Sussex's Wartime Evacuations

Once again, my gratitude goes out to the Chittenden family for the trove of information and images that they've provided for us here at Who Is George Mills? This week, we'll take a look at an very interesting document entitled "Evacuation," written recently by Ann, a daughter of Hugh and Barbara Chittenden of Newlands School in Seaford, Sussex. It's a delightful and personal recollection of a five year long event that had the potential to be a nightmare, and one hopes that most of the children who had been evacuated at the onset of the Second World War were able to, like Ann, keep many of the joys of childhood intact—at least to some degree.


Thenford

At the beginning of the war, Newlands School was evacuated for a period of five years, firstly to Thenford House situated in a small hamlet approximately five miles from Banbury in Oxfordshire. It was a lovely Georgian mansion although I remember it being extremely cold in winter, the only heating being provided by open fires. I think Thenford House had approximately 80 acres of land. I started off as the only girl in a school comprising of about 60 boys. Two other girls joined the school later on during the evacuation although for a shorter period.

We had a very carefree childhood. The worry of keeping the school going and the safety of the children must have been an absolute nightmare for my parents, but we were unaware of this at the time and I recall a very happy childhood with a lot of freedom.

Below is a list of some of my extremely random childhood memories of my time at Thenford!

Our classrooms were over the stables.

The owner of Thenford House had left his horses behind and the groom who remained there taught me to ride.

Fire practise involved putting a rope around one's middle and being lowered over the side of the house from the parapet. I doubt modern Health and Safety officials would approve!

There was a large lake on which we skated – highly dangerous! I also learnt to chop firewood with an axe at the age of 8, as did the boys at the school. Again, highly dangerous!

There was a rogue gardener who had locked the kitchen garden and was selling the fruit and vegetables, which were supposed to be for the use of the school. I recall my father, with the school doctor, climbing over the walls in the middle of the night to raid the garden for his own vegetables!

The farm was just beyond the stable yard and, after milking, I used to drive the cattle back to the fields for the farmer at the age of 8.

One night at Thenford we were all taken down to the cellars as Coventry was being bombed. I recall there was a red glow in the sky, although Coventry was a long way away.

I remember going for a walk through the woods with our gas masks on for practise. They used to steam up and I used to lift the sides up to let the air in which would have defeated the object.

My father joined the Home Guard at Thenford [above, left], which was a little bit like Dad's Army!


Wardington

After three years we moved to Wardington House in the village of Wardington near Banbury. My memories of my time at Wardington include:

There was a farm next door to the house with a herd of jersey cows and my mother used to make bowls of clotted cream for us. Delicious!

There were Italian prisoners of war working on the farm. I recall that they used to wait every evening by the front of Wardington House to be picked up and returned to their camp.

I used to ride the butcher's pony for sixpence an hour.

My mother used to provide food for midnight feasts for the school, unbeknown to anyone else!

I remember the Home Guard at Wardington also. The overriding memory is of the Home Guard marching up the village street, with their Commanding Officer shouting “Halt” and they completely ignored him and kept on marching. He kept on shouting “Halt” until he finally gave up and yelled “Oh, for gawd's sake halt!”


Seaford

During the evacuation the school buildings in Seaford were taken over by the French Canadians. They used the weather vane for target practise and shot off the North, South, East and West which were later found after the war in the flower beds in the garden.

All very light hearted memories, of no importance but I hope they are of some interest to you!


Wonderful! I do believe these memories are important, though. The numbers—how many children were relocated, what transportation, average distance travelled, destinations, costs, etc. —are, I'm sure, readily available on-line and in dusty books. The facts and the figures, however, don't really tell the human part of the story.

These recollections help me—and all of us—envision a time and a way of life that's disappearing all too quickly, no matter on which side of the Atlantic one resides. Memories of things like the fire drills, the rogue gardener, the clotted cream, and the Italian prisoners help re-create it all in a way that makes television programmes like Foyle's War so popular—at least here in the States.

Perhaps the most enduring pop-cultural reference to Britain's evacuation of children during World War II comes in the first chapter of C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, as described in Wikipedia : "The story begins in 1940 during World War II, when four siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—are evacuated from London to escape the Blitz. They are sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke, who lives in a country house in the English countryside."

In Lewis's novel there is no reference to where, exactly, the children had been relocated, but it's easy to imagine that, had those Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve not become involved in their adventures beyond the wardrobe, they may have instead explored the area around Professor Kirke's country house and had much less fantastic, but quite meaningful, adventures like Ann's above.

