Matron ’ s corridor with her room , the sick bay and a dispensary . Next came the baths for the boys and on the other side of the door our private bathroom . The boys had to have daily cold baths , so as children we had to go the long way round to avoid them . On the landing were big cupboards where the Sunday suits were kept .
Johnsons was like an extended family ; Mum organised all the staff and food . It was a complete unit – the gardener / handyman living in the lodge , the cook , maids , matron and one or two junior housemasters living in the house . There were around 50 boys , some of whom came from overseas .
Inside the main entrance on the right was the housemaster ’ s study , the quiet room and piano room . Opposite , in the hall , were the senior and junior common rooms , dining room and hatch to the cellars .
Upstairs there was no separate flat for the housemaster ; we had a drawing room and two bedrooms , one ( the Tower Room ) for us children . There was also A-Dorm and the other dorms , and
1933
1934
There was no central heating so the handyman had to stoke the boiler to provide hot water and the stoves to heat the building , the largest one being in the hall .
When , as children , we realised that unlike our friends we didn ’ t have a house , our father built a caravan for us , so we had our own place for holidays .
We lived in Johnsons through the Second World War . By repute Johnsons had the best cellars in Sevenoaks , much used in wartime . Within them , we children had a small unit to live in , the domestic staff another , the younger pupils another ; and then there was an empty one where a group of evacuees would spend the night , brought in by the laundry van every evening and then driven on the next day to the West Country .
The older boys had to put their mattresses in the main corridor every night as it was the safest place with only a small glass window . One morning I came upstairs to find my eiderdown full of glass where the windows had been blown in . One of the pantries was used as an ARP post where the wardens went out on the flat roof to spot any German aircraft about to drop leftover bombs on the way home .
Sadness came to us all as the first deaths were announced of Old Boys killed in the war , including the death of a junior housemaster . As a house we grieved together .
On a brighter side , we had the Walthamstow Hall Young Farmers ’ Club ’ s goat at home during school holidays . I was responsible for milking it every day before school . We used to put the goat in the back of the car to transport it , which caused a few glances as we drove through Sevenoaks with my father in the driving seat and the goat ’ s feet over his shoulders .
Pat Savage , nee Groves
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2023-2024 129