I think mum nearly always took down our trousers and underpants before smacking us – certainly I came to regard the baring of my bottom as an integral part of the punishment, and only in later years, going on eight or nine, did I begin to find the prospect embarrassing. By that time, of course, most boys are averse to the idea of their mum seeing their bare bottom or privates.
Almost invariably we were taken over mum’s knee to receive our due. I have many memories of gazing at the woollen skirt draped over her lap, ready to receive me as soon as the customary lecture was over.