Dockenfield Manor School

A Memory of Dockenfield.

My elder brother Peter was at Dockenfield School around 1944 and has similar bad memories of abuse whilst a student there. He had been placed in the school by well meaning parents to avoid the bombings of south east London where dad had a transport cafe. Apart from the canings and early morning runs through snow and ice clad only in shorts t-shirt and plimsoles; he recalls that monthly food parcels of a cake or chocolate that Dad had managed to get from the convoy lorry drivers visiting his cafe never actually reached him. It was later discovered that someone had got there first. A further incident was of Pete being badly beaten and kicked black and blue by the headmaster for the 'crime' of scrumping apples from a neighbouring orchard. Dad and mum visited Pete one sunny day and took him for an afternoon tea. In the restaurant mum tried to give Pete a cuddle, and he yelped. She took him into the 'ladies' to examine him and came out horrified at the bruises she had found as a result of the beating. She told Dad and he became apoplectic with rage and drove like a madman back to the school to have it out with the head, where he then had to be held back by others from attacking him. Needless to say Pete was removed from the school immediately, but no further action was taken against the school as far as I am aware. Pete recalls when he and a group of boys were climbing trees one weekend during free time. Out on the moor they spotted a plane flying very low heading straight towards them. As it got closer it became clear that it was a German three engined Junkers. As it flew past Pete and his mates could clearly see soldiers at the open loading hatch peering out inspecting the terrain. Pete recalls the fear in the boys anticipating an invasion. Back at school the head didn't believe a word, and the incident went unreported.