How does any of this truly relate to George Mills? First, George lived in this world, and it was far less idyllic than as was perceived by young Ann. Mills returned to the military in 1940, becoming a second lieutenant army paymaster at the age of 40, assuring us that he was keenly aware of his duty during the conflict as well as the dangers for himself and his nation. Understanding the world in which Mills lived provides context for understand the man himself.

Secondly—and as always seems to happen when we study George Mills—we find there is a Sussex connection.

During George's time as a schoolmaster at Warren Hill School in Meads late in the decade of the 1920s, he must have been acquainted with writers (and sisters-in-law) Kitty Barne and Noel Streatfeild. Mills was not a writer at the time, and would not become a published author until the appearance of his breakthrough novel Meredith and Co.: The Story of a Modern Preparatory School on bookshelves in 1933. George had taught with Kitty's husband, and Noel's brother, musician Eric Streatfeild in Eastbourne.

Meredith and Co. contained vignettes undoubtedly culled for his time at Warren Hill, as well as his stint at Windlesham House, then in Portslade, and made a study of the vernacular used by boys of the era, a first in children's literature. It was a device that many subsequent children's authors have imitated.

Later that decade, as children were being evacuated from Sussex and in the same year that Mills was returning to active duty under the Colours, Kitty Barne published her Carnegie Medal winning book Visitors from London, an early novel about evacuees that was set in Sussex.

By 1945, Noel Streatfeild had authored Saplings, a novel intended for adult readers, set in 1939 and describing the wartime experiences of the Wiltshire family, focusing on the children Laurel, Tony, Kim and Tuesday. Saplings, according to a reviewer called Nymeth , "chronicles the psychological effect these separations, this uncertainly and instability, had on those who had to grow up with them," and "capture[s] a child’s perspective and understanding of the world" as it was for them during the war.

The on-line review continues: "The children are actually very well-off, in the sense that they are physically safe, they never go hungry, and they don't suffer discomforts. And yet my heart still broke for them."

That is very much how one might feel regarding Ann's memories above. It's a tribute to Ann, and the rest of the world's ' greatest generation,' that they survived so much and were able, for the most part, to come away with memories of a positive nature. Families were separated, lives disrupted, and a gnawing feeling of fear must have been prevalent, knowing Nazis were just miles away in occupied France, anticipating overrunning and conquering England in much the same way they'd blitzkrieged most of Europe. It's difficult today to think of those times as having been anything but frightening, a feeling of which we find a hint in Ann's recollection of the bombing of Coventry.

Ann Chittenden, as a child, seems to have lived very much in the moment, and if she harbours any grim or bitter recollections of leaving home and family for five years of her life, she isn't dwelling on them.

Noel Streatfeild, however, was still ruminating over the events of the evacuation some thirty years later when, in 1974, she published When the Sirens Wailed, a text described as being "about three evacuees and cover[ing] issues like rations for evacuees, relationship[s] between evacuees and townspeople, and the problems encountered by those who stayed behind." [You can find more about the book by clicking HERE.]

Many thanks, Ann, for adding your own memories here.


George Mills had passed away in 1972, and there's no indication that he ever discussed his feelings and experiences during the war with anyone who still living today. During the conflict, George dealt with the deaths of friends (Terence Hadow, Egerton Clarke), colleagues (Capt. William Mocatta, Joshua Goodland), and loved ones (his wife, Vera, and his mother, Edith), all between 1939 and 1945.

We certainly don't know if he kept in touch with Barne or Streatfeild after leaving behind a career as a schoolmaster and becoming, like them, an author of children's books. What we do know is that whenever we examine George's life, or the lives of those close to him, the path always seems to lead us to Sussex.

Did George spend time after the war teaching in Sussex—Seaford, specifically—at Newlands School? Right now we have no evidence of that.

But it wouldn't surprise me one bit!

The Chittendens: History, Photographs, and the War Years

Welcome back! Regarding the Chittendens of Newlands School at Seaford, we've gained a wealth of information via Hugh and Barbara Chittenden's daughter Ann, and Ann's daughter, who has been corresponding with me.

While most of this information deals with the Chittendens, it also is fascinating because it continues to flesh out the mid-20th century world in which George Mills (and the rest of the dramatis personae with whom we have been dealing over the last two years) lived, worked, loved, and passed on.

