Journal Items

Researching the past

Museum Archives

Then and Now

Test your knowledge !

FAQs

Personal Histories

Kids Quiz

Gallery

Brenchley House

Borden Grammar School

County School for girls

Holy Trinity - E323

Iwade School

Milton School

Langley House - E311

Tunstall School

Tunstall in Wartime

Sittingbourne Grammar

St Michaels (The Butts)

Miss Scowen

Ufton Lane School - E231

more.....

see also our personal histories pages for memories of various schools.

St Michael's School, The Butts - enq 21

Dear sir/madam,

I am trying to find out if there are any photos in existence of St Michael's school, The Butts.

My father attended this school in the 1950's and would be interested to see any pictures concerning this.

Can you help or recommend any books?

Thank you

Melanie Lonsdale

Thank you for your enquiry. We asked a former teacher whom we thought taught at St. Michael's. 

"My help in replying will be limited since I actually taught at Milton Butts School. The Sittingbourne Butts School was demolished in the early 1950s. It used to stand in the middle of what is now St. Michael's Road near the former Adult School now used by the St. John's Ambulance Brigade. I did know the Headmaster Cliff Dolling and I have a photograph of him and some of his staff. I suggest the best course for the enquirer would be to contact the Centre for Kentish Studies, Sessions House County Hall, Maidstone, to see if they have the school log book and perhaps other records which could be viewed on visit." 

I am afraid his reply summarises all the information we have about the school in the period after 1945. If you would like a copy of the photograph mentioned, we can probably arrange this. The St. Michael's Butts Schools were built in 1847. They were really two separate schools, one for 222 boys and one for 221 girls. An infant's department was added in 1892 to accommodate 135 youngsters.

Terry, SHM

Iwade School - enq 32

Dear Sir/ Madam,

Presently I'm  researching some History of Iwade C.P. School, Iwade, Sittingbourne, Kent, as a project with some children. 

We have found lot's of information about the village it's self, although no definite dates as yet, but have found very little information about the school.  I have trawled through lot's of old pictures and memorabilia that we have at school, and have uncovered several items, one being the punishment book dating back to  1901 I think?  A picture of the wooden building on it's own dating back to 1950, before the present brick building was built, and more interesting a picture of the original school that was nearer to the junction of School Lane and The Street, later where the Farm Shop was situated. 

Unfortunately my research has slowed considerably.  I have contacted Kent County Council, Swale Borough Council, been through Sittingbourne Library and photocopied very old maps showing the school site position in it's old and present position, and have trawled through internet sites but to no avail.

Remembering a visit to your museum last year, it was to my pleasure that I found you on the internet, so here I am.  I would appreciate any information you have  or any suggestions of where to resource such information.

I am Peggy Jackson's brother and i live in Australia and have since 1951. I went to Tunstall School until I was 10 then to Sittingbourne Council School till sep 1939. Thence to Sheerness Tech though the first 3 months were half day a week at the council school each Saturday morning then a week of homework. At the council we could get a small bottle of milk or Horlick tablets for a halfpenny however the fatal attraction was the little shop where sweets were sold and you could get a lot for a halfpenny my favourite was dolly mixture. Any how just a bit of memory of schooldays. I shall keep in touch when I recall more.

regards Gerald Dean, Australia

see Gerald Dean's memories of Sittingbourne and the Mill

I attach my own memories of Tunstall School.   I lived in Sittingbourne until I left home in 1963, although I had friends and family there for many years afterwards. I now live in Essex and have no real contact with the town. If you feel that there is anything I might be able to further contribute, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours,

Margaret Lock

Many thanks to Gerald and to Margaret for their contributions above which relate to Peggy's memories on our "personal histories" page.  We would like a lot more anecdotes of life in Sittingbourne. The history of our town and those who have lived here is made up of small details which help us to build a picture of the town as it was in years gone by. Whether you are nearby or far away we want to to hear from you. You have our history in your memory. Do please share it with us.

I used to attend St.Michael's School in the Butt's during the 40's. The German planes flew over over us on the way to school. We used to hide in the Lavatory when an Air-raid was sounded. I was wondering if you would have any old pictures of my school and the butt's. We used to line-up out in the Butt's area for school. I used to go up to Gore Court that you mentioned in one response. We went rabbit hunting around the old mansion that was vacant then. Thanks J.C. 2005

Thought you might like this picture for the Archives. My brothers and I used to come down to the Baths. Building on the right since we never had a bathroom just the copper or metal tub.When I was at St.Michael's we used to go over for swimming lessons once in awhile. Joseph Clark

Do records from Milton school in the 1870s and 80s exist?  If so where would I find them and is it possible to look at them? 

