Oak Bank Open Air School

A Memory of Sevenoaks.

I went to Oak Bank School for Delicate Children from 1944/1945. My best friends were called Kathleen and Enid. The children there at that time came from all over the United Kingdom. I have many happy memories from this time, collecting vinegar leaves (dandelion leaves) in the school grounds, I think they were used in the school kitchen, I certainly remember eating as many as I collected. I can remember the school walks in the woods, also afternoon naps on camp beds laid in rows outside in the school grounds. The dormitory I slept in was large, and on the ground floor; there were about 20 beds in our dormitory. All the beds had white counter panes with long fringes round the edges. We used to make our own beds and we had to lift up the overhanging edges so that the cleaners could mop under the beds each day. For washing ourselves in the morning, the water came in very large metal jugs and was poured into individual bowls for us children to wash ourselves. We would brush our teeth by first filling our beakers from our basin of water, then brush our teeth using the water in the beaker to rinse. We had baths in the evening there were two baths in our bathroom and as we were quite small, three children could get into a bath. I was there at the end of WW11; we had oranges which I had never had before, they were delicious. In the morning before school started, we would line up to have our tunics brushed with a cleaning substance which smelled very strongly of ammonia. In the summer we wore blue and white floral dresses. Our lessons were mostly outside in the playground; the classrooms were entered from the playground, we went down steps to them. The classrooms were partly underground. For breakfast we had porridge, followed by toast and marmite, I had never had marmite before and at first I didn't like it. I grew to love it, something that has lasted me a life time, 68 years later I still have marmite and toast at breakfast time. I have so many happy memories of my time there, I wish that I would put them in order and write them down. Our dorm had a nurse called Nurse Poppa who looked after us, playing with us and making sure that we were okay. I have happy memories of her reading to us and telling us stories. While I was there the matron became ill and we all sat on the great staircase singing hymns and songs. I remember singing for those in peril on the sea; I think that she had a family member in the Navy and it was war time, so I think we must have been singing for his safety. I don't know if she got better or not...I hope that she did. My class teacher was called Miss Jeffery, I can only remember copying from the blackboard, I hope that I did more than that but that is the only recollection of this schoolroom I have. Although we did spend a lot of time in the woods identifying leaves and flowers, bringing them back and pressing them with nurse Poppa helping us. When I started writing this I did not realise that I had as many memories as I have. I hope that other people will add their memories of there time at Oakbank and theirs are as positive as mine.