Dockenfield memories
Here are memories of Dockenfield and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Dockenfield or a Dockenfield photo.
Dockenfield Manor, Farnham Surrey.
I was a student at Dockenfield Manor in the 1940's. Looking back, the entire faculty should have been arrested for child abuse, fraud, and a host of other charges. At the time, the Headmasters name was Dr. Hastings, other teachers included Dr. Franks, (whose every second sentence was "Oh God, please help me"), Mr. Nehoff a Dutchman that may have been a Nazi in disguise, a Miss Saunders (Dr. Hastings squeeze) and the best of them that had more integrity than all of the rest, a Miss Weir-Rose, whom I was in love with at the age of six! Punishment was handed out by sadistic teachers and prefects, that included from three to six cuts on the hands, being held down naked on a bed and being whipped with a stick, pulled hair, kicks on the behind, etc, etc. The food mainly consisted of banana sandwiches, margarine and jam, fried 'stuff' and tapiocca pudding. When the holidays came, old Bailey's Yellow and Black Bus would arrive and take the... Read more
Dockenfield Manor School
During the war years Dockenfield Manor was a school which I attended as our home in London was destroyed by bombs. For some reason I seem to remember the school was transferred from the Isle of Wight for the duration of the war. I used to help a local lad from the farm next door bring in the cows. We were both around 7 years old. One day we saw a V1 heading towards our school then it turned off and we heard it landed in Aldershot. When in the Army in 1956 in Germany I met the only survivor from the family it killed.
We used to skate on Frensham Ponds in the winter. I caught my first fish and nearly drowned in the local river on another occasion.
My Childhood
I lived at Manor Farm and remember the boy next door, his name was Nigel Swatton. I wonder what happened to him. Then there was the Cripps family and Joan Berry, I wonder what happened to all of those. I would love to look around the farm to see how it has changed.
Memories of Surrey
Post Office
I remember walking to this post office many a time as I used to live with my nan etc. at Churt House Cottage. The post office was run by a lady of the name Mrs Heaps. I used to go there for the big bottles of Tizer.
Good Times
I always remember stopping off for a paddle here on my way home from Frensham Junior school. I remember my nan used to give me my bus fare. But I used to prefer to walk along past the pond so I could stop for a quick paddle.
A History Lesson
I have lived nearby for 10 years and this place eluded me for a while. Tancreds Ford is still a ford but the bridge is the modern equivalent. The reason I am posting this is because it was on the old smugglers route! Contraband was smuggled up from the south coast across the vast expanses of woodland and heathland by packhorse under cover of night. Several places along the way would give shelter for a share of the booty and Pierpont and the old Mariners Inn at Millbridge close by were just two. The smugglers had to cross the river eventually and did so here, before making their way across Surrey Heath to Bagshot, where it was redistributed and taken by many routes on into London.
Little Pond House at Tilford
My wife's health was not that good, and, in 1961, she was sent for a recuperative fortnight at the Little Pond House. It was a convalescent home for children used by the NHS and had also been home to children from Europe sent there by International Help for Children after the war. During August, 2010 we managed to track it down and were shown round what is now a care home: it brought back many memories for my wife. When she was sent there in 1961, her mother in Winchmore Hill had packed a suitcase of clothes. This stayed unopened as she was given clothes to wear by the LPH staff.
My Early Years Spent at Little Pond House
I arrived at Little Pond House just before Chirstmas 1964. My mother had been taken ill and I had to stay at the home until 1968 when I left Tilford Junior School and had to attend a boarding school at Reigate, Surrey. I remember being greeted by Mary and Jack Finch, now deceased. I only met them once after I left Tilford, they were running a home in Margate in Kent but I sent them a Christmas card every year until their passing. I remember children arriving there from all over Europe and owe my rather limited French and German skills to my stay at the home. I remember walks over Hankley Common and watching the trainee Paras jumping out of a Barrage Balloon and walks to Frensham little and big ponds. I owe the home a great deal in keeping me safe in my early years and I always remember Tilford and the surrounding area of outstandind beauty. Thank you Little Pond House and Mary and Jack Finch.
Memorybank total
We're very pleased and excited by your response so far to our "Share your Memories" community.
You've shared 28,862 memories of 5,949 towns & villages across the UK - keep them coming!
Find Memories
Simply search for your favourite places to read others' memories and share your own.
Tips & Ideas
Not sure what to write?
It's easy - just think of an important place in your life and ask yourself:
How does it feature in your personal history?
What are your best memories of this place?
How has it changed over the years?
How does it feel, seeing these old photos of your favourite place?
Do you remember stories about the local community, its history and people?
Start now!
It's easy to add your own memories and reconnect with your shared local history. Search for your favourite places and look for the orange "Add your Memory" icon to begin.
Places this week
Here are some of the places you've shared memories of this week:
- Heywood, Lancashire
- Streatham, Greater London
- Oban, Argyll
- Almondsbury, Avon
- Rochdale, Lancashire
- Walsall, West Midlands
- Kirkandrews-On-Eden, Cumbria
- Fleetwood, Lancashire
- Shelsley Walsh, Worcestershire
- Langley Park, County Durham
- Penruddock, Cumbria
- Slough, Berkshire
- Smallthorne, Staffordshire
- Bath, Avon
- Crook, County Durham
- Southampton, Hampshire
- Bridge Of Gairn, Aberdeenshire
- Newcastle, County Down
- Dagenham, Essex
- Sway, Hampshire
- ... and lots more - Browse this week's memories now.
Your memories
To jump straight to the memories you have added already to the Community, click here
I Remember When...
This stunning compilation highlights some of the best stories selected from the thousands contributed here on the
Frith website. The result is an absorbing chronicle of British life from the Second World War to the mid 1960s.
A colourful treasure trove of memories, "I Remember When" is an
irresistible mix of personal stories and recollections that affectionately reveal the detail of everyday life in Britain.
