When teenager Pam Knowles first started teaching Bible stories to children at her beloved church in the Diocese of Liverpool in 1951, a post war Britain was still rationing food and Winston Churchill was re-elected as Prime Minster.
75 years later the country may have moved on in terms of rationing and Prime Ministers, but dedicated volunteer Pam is still teaching Sunday School at the same church in Aigburth, and this weekend she organised her 75th Christmas nativity at St Anne’s.
Now 87-year-old Pam has been recognised by Guiness World Records as ‘the world’s longest serving Sunday School teacher’. Here, Pam shares her most memorable moments over the decades and explains why St Anne’s Church is so special to her.
“St Anne’s Church means the world to me. I was baptised, confirmed and married there and celebrated my 60th wedding anniversary with my late husband at St Anne’s. My calling has and always will be to St Anne’s. I just love the church!
I first started going to St Anne’s as a child with my parents and when I turned 13, I was asked by the Superintendent at the church to help at the Sunday School. Back then, the Diocese of Liverpool set a test before allowing you to run a children’s group and with the help of my friend I passed this.
Over the years, the format of the Sunday School hasn’t really changed – we offer play, craft, songs and Bible stories for 3-7 year olds. Each generation has enjoyed the same format and Bible stories. Favourites have been the birth of Jesus, Jonah and the whale and the garden of Eden. I think little children can relate to these stories and they often bring their own innocent take on the Bible, which is just wonderful.
I’ve noticed children aren’t quite so well behaved as they used to be – they run around a bit more now, I guess it’s a bit more relaxed.
My most memorable moment was probably back in the 1980s when we took a big group of young children to the panto on a big double decker bus we hired. There was a great sense of family and belonging.
I do get letters from past Sunday School children, now of course grown up with their own families. Not that long ago, I met triplets, who I taught many years ago, who were having their babies christened at St Anne’s Church. People come up to me and say they remember me. I must confess I don’t always remember them as they look so different.
It doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing this for 74 years, some days I feel like I’m only just starting, as there’s new children all the time. It was great to be recognised by the Guiness Book of Records – my son has hung the certificate near the front door in the hall for visitors to see, he’s very proud!
At the moment, I don’t intend to stop doing this. I still have a lot of energy and I’m just as enthusiastic about it now as when I started!”
The year of 1951 in England
- Geoffrey Francis Fisher was the 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961. As Archbishop he crowned Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in 1953.
- Winston Churchill returned to power in the general election in October 1951.
- Rationing of essential goods like meat, butter, tea, sugar and coal were still in effect after the war.
- Millions lived without basic amenities like indoor baths and toilets.
- Before widespread TV ownership, the radio was the main source of entertainment at home.
- A major national event called the Festival of Britain was held in London to boost morale and showcase achievements in science, technology and design.
- And in September 1951, 13-year-old Pam Knowles taught her first Sunday School at St Anne’s Church in Aigburth.