Jenny Bradley 2006

Tunstall in Wartime

As a follow-up to my previous e-mail on anti-aircraft guns I hope you will not mind a comment on Tunstall School in wartime.

Item 1

There was a period at the school when it did not have an air raid shelter and whenever a significant a day time raid took place in 1940 it was not uncommon for children to be told to use the desks as a means of shelter.   The possibility of effective protection never occurred at the time but was certainly a timely morale booster.   I might add that school lessons proceeded immediately after each raid and the teachers were very strict in those days, the cane being the method for ensuring discipline was maintained.   Yet let us not forget, one of the teachers who administered the cane, quite often generously bought ice creams for the pupils using her own finance when we sat on the front lawn on a sunny day, subject to arrival of the ice cream man on his three wheeled bicycle.

 Item 2

At one time, exact year I do not recall, a large bomb landed in an orchard near the school.   The direction being that which is the extended line from the entrance lane to the school and about some two to three hundred yards along a cart track, thence in an orchard belonging to the then Lieutenant Colonel Lumley Webb adjacent to the cart track, near to some large fir trees which existed.   The bomb disposal soldiers arrived and dug down to the bomb (which was quite large) and at some depth it could be seen from the surface with the front sticking out of the side of the square hole made.   Taking some time to excavate and having completed on a particular day time, the soldiers departed until the next day, whereupon, all the boys from the school went to look down the hole.   Thus, having been satisfied it was of little interest and nothing was taking place, all departed for home, thus, its removal was not recorded.   To my knowledge, at no time was the school closed for bomb disposal recovery but there again my memory may be lapsing at this time.

 Item 3

All quiet events do occur but one sad occasion was in Hearts Delight Road when a bomb, advised to be about five hundred pounds, landed at the front door of a bungalow and the owner, a Mr. Thomas, went to the front door and died from the explosion.   His wife who was still in the kitchen at the back, together with their dog, escaped injury.   However, the front of the bungalow was rebuilt as the rear remained undamaged.

 Item 4

A final piece of sadness was when two Spitfires carrying out practice interceptions suddenly stopped activity when one suddenly spiralled to the ground just south of the Hearts Delight Road adjacent to a Royal Observers post and very close to the very large white house at the top of the small hill from Wrens Road.   I witnessed this from the farm know then as Grove End Farm on the road towards Bredgar.   At the time our supposition was the pilot had had a blackout but as someone who has flown a small aircraft as a private pilot, it is my belief he was unable to correct the aircraft once it entered a spiral dive as the aircraft was not at a sufficient height to enable recovery.

 Item 5

At a later stage from Item 1, the school did have an air raid shelter built and when “doodlebugs” came on the scene and because the siren sounding was unreliable, a pupil was selected from the senior class to sit outside the front door with a whistle and to blow it if a “Doodlebug” was heard.   On the sounding of the whistle all children made haste at high speed to the air raid shelter in the main playground.   Needless to say, there were false alarms and a lorry coming up the road was a favourite excuse and would not result in a verbal warning of wasting time.

Item 6

Most people have never seen a flying fortress bomber flying on one engine but when it is flying with this problem it is quite low, as seen at the junction where Hearts Delight Road joins the road to Bredgar near to the Oast House on the corner near to the school.   This aeroplane turned and eventually crash landed on a field from which grain had been cut, on a line south of Borden Church and south of the road extending to Oad Street.   It was the understanding that all crew except for one survived the crash landing which was without wheels and text book in such terms.   Not forgetting Perspex from the shattered lower turret made very good rings for the fingers, as collected some distance from where the aircraft eventually came to rest.

 Item 6

The Tunstall school also did its little bit for the war effort in the production of vegetables in two gardens.   One garden was opposite the smaller children’s classroom to the back of the school behind the then outside toilets and produced a variety of crops such as potatoes, cabbages and peas, together with runner beans. plus, a few I cannot remember.   There was another garden much more extensive and on the opposite side of the road from the school, this now occupied by houses which did not exist there in wartime.  Here a greater variety of vegetables and soft fruits were planted and nurtured as a nature study program by to-days standards.   Notable was celery which was fed with liquid made from sheep droppings in a bag within a bucket of water, for which the celery and was determined by us all to be the best on the planet.

With all the activity of school, Tunstall School was very special and we must mention the honours gained by it pupils educated there, some moving on to universities and senior industrial careers.   Nevertheless, it must be remembered that memories can play tricks and as we get older, imagination influences our recollections. 

I do hope my comments will be of some interest to the young man at Borden Grammar School and do not hesitate to make any corrections to these comments.

Richard 

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