls School in Watford, which was approximately 25 minutes away. Once a month on a Sunday our parents paid us a visit, and like most children, we returned home for the holidays”.

Liz and her sister Bea were two of approximately 120 children at that time whose parent or parents had been in the Services with sons and/or daughters boarding at the school.

“We worked hard at our school work” said Liz “but in our spare time, we had the opportunity to learn Scottish Highland dancing and the boys learned piping and drumming. One of my fondest memories at the school was performing at the Royal Caledonian Ball which was held at the Dorchester or Grosvenor hotels in London where the Queen Mother was often the guest of honour.

“I also remember going with several other Caley pupils to practices at the Lime Grove studios in 1958 for a live broadcast on BBC1 hosted by Eric Robinson, called ‘Music for You’ – with a Burns Night theme. We were also invited to dance at the Café Royal in London for a big Masonic event hosted by Sir Edward Reid, former chairman of Baring Brothers, Merchant Bank”.

Liz and Bea left the Caley in 1960 and took up positions as junior shorthand typists at Baring Brothers in London. Their father died in l964. Liz continued to keep in touch with her friends and staff at the Caley and in l965 was invited to return to the schools to take up a position as Assistant Warden looking after teenage girls. During the next three years, she encouraged pupils under her guidance to follow in her steps and discover the joys of Highland Dancing.

In l972, Liz married and had two children, Andrew and Suzie, and in l981 moved with her husband to British Army HQ in Bielefeld, North Germany. Here, Liz joined the Anglo-German-Scottish Country Dance Club where she taught Highland dancing to German as well as British club members and performed at many festival events.

During that time, one special memory stands out for Liz. “I taught a young man who was 19 years old. Unlike the others in the group, he didn’t own a kilt, so I let him wear my dad’s kilt, a black watch tartan kilt which was given to all the soldiers at the end of the First World War. It was made in Glasgow and dated 1918. It was a very special moment for me when I saw him perform in my dad’s kilt.”

“On our last evening in Bielefeld in 1984, that young man appeared on our doorstep. He had a rolled up ball of newspaper in his hands. I opened it, and there was a knitted replica of my sword which I had let him borrow. There were many wonderful experiences like that and friendships formed thanks to my days at the Royal Caledonian Schools which encouraged my love for dancing and a passion I hold to this day.”

Liz continues to dance her way through life, performing reels, jigs and strathspeys at events and gatherings both here in the UK and overseas. Reflecting on her many fond dancing days and what it means to her, Liz said, “I made many long term friendships through my dancing wherever we moved to and feel very blessed to have met some wonderful people through my dancing!”

Updated: 2012