The Francis Frith Collection.
You are here:

My Childhood in Knatts Valley

I was born in Knatts Valley, in a bungalow belonging to George and Elsie Lines of Lynwood, friends of my mother and father. George became my Godfather, and one of my names is also George. I was supposed to have been born at Lavendale but it was not yet fully built. My Grandparents, Tom and Kate Griffiths lived next door at The Camp. I was Christened at the little parish church at Woodlands, and after the war went to West Kingsdown village school. I walked each day across the hill and farmland to get there. Later I went to the local school at Farningham when a school bus was laid on.
When I was eight years old and father had returned from the war (he was in the fart east) we moved to London, however I spent every school holiday in knatts valley with my Grandparents.
I used to go swimming in the pool at East Hill (The water always seemed freezing)

People I remember from the times.

George Booker (my uncle Will worked for him) and his son Georgie who owned a BSA Bantam major motorcyle (I was green with envy)
Ralphs, who used to charge up the old radio accumulators.
Miss Brown, a Schoolteacher, who lived with her lady friend.
Billy Watson
Mrs. Eckert, a widow who had lost her mind and lived in an old air raid shelter
The Meddicks, Ken and Doreen
The Claytons, who's wooden house was burnt to the ground.
Captain Pelham, a gentleman farmer who lived in the 'big house'
Doughties, who owned a garage in Swanley
The Weatherleys' smallholders.
The Pages
Mrs Morris, widow lived in a little hut next to what became the hillclimb
The Smiths' that ran the post office.
My memory is not what it was and many names and characters I have forgotten

Written by Rod Duffy. To send Rod Duffy a private message, click here.

A memory of Otford in Kent shared on Wednesday, 22nd September 2010.

Memories Links

Other memories of

See more memories of Otford

Otford homepage

Add a Memory for another place

Tips & Ideas

How does Otford feature in your personal history?

What are your best memories of Otford?

How has Otford changed over the years?

Share memories about your local community, its history and people.

Comments

0 comments have been shared so far in response to the memory "My Childhood in Knatts Valley".

Why not get involved and post your comments using the comment form below.

Post a Comment about this Memory

To post a comment about this Memory, complete the form below. Your comment will appear alongside the original Memory on the website. If you wish to send a private message (not published on the website) to the person that wrote the Memory, click here.

Subject: RE: My Childhood in Knatts Valley
You have to be logged in to be able to post a comment.
If you have a Frith account, then please log in below, if not, click here to create one.
Email:
Password:
Comment:
  Note: There is a 300-word limit - you have 300 words remaining.

© Copyright 1998-2012 Frith Content Inc. All rights reserved.