Former pupils accuse Norfolk headmaster of sadistic and sexual abuse |
They claim that they were routinely subjected to "degrading" treatment at the hands of the then Rev Roger Percival Pott, including being forced to put on their raincoats before being caned.
Their allegations have been reported to Norfolk Constabulary as well as the Diocese of Norwich.
The former pupils at St Michael's School, in Ingoldisthorpe, are also calling for a street in nearby Heacham which is named after Pott - who died in 1992 - to be renamed.
One said they relives his experiences every time he passes it.
Pott was the vicar of Heacham from 1945 until the late 1970s. He ran the school, for 70 pupils, in a rectory in Ingoldisthorpe between 1946 and its closure in 1969.
The school was close to the Sandringham estate and Queen Mary, the wife of George V, was said to be a regular visitor.
A picture of the school in its heyday shown on heritage websites (Image: OMA)
The allegations against Pott - who became a rural dean and was made a Canon of Norwich Cathedral in 1981 - did not come to light until several years after his death, at the age of 83, in 1992.
The EDP has spoken to three former pupils, who are all men in their mid-70s and early 80s whose anonymity is protected.
"I did what kids do with traumatic experiences," one said. "I blotted it out."
Another added: "Who do you think was going to be believed? Me or the vicar?"
In 2020, the claims were reported to the Diocese of Norwich as well as Norfolk police.
Officers recorded an allegation of sexual assault but were unable to investigate because by then Pott was dead.
The Rectory while it was in use as a private school (Image: Heacham Heritage Community Project)
The abuse is said to have happened at the school, which taught boys and girls, or at a house in Heacham which was used as a dorm for boarders.
Former pupils tell similar stories of being summoned to Pott's study or ordered........