Mr. George Polson, Q.C., for the prosecution said that Mr. Byrd was still headmaster of the school, described in the prospectus as an independent public boarding school for children. The school was in a rambling country mansion in its own grounds. In addition to Mr. Byrd and his wife, there were three other teachers.
Mr. Polson said the prospectus stated that corporal punishment was administered when necessary. “This case concerns the dividing line between what you might call proper corporal punishment, properly administered, and conduct which, the prosecution says, reveals a sadistic and savage streak of cruelty in a man in his dealing with children.”
‘Blood was drawn’