[DebbieKennett]

This picture was take from the first floor of the oast house at Grove End Farm on the occasion of the VE day celebration, 1945.
I am unable to remember all of the folk on it but those that I do are as follows;  Back-row Right, Charlie Brown; Centre-row Right, Mrs Kidson; Back-row 3rd from right, Harry Banfield; Back-row 4th from right, Mrs Banfield; Front-row 3rd from right, Cyril hadlow(?);  Front-row 5th and 6th from right, Mr & Mrs Charlie Wright; Behind Mrs Wrights right shoulder, Mr Epps (Agri Foreman);  Childrens row 2nd from right Alan Kidson; Far left Jeff Banfield.
 
I would appreciate any further additions!

Back left is Horace Kennett, next to him is Dennis Wright, Mrs Epps is holding the baby, 2nd from right back row is Bill Kitson the dairy man, 3rd row left is Annie Kennett (known as Nance), 2nd row from left is Edward Kennett, father of Horace and his wife, then Kit Wright and Charlie Wright next to them, Doris Brown and Mr Wright (can't remember his first name), father of Charlie Wright.  Children from the left are Jeff Banfield and his brother next to him, then Harold Kennett (my father), Colin and Yvonne Brown, then Alan Kidson and not sure of the far right boy.

[DebbieKennett]

I am the Great Granddaughter of Charles Wright, and the Granddaughter of Dennis Wright.
I am currently tracing our family heritage from Australia and have found the photos and information on your site most invaluable.
My Father (Trevor Wright) has some memory of the farm as a small child and remembered a lot of the names listed in the photos.
We would appreciate if anyone has anything that they could share, information and or photos of Grove End Farm in particular the Wright family's time here.

Hi.  Dennis Wright was my great uncle and I met him when he and his wife Ange came to visit my grandfather - I think I was about 9 years old.  Charlie Wright was a wagoner on the farm and my father lived on the farm with him whilst my grandfather, Horace Kennett was a prisoner during the war. If you would like me to send you some photos of the farm, please email me and I will find some for you.  A friend of my daughter also lives in a house that is on part of Grove End Farm's land.

[Kez Wright]

I am the Great Granddaughter of Charles Wright, and the Granddaughter of Dennis Wright.
I am currently tracing our family heritage from Australia and have found the photos and information on your site most invaluable.
My Father (Trevor Wright) has some memory of the farm as a small child and remembered a lot of the names listed in the photos.
We would appreciate if anyone has anything that they could share, information and or photos of Grove End Farm in particular the Wright family's time here.

[grandarog]

Welcome to the Forum Alyson.

1,2 5, and 6 were all KCC tythe cottages for Grove End Farm workers .No 5 and 6 were built first during 1950.We moved into number 5 in spring 1951. 1 and 2 were built at the same time but not finished until the summer.. Then the Police houses were built in the middle as 3 and 4. during1952 The 6 houses and gardens were all well established by the Coronation in 1953.
PC Brigden the Bredgar Copper lived in 3 and PC Bradley (ex POW of the Japanese ) the Tunstall Copper in 4. Frank Crouch and his Mum lived in 2. I can`t remember who was in number 1 at first, I believe Alan Kidson moved in later. .Charlie Brown was in no 6.

[Allyson]

Hi, is there anyone who knows when the houses in School View were built?  I spotted that AlanK said he lived in No 1, so I'm guessing it was after 1945

Also, I gather that the old Police Houses were built after, but can't find out when

Any help gratefully received
Thanks

[ashwood]

Front Row 2nd from right. Frank Owen (poultry man)?
Vaguely familiar but a long time ago Ashwood KFI 1946/7
Recognised Messrs Wright and Brown immediately.

[Bryn Clinch]

Well done, AlanK! You got your picture on at last. I remember some of the names but cannot recognise anyone. Hope to see some more as I`m sure that I will remember some faces from our schooldays at Ufton Lane.

[grandarog]

Little boy and girl at front I think Yvonne and Colin Brown. Apart from Charlie Wright, Harry Banfield and the Kidsons who all actually lived at or very close to Grove End and Epps the aggri foreman, it appears to only be the Fruit lot none of the aggri workers appear.

