World War II
The effects of the Second World War were felt closely by students at PDS during the early 1940s. As alumnus Martin Broadwell ('45) described in a 2007 edition of 2000 Edgehill, "Going in the front door by Dr. Windrow's office, we were quiet. Few of us passed by the large flag without looking for an added star - showing another student had joined the service - or a gold star indicating a service man from Peabody had given his all for his country."
Dr. Windrow, whose tenure as director spanned the duration of the War, maintained a scrapbook of newspaper clippings regarding PDS alumni serving in the armed forces. One page entitled "Gold Stars" lists Peabody alumni killed in service.
Overseas, one PDS alumnus kept his spirits up by remembering happy times at his alma mater. In his letter marked "At Sea" and addressed to Dr. Windrow, the young man recalls "ham and eggs" and "buttercups in bloom" at Easter Breakfasts, of "Peabody football heydays," and learning of the "beauty of Chaucer."