Here's an enlightening excerpt from a recent message I received from them (I've added emphasis, as well as links to mentioned people, laces, and organizations):


I am visiting my mother next weekend so I will see what she can tell me. I did ask her previously about George Mills when I saw your blog and the name did not ring a bell but I will try again. As I said, she was a pupil at the school during the war, however on return to Seaford she went to Micklefield School (all girls school). She did however continue to live in the main Newlands building and, even in her 20s, when she was living in London, came back to Newlands every weekend so she should have some of idea of the names of staff around that time.

I spent a lot of my childhood at my grandmother's house, with my mother and her sister Joan (we were there most weekends). If I remember correctly the Mills that was referred to the most was a Dr Mills (possibly with the christian name Denholm) – I'm not sure if that rings any bells? I will do some digging however. My grandparents, until their deaths, lived with a great friend called Tommy (Hilda Alice Miles, but she hated her names!). Tommy cooked for the school for many, many years and after my grandfather retired she continued to live with them. Tommy died when I was 21 but she was a really lovely lady and like an extra grandmother to me.
As Richard says, Hugh and Barbara had four children.
Hugh John Robert (known as John), Barbara Joan (known as Joan), George William David (known as David) and my mother Ann (by which time they had run out of middle names!). Richard spelt my mother's name wrong - possibly as he is researching family history and it is wrong on her birth certificate. My mother was the youngest and the only one still alive. She does not remember John that well as there was a large age gap between them and I think she was about 8 when he went off to Africa and never returned.

Richard was incorrect when he said my mother had papers re the school - she does not. She mainly has bags of family history papers and I imagine the school papers were left with David when he took over as headmaster and then maybe were left with school... (I am not sure). What my mother does have are all my grandparents' photos - mainly of the family, but there are some of the school. I have recently been researching my family history and going through these with her and found some of sports day presentations in (possibly) the 50s and I am sure there are many more I haven't seen.

She also has Hugh's wartime scrapbook, with numerous photos of the trenches, maps and his orders (one signed by General Haig [pictured, left]). And John's suitcase of belongings sent back from Africa after his death, containing all his belongings (such as shaving brushes, letters to and from him parents and Joan (who he was closest to in age), small African statues/ornaments and the letter from his commanding officer telling the circumstances of his death (which she has never read and I don't think wants to as it would make some fairly sad reading).

So there is alot of information about the family  [Deleted by request]  (less about the school)!

I will speak to her and I am sure she will happy to provide general unsourced information for you to include. If she is happy for me to do so, I can also forward you some photos of my grandparents and John. If I find school photos with faces of staff in I can take copies also in case you spot George Mills but that will take some while as the photos are not organised and there are hundreds! I have been taking photos of photos with my camera to upload so maybe not the best quality but as my mother is not on the internet it is the simplest way of doing it.
I am also not sure if she will know how the evacuation of Newlands was facilitated as she was only 7 at the time war broke out, but she should be able to give you some general stories about life at the school [pictured at Wardington House, right]. I know, for instance, that there was a walled vegetable garden at one of the two locations that the school evacuated. The vegetables were supposed to be solely for the use of provisioning the school but the gardener used to lock the gates and sell them on the black market so Hugh and (I think) the School Doctor used to climb over the high walls at night and pinch what were actually their own vegetables to feed the school. My grandmother on the other hand looked after the ration books for the school and apparently did a wonderful job making sure the school was well fed. So no doubt she may provide a few stories along those lines. As those are her personal stories however I want to ensure she is happy before I say these can go online.

This (below) may not be of interest as its not directly related to the school, but have added it in case. I should be able to add to this in the next couple of weeks anyway so I don't know whether you prefer to wait for that or not.


Early History:

Hugh Faithfull Chittenden was the son of Charles Grant Thomas Faithfull Chittenden [whose father, the Rev. Charles Grant Chittenden, was headmaster of Newlands whilst it was located at The Grange [pictured, left] in Herfordshire, is pictured, top right] and Eliza Cummins Wheeler. Charles Grant Thomas Faithfull Chittenden, who was a Bank Clerk, died whilst Hugh was a child. Eliza Cummins Wheeler was the sister of Joseph Bourne Wheeler and granddaughter of Joseph Bourne who were proprietors of Denby Pottery which is a worldwide brand today.

