Summer Term 1951

A Memory of Frilsham.

When I was 12 and visiting my grandparents in Edenbridge, Kent, my parents decided I needed a taste of English boarding school life. As an American, so soon after WWII, several things struck me.

I was much healthier and stronger than my formmates. I easily excelled at cricket. In retrospect the other boys were still suffering from wartime malnutrition.

Signs of wartime were still present. Even water was in short supply. Our bathtubs had black rings painted 4” from the bottom and we were bathed two to a tub. Or was that perhaps the school just trying to save money on hot water?

I do have good memories of music. My parents showed for end of school concerts. I was there too short a time to make lasting friends.

I attended Groton School back in Massachusetts, 1952-6. Probably the closest thing to an English boarding school in the U.S.