Westerham, The Village 1925

Photo ref: 78191A

I am 86 but still remember the time at Farley Croft during WWII. My siblings and I were evacuated to Westerham in 1939. Around 1942/46 my sisters Rose, Sylvia and I were taken from the billet we were in and put in Farley Croft which was being used as a children's hospital. We were treated well. The nurses were so kind and taught us how to play card games. It had been a private house and there was still a big ...see more

The left hand shop of the pair on the right of this photo was still called London House when I was a young lad in the late 1960's, going to Hosey school. I recall it had large glass jars with sweets in them but also sold things like "toothbrush sticks" which were twigs of what I later thought were Yarrow twigs but it seems were more likely "Miswak" (Salvadora Persica) twigs commonly used in the Arabic world ...see more

The bike outside no3 where my Nan and Granddad lived, belonged to my uncle he won a schoolarship to Sevenoaks School it would have been the only way to get to school. My other uncle worked in what was Fred Wood the grocers next to the old forge at the turning down to the old mill, my mother and aunt lived at no 3 as well.

My nan Eliza Geal or Jelly as she was known, worked at Pitts Cottage doing the cooking in the 50-60s she lived at Park Cottages just down the road and her husband Sunny worked on the Squerrys Estate which was run by a Major Warde, his son John took over and I remember Nan and Sunny doffing their hat's and half bowing when they went by. I lived in Moorhouse just over the border and my parents ran the youth club in St ...see more