Hugh had two brothers, Arthur [pictured, left] and Charles. Hugh was awarded the Military Cross during World War I. Charles Cummins Chittenden was awarded the George Medal. Arthur Grant Bourne Chittenden was killed early on during World War I.

Barbara May Grundy was the daughter of George Beardoe Grundy and Mabel Ord. George Beardoe Grundy was a Professor of Ancient History at Oxford University and wrote many books (which can still be found for sale on various websites today). Mabel Ord, I believe was one of the first (seven?) female JPs in the country (Justice of the Peace).

Hugh, as you say, loved bird watching and in his retirement, he loved to travel with his two daughters. Barbara, in addition to her love for croquet, was apparently a crack shot (hitting the bullseye most of the time), accomplished at woodwork and loved playing (and watching) snooker. She also worked tirelessly for charity, most notably the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).


War Years:

Newlands School was evacuated to Oxfordshire during World War II. During this period the school was located at two locations, Wardington House [above, right] and Thenford House [pictured there with the Home Guard, below right; Hugh F. Chittenden is presumably seated in the 1st row, far right]. Wardington is now a Care Home (http://www.wardington.com/) and Thenford House is currently owned by The Rt Hon. Lord Michael Heseltine.
During this period Hugh was a member of the Home Guard (the local detachment of which I am told was not unlike the Home Guard in the TV series Dad's Army!). There are still photos of the fire evacuation drills of the school during this period, which involved lowering the children, attached by a rope, from the roof of the building to the ground (which I'm sure modern Health & Safety would have something to say about!).

That concludes the information in one message. However, we've also received this additional information in a subsequent message:

Further to my earlier email, I spoke to my mother and she is happy for me to forward you a few photos if you do want to add these to the site. I have attached four (three of my grandparents) and one of Hugh John Robert Chittenden - please can you put his name as John next to this as this was the name he was known by, not Hugh. These are photos of photos, so not perfect as there is a bit of light at the side but hopefully give you something clearer than the newspaper photos you have of them currently.

My mother is definite that she has not heard of a George Mills unfortunately. To clarify my earlier email, there was a Denholm and May Mills (the Doctor in Seaford) with sons Andrew, David and Patrick but she thinks these were unrelated to Aggie Mills. She does however remember (George's sister) Aggie Mills. This does not mean that George Mills was not at Newlands however as it is quite possible she had not come across him.
The following you are welcome to add if you want to but please can you just leave our names out of this for now: I know in your blog you mention you are unsure how the school was passed to Hugh. Before Hugh, there were two proprietors - a Johnny Grant and a one of the Wheelers (i.e. Hugh's mother's side of the family). Hugh's business partner in the School was initially Edward Cooper (David's Godfather) and then when this partnership was dissolved he then when into partnership with Tom Manning (known by everyone as TDM). [Hugh, sporting the moustache, 'TDM', and a gentleman referred to as Dr Elliott are pictured, right.]

Hope this helps. Once I have visited my mother I will see if I can get some copies of any photos related to the school.

So, while Ann has not heard of George Mills, there is still the possibility that he was involved in the school in some way at some time. One thing we know for certain about George is that he must have been less than memorable if one was not close to him.

In fact, George lived for years in retirement at Budleigh Salterton and played on the southern croquet circuit for over a decade and I cannot uncover a single person who knew him who knew he was a published children's book author or a schoolmaster. Vague recollections of a quiet fellow are all anyone seems to have of George Mills, save for his Budleigh physician, Dr. Evans, who demurely assures us only that George was, indeed, "sociable."
There really isn't any reason that Ann, or anyone in the family, might remember George Mills (save that he likely spoke with a lisp), but there is still hope that we may, indeed, find him in a school photograph among the staff members. I'd love to try my hand (and eyesight) at that!

Meanwhile, I have received more photographs, including ones involving Barbara Chittenden's years playing croquet, as well as Ann's recollections regarding the relocation of the Newlands School students to Oxfordshire during the war.

I have used some of the photos here, but there is much more to come, so please check back occasionally. And, once again, many thanks to the Chittenden family for all of their support and assistance.

If you have anthing to add to the conversation, regarding the Chittendens or the Mills, please don't hesitate to let me know, and thanks in advance for your help!

New Images: Hugh, Barbara, and John Chittenden

I am extremely excited to be in receipt of some wonderful images from the archives of the Chittenden family. Sent by a relative of the generation of the family we've examined in association with Newlands School in Seaford, these are marvelous sepia images of characters from our ongoing story.

