Frilsham, The Woods c.1960

Photo ref: F253013

When I was 12 and visiting my grandparents in Edenbridge, Kent, my parents decided I needed a taste of English boarding school life. As an American, so soon after WWII, several things struck me. I was much healthier and stronger than my formmates. I easily excelled at cricket. In retrospect the other boys were still suffering from wartime malnutrition. Signs of wartime were still present. Even water was in ...see more

I was at Frilsham House School from about 1947-53, when the headmaster was 'Mr Ward Clarke',* who had founded the school not many years before. There were only about 50 boys. London, where I lived, was bleak at the time, with bomb damage and - in winter - frequent fogs which could be dangerous for a bronchitic child. Although separation from parents for up to three months at a time, with only ...see more

I have vivid and fond memories of my schooling here from 1963 to 1967. Some of the teachers and staff were inspiring and caring (Miss Wynn the music teacher, Miss Gray), a few not so. The headmaster Ted Vidal (or JEV) could be intimidating. His military stance, brisk walk and manner demanded respect. He had a habit of calling every boy Boris. I dreaded being singled out and did not look forward sitting next to him in the ...see more

This was my school between 1962 and 1965. My memories are of separation from parents and friends, to live a regimented and mildly authoritarian regime at far too young an age. It wasn't awful ...but not nice either. The M4 runs through the playing fields where I suffered many a young humiliation. Thanks for sharing this picture all the same. Do parents still subject their children to this?