What was happening some 70 years ago?

September 1946: I discovered the ICAM. Its majestic portal (still there, a historic monument!) and its tree-lined main courtyard. The building on the street is the Jesuit residence. The courtyard is closed off to the right by a 3-storey corner building.

In the corner, the front door. On the mezzanine, the refectory. On the ground floor, classrooms, on the right, the entrance to the recreation room.

Inside, a concrete staircase provides access to :

• ^1st floor: study rooms (with one desk per student) and chapel.

• On the^2nd and^{3rd floors}, in the dormitories: 3 lines of beds, washbasins perpendicular to the wall, wardrobes for storing clothes.

• On the landing of the^1stfloor, the central clock and the bell that will punctuate our 3 years, from getting up at 6am to going to the dormitory at 9pm.

WORKSHOPS AND LABS

Having passed through this building, we enter the technical area: workshops and laboratories.

On the left, the foundry. Here I discovered 2 UTARD molding machines. Invented in 1912 by my great-uncle, Antoine. They must have been a gift from my grandfather when his son Pierre entered ICAM in 1913, 1916 Lille.

Behind it, the building that adjusts the machines and tools used to host the 1950 Fiftieth Anniversary General Meeting dinner.

In the background on the right, the STEAM MACHINE, which no longer worked. In^3rd year, the drawing teacher wanted us to draw and research its characteristics !!!! The class, led by the valedictorian, refused, but the management agreed, with a view to updating the courses the following year.

Front right, a 2-storey building: on the ground floor, the joinery. Labson the^1st and^2nd. The wooden floors had to be replaced: in 1947, Father TAQUET undertook the construction, bay by bay, of a concrete framework, without stopping work.

Behind this building, the forge and electric welding.

STUDENT LIFE

The rule of life is simple: be present and on time for lessons from Monday 8am to Saturday 12pm, with free outings after lunch.

Saturday at midday, week-end free time: but you have to inform the Prefect of Studies, Père du Parc, known as LE PRINCE, of your total or partial absence over the weekend.

THE DAY

Up at 6am, toilet, bed, jogging in the courtyard for the brave. At our places in the study hall for the^2nd bell at 6:30, Father Du Parc checks the descent of the 3 years in front of the clock: woe betide latecomers.

Bed check by Le Prince : if the bed isn't made, it goes out the window. It's up to the offender to put it back together after a quick breakfast!

At 8 a.m., everyone must be at their desks: attendance check, then theory class.

12pm, lunch, then free time with a possible stroll along bd Vauban.

At 1:30 pm, the same check is carried out before departure for the workshops or labs.

Workshops, depending on the year and semester: fitting, forging, casting, carpentry, welding, machine tools in^3rd year.

Labs: electricity, chemistry, metallurgy.

At 5 p.m. free time to meet again at the study hall at 5:30 p.m. after the half-hour of freedom.

At 7pm dinner followed by free time until 8pm, then study until 9pm, time to go to the dormitory.

The night tables are home to the galena radios!

You need to be quiet, as the concrete floors transmit noise to the Prince's apartment on the^1stfloor.

COURSES

Entry to the school is either via the C.P. (cours préparatoire in Lille or la JOLIVERIE in Nantes) or with the Math-Elémentaire bac.

For the latter, a remedial industrial drawing course was held every Saturday afternoon in the^1st term: learning how to glue a sheet of Canson paper to the board, make the frame and calligraphy your name. This work will be done for each drawing of the 3 years. It is authenticated by the teacher's stamp. As the drawings are graded for the diploma, they are personal.

For the first 2 years, the curriculum includes maths-sup and maths-spé, plus practical and rational mechanics, electricity, technology and strength of materials. Classes are held every semester, with more or less frequent oral examinations. The weighting of these tests depends on whether they take place during the semester or at the end of the semester, and on the subject.

Supplement for children and grandchildren

At the time, studies lasted 3 years. This was extended to 4 years in 1950. This was followed by 1 year's military service, from October 1949 to the end of September 1950.

I can't remember the exact dates of the vacations: a few days for All Saints' Day and Mardi Gras. 10 days at Christmas and Easter. The school year started on October¹ and ended on July 14, as I remember.

The train journey, taken from St Dizier (the Calais-Basle) took around 6 hours. I met up with a few Icams.

On Saturdays, after lunch, there was a shower in the workshop staff's showers, with the Prince's general order. Time was of the essence!

As "UTARD", I was mobilized for an extended session at the foundry: as the son of a foundryman, I had to lend a hand for the week's casting. In^3rd year, as a mechanical workshop, the Prince gave me the job of dismantling and overhauling one of the 2 second-hand BONVILAIN machines donated to the school!

In 1946, there were still restrictions. So we cycled to Belgium for supplies.

We bought tobacco, chocolate, a few cakes and, above all, nylons for our mothers and sisters. But above all DUPONT DE NEMOURS (USA), which were much stronger than French VITOS. What's more, they were resealable.

Restrictions eased from the beginning of 1948. After lunch, we were able to pick up our baguette from the bakery.

I was a member of the Scouts de France road clan: on certain Saturdays, we went on weekends to the surrounding countryside. A team from the clan would take it in turns to lead the young people at a "correctional" center from 2pm to 5pm. Most of the students belonged to a church movement.