Above left, we find Hugh Faithfull Chittenden alongside his soon-to-be bride, Barbara May Grundy. We know her here as Barbara Chittenden, croquet contemporary, partner, and nemesis of the Mills siblings, George, Agnes, and Violet, then of Budleigh Salterton.

Above is an image of Hugh Faithfull Chittenden that quite possibly could be of a vintage similar to the Newlands Sports Days (1930s) video discovered on YouTube. He may, in fact be one of the men seemingly in authority captured while not facing the camera.

Next we see Barbara [above] as Mrs. Chittenden, now wife of Hugh, in a lovely portrait. It's quite possible that in that same YouTube video, we catch a fleeting glimpse of Barbara at the 23 second mark. I can't be certain, but there's certainly a resemblance. You can see the woman in question below and decide for yourself!

Finally, we meet [below] the son of Hugh and Barbara, Hugh John Robert Chittenden, a WWII hero who, as we know, was born in Oxfordshire in the summer of 1918 and lost his life on active service with the Military Police of the East Africa Corps in October, 1942. He was known to the family as John.

Thank you more than I can adequately say to the Chittenden family for access to these personal family treasures. The message in which they arrived also added this information regarding the transition of Newlands Schoiol to H. F. Chittenden. here is how it occurred [my emphasis]:

I know in your blog you mention you are unsure how the school was passed to Hugh. Before Hugh, there were two proprietors - a Johnny Grant and a one of the Wheelers (i.e. Hugh's mother's side of the family). Hugh's business partner in the School was initially Edward Cooper (David's Godfather) and then when this partnership was dissolved he then when into partnership with Tom Manning (known by everyone as TDM).

Once more, many thanks, and I look forward to the possibility that this may lead to more information regarding the family, the school, and even our mysterious and elusive George Mills!

New Information: The Chittendens of Seaford and Newlands School

Hello, everyone! I hope the new year finds you healthy and happy! Here, it finds me a bit wiser, thanks to the recent kindness of Richard Ogden, grandson of G. W. D. Chittenden, headmaster of Newlands School in Seaford. Of one thing we are certain: Barbara Chittenden was a dear friend of the Mills family in post-war Budleigh Salterton. Is there, however, more to it than that?

I've included has missive in its entirety for your perusal. It was fascinating, informative, and provides greater depth of background for our research into Seaford, its preparatory schools, and their possible relationship to George Mills.

[Bold-faced font has been added to the text to ease information retrieval.]



I have recently been researching my family’s history and stumbled across your blog. My Grandfather was George William David Chittenden, former Headmaster of Newlands School in Seaford. He preferred to be called David which substantiates your correct assumption that ‘George Chittenden’ and ‘David Chittenden’ are indeed one and the same person.

Newlands is the last remaining preparatory school in Seaford – the girls school, Micklefield (where my mother, Jane, and her two siblings, Philippa and Angela, were educated – Newlands at the time being boys only) having disappeared under a housing development just over a decade ago in much the same fashion as Warren Hill. I have had many rambling conversations with my Grandmother, David’s wife Mavis, who was formerly Matron of the school and who still lives on the grounds. She is always very willing to part with interesting anecdotes about days gone by. She speaks of there being five separate preparatory schools strung along ‘Eastbourne Road’ alone (as you quite rightly asserted, there was a plethora of independent schools in Seaford at one time) all abutting one another. I know that upon the closure of Sutton Place School in 1968, the fourth domino to fall, its grounds were bought by my family and added to the Newlands holdings, becoming Newlands Manor (senior) School. We still have the documentation detailing the purchase of grounds for the original school site (as well as the acquisition of Sutton Place) and as I recall a charming map that illustrates the distribution of housing and schools in the region.



