Dear Paul,
Reference our recent e-mails I have enclosed the school photograph for 1950. On re-checking, I believe the photograph marked Coronation year 1953 is the same as the one on the website so I have not included it.
Unfortunately, I have still been unable to view your hotspots as a window appears telling me I need to down load Vector Graphic Rendering, which I am unable to do (I have IE5.5). Because of this I may have added names which you may already have – sorry!
I would appreciate the original photograph returned when you have finished with it. I have added names to the scanned pictures but unfortunately like most older people, I can remember faces but not names!
A little background about my time at Dover:- I moved to River at Easter in 1949 and was allowed to take the 11 plus exam on my own as the rest of the class had taken it.
I started at Dover Grammar in September 1949 at the age of 10 as my birthday was not until the end of September (am I the youngest entrant?). However, my initial success at being near the top of the class in Upper 1 gradually deteriorated to being near the bottom of the class in Upper 5. I left in the summer of 1954 to move to Tunbridge Wells.
I don’t know if the school photographs were taken at different times each year but I was in Upper 1 in the March 1950 photograph in the front row, and was probably in Upper 5 in the 1953 photograph as 1 was in the back row.
During my time there I was also in the Combined Cadet Force (RAF section), no doubt long defunct.
I have enclosed a few copies of other things as you may not have seen them before – I hope I haven’t bored you too much!
I have enclosed this as it has the headmaster’s signature on it, however, it is an interesting document being part of a collective passport for a really excellent trip Paris.
P.S. Glad to see that the school has survived as a Grammar school
Jim Penfold
Photo J.G. Whorwell & Son, Dover.