[AlanK]

This picture was take from the first floor of the oast house at Grove End Farm on the occasion of the VE day celebration, 1945.
I am unable to remember all of the folk on it but those that I do are as follows;  Back-row Right, Charlie Brown; Centre-row Right, Mrs Kidson; Back-row 3rd from right, Harry Banfield; Back-row 4th from right, Mrs Banfield; Front-row 3rd from right, Cyril hadlow(?);  Front-row 5th and 6th from right, Mr & Mrs Charlie Wright; Behind Mrs Wrights right shoulder, Mr Epps (Agri Foreman);  Childrens row 2nd from right Alan Kidson; Far left Jeff Banfield.
 
I would appreciate any further additions!

[busyglen]

Alan K, if you go here: http://www.kenthistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=13925.0
it will tell you how to post a picture.

[Bryn Clinch]

We must have been at Ufton Lane School together, AlanK. Does the name Miss Coombes ring any bells?

Grandarog`s first photo appears to be taken at the KFI building (ex Borden Grammar School) at the junction of College Road/Riddles Road, Sittingbourne.

[AlanK]

I just thought that I would recount some of my memories at KFI.  I am the son of Bill Kidson who was Head Cowman at the farm. We lived at the left hand semi of the two half-timbered houses at Grove End farm until we moved into 1 School View in Tunstall.  I well remember the names posted by Bryn.  We arrived at the farm in c.1943 and I was sent to Tunstall school until I fell from my cycle and scraped along the gravel in the school drive.  Miss Holness sent me home without patching me up and I contracted lockjaw.  After a fairly long period of time I was then sent to Ufton Lane school.  Other names, not in the various lists, that I remember were Yvonne Brown and Harold Wright. Harold also had a sister whose name escapes me. Another of the Staff was a carter, Wilf Crayden.  Wilf`s horse was called Diamond and was responsible for keeping the secret that Wilf was going blind. The horse knew all of the routes and although his cart scraped a few gate posts it kept Wilf going for some time. I also remember on the farm were two land girls, May who married Wilf and Elsie.

I have a picture that was taken at the VE day party held in the Oast, can anyone tell me how to put it on to this forum?

AlanK

[ashwood]

Very interesting, I was a student 1947/8 lived in the annexe, used to wake up frozen to the wall. A very cold winter. The senior lecturer
W E Hughes, very very boring just droned on about 'The Agricultural Holdings Act 1926'. He had a little standard 9 car, on one occasion we lifted it at the rear and pushed it round the corner like a wheelbarrow/ he was not impressed, fortunately the culprits never found.

[grandarog]

 This picture of the Staff and the years students was taken in the early 193,s
Mr McDougal-Porter, The Principal, is sitting centre flanked by his senior staff. Matron on his left, Jimmy Hart (later to become the Principal) on his right.
 The young oiks are students as are some of the older people. I don`t know which were staff members.
  The late Charlie Brown (Fruit Foreman at Grove End and Hadlow until he retired was a student at the time. He is 3rd from the left, back row.



This picture of the Farm Staff and workers at Grove End Farm is at a later date but before the war. I have listed people as known.
From Left as viewed.

BR.         Jim's son.   Harry Gammon  .   Charlie Brown .  ? .  ?
MR.     ? . Charlie Wright . ?.  ?.  ?.  ?.  ?.  ?.
BR. Jim Smith, Bill Crouch, John Waghorn, McDougal-Porter, Tom Harris, George Harris, Frank Crouch

John Waghorn, the Bailiff, was my Maternal G.Father;  Tom Harris, the Waggoner, my Paternal G.Father;  George Harris, Hop Man, my Father.

[exopper]

Having "done the rounds" I am surprised and disappointed to discover a great dearth of archived material for this significant part of Sittingbourne's work and society throughout the 1950s. Nobody seems to have saved any record of their existence.

In summary:
Hadlow College, later home of KFI, has "no records of that time exist",

Centre Kent Studies has just two correspondence files for the period

Sittingbourne Heritage Museum "possibly have boxes of stuff, but they await indexing amongst a pile of similar local material"

I am still very keen to put the story together, does any one know of a source or location of information. Even a trawl through archived East Kent Gazettes of 1954, 54 produced very little information

Someone somewhere please?