The Chittenden family has been with Newlands from its inception and all of us were saddened to witness its decline over the past two decades that culminated in it going into administration in 2006. It once proudly boasted the epithet ‘Miniature House of Lords’ (Prime Minister Lord Balfour [right], for instance, can be counted among its alumni), something that my Grandfather spoke of with pride. I doubt any of the staff there now would be aware of the school’s quite distinguished history (with, perhaps, the notable exception of Hugh Coplestone, son of the former Headmaster of Sutton Place). This legacy survived in the names of the Boys’ Houses (‘Balfour House’ being one) until very recently, when I believe they were superseded by more modern and generic names such as ‘Dragon House’. My Grandmother, I know, is thankful that my Grandfather at least was spared having to witness the nihilation of the values instilled by successive generations of Chittendens and the fingerprints that they left behind, including the displacement of the family crest on the website (a half Talbot). Given the exigencies of continuing to attract students to the school, perhaps this was deemed a necessary step in ‘rebranding’. Personally, and admittedly with a certain bias, I was surprised that the longevity of the school and its more illustrious past weren’t employed as marketing tools to help attract more students and indeed to encourage alumni to invest in the school’s future. As far as I can tell, the school makes no mention of its famous alumni on its website. Promisingly, the new Head teacher seems to be making some progress improving the fortunes of the school, and when my Grandmother has bumped into her on the grounds, she has remarked approvingly on the strong work ethic and efforts that she has brought to the table to right the floundering Newlands ship.

All of this leads me to the point that could be of interest to you:



Until the late 80’s my Grandfather was the Proprietary Headmaster of the school, becoming school Bursar upon his ‘retirement’. It was in ’86 (I think) that the school acquired Charitable Trust status, my Grandfather ceding financial responsibility for the school. A number of facets were responsible for its subsequent decline – too many to go into here – but when the school went into administration in 2006 my Grandmother (and indeed the whole family) were very concerned that articles belonging to the family (heirlooms and other things such as family photographs, etc) would be unknowingly sold off . To her and to us, the history of the school is synonymous with our family history. The upshot of this is that, contrary to the belief of Newlands’ Registrar, Lisa Sewell, that all records have been ‘lost or destroyed’, much has been preserved by either my Great Aunt (David’s sister, nee Anne Chittenden) or my Grandmother. This body of information and the recollections of both individuals could very well shed some further light on the life of George Mills. Given the close relationship that my Great grandmother Barbara (who died in 1987, the year after I was born) had with the Mills family it would be exciting to find out whether George was ever employed by my great grandfather. In the days when a drink and a cigar were all that was needed to secure employment (and given that they probably shared one or two of both) it doesn’t seem overly implausible. I think my Grandmother would also be very interested in the clips of the sports day events from the late ‘30s and may well be able to definitively identify some of the suit-wearing protagonists on the reel.

To help clarify a few further details:



1. Barbara [right] and Hugh Chittenden did indeed give birth to four children: Joan, Anne, David and Hugh (who died in North Africa in 1942). When my Grandfather died I acquired Hugh’s cufflinks and dress studs – apparently the total extent of his personal effects, untouched since the day he died. Anne is the only surviving sibling and she and I, with the help of my Grandmother, have spent a lot of time collating information on the family’s history.

2. David Chittenden would best be characterized by the bottom left caricature of the snippet sent by Barry McAleenan – He founded the Seaford Seagulls Cricket Club and was chairman of the club until his death in 2001, my father assuming the chairmanship thereafter. An obsessive sportsman he is said to have been a very useful spin bowler (and a big fan of Bradman!)

3. The Warren Hill playing fields pictured elsewhere in your blog in front of Moira House (called the ‘Nuffield’ pitch) were unfortunate enough to have played witness to my paltry cricketing endeavours when I attended Eastbourne College (2000-2005). Refreshingly, the landscape doesn’t appear to have altered much in the past 75 years.

The information that you have gathered made for an extremely compelling read, a lot of it ashamedly being unfamiliar to me. I hope that some of the information above is of use and I apologize that I do not have more information immediately to hand - I’m in London and getting my technophobic older relatives to scan and email me documents is probably a bridge too far! If you are interested in finding out more, I would be more than willing to share any information with you that I can gather over Christmas. Many thanks for the fascinating read.



Many thanks, Richard, for the information, and for the marvelously engaging and colourful way you put it all in context! Your kindness and generosity is very much appreciated, and we'll look forward to hearing of anything you may discover about the school and George Mills. Cheers!

Newlands School Sports Days, 1937–1939

The website Geograph provides us the following information, along with the image above:

"With over 100 schools, Seaford once had one of the largest concentrations of schools in the UK. Today this school, Newlands, is the only independent school left in the town."

The mind reels when considering first, the sheer number of independent schools in Seaford, and second, the greater-than-99% drop in the number of Seaford's independent schools. Of course, woven in there were a couple of World Wars, a Great Depression, some nasty economic recessions, inexorable inflation, a pinch of unemployment, and a smattering of lesser-but-quite-deadly armed conflicts sprinkled about here and there.

My hunch is that it's a bit different today at Newlands School than it was back in that bygone era.

What exactly was it like to be in school at Seaford almost three quarters of a century ago? I'm glad you asked!



Here's a YouTube video posted by "berestede" called 1930s Newlands School, which is accompanied on-line by this note [my emphasis]: "Footage of sports days in 1937, 1938 and 1939 at Newlands School in Seaford East Sussex. The footage was shot by Cecil V Levesley… my grandfather and features my father who was a boy at the school in the late 1930s."

It must also feature Hugh Faithfull Chittenden, and perhaps the unknown E. A. Cooper—perhaps they are the two gentlemen in suits monitoring the firs drill at around the 1:55 mark. We see them again with the scouts at 4:04.

And one wonders about the identity of the gentleman seen at the 5:00 mark, and the quick glance at some gentlemen at 6:18!


Other interesting images, at least for me: Exterior of the school (in the first 0:30); Tending the garden (1:00); Rollerskating (2:23); Running hurdles (4:28); and some Dance & Marching drills (7:00).

Having read the trilogy of preparatory school books of George Mills (which focus to a great degree on sport and outdoor activities), as well as having studied as much as I can about schools like Warren Hill in Eastbourne, I still have only seen still images—archival photographs and illustrations from the books of George Mills. After viewing these films several times, much of what I've been reading has come startlingly to life for me!


This video is an invaluable time capsule, reliving some of the joys (well, they appear for the most part to be joys) of prep school boys of that era—at least those enjoyed out of doors!

Many thanks to "berestede" for posting 1930s Newlands School, and check out his other videos (especially 1940 Fairlight Farm) at: http://www.youtube.com/user/berestede

Capt. & Mrs. H. F. Chittenden of Newlands School, Seaford

We're staying yet another day in Seaford, East Sussex—just as I'm certain that George Mills would have wanted to do himself during summer—to take a look at another Sussex-based connection to Mills.

A connection with Sussex, especially Seaford, is by no means specific to George Mills in and of itself. But stir in a preparatory school and croquet, and the coincidences we always seem to find revolving around Mills start adding up! Let's start our examination at Newlands School in Seaford [pictured above, left, the entrance to the old school building, presumably a gate-keepers or caretakers lodge] and its proprietors, Mr. & Mrs. H. F. Chittenden.

From the Newlands website, here's a brief history of the institution:

The school first started as a tutorial in 1814 at Hatfield House, home of The Marquis of Salisbury.

The Marquis' chaplain was a man called The Reverend Faithful [sic]. He taught the local children... He retired in 1854 and handed the pupils over to Mr. Chittenden, who started it as a school in Hoddeston [sic] in Hertfordshire.

He called this school The Grange, hence the 'Grange' dormitory at Newlands today. He had strong views about education and felt that no lesson should be longer than 20 minutes, as no child could concentrate one hundred per cent for longer - and he demanded one hundred per cent!

The Reverend Faithful was Head until 1893 and was then joined by his nephew, Mr. Wheeler, who eventually brought the school to Seaford in 1903.

At first he rented two houses in Seaford and hired the back playing field from a local farmer. Then he built the school and later bought the front field. His foresight in purchasing land gave the school the opportunity to expand later on when it was needed.


So, we find the roots of the school extending back as far as 1814, but its history in Seaford dates to 1903.

Where exactly the transition in ownership occurs, moving from the tenure of Reverend Faithfull and Mr. Wheeler to someone actually named Chittenden, is difficult to determine, but in the 1930 Sussex Post Office Directory of private residents, the following entry is found: "Chittenden, Capt. Hugh Faithfull, The Mill dene, Sutton Road, Seaford."


Then, in the 1931 telephone directory for Seaford, the following listing for the same Chittenden is included:

Chittenden, H. F. & Cooper, E. A, Newlands . . Seaford 34


Does this entry imply that the school is under the co-ownership of partners, one of which is H. F. Chittenden? Or is this a principal and a Head Master? That 1930 directory mentioned above lists an "Cooper E." living in Eastbourne, but no "E. A."

What we do know is a bit about Hugh Faithfull Chittenden.

He was born on 9 November 1892 in Epsom, Surrey, to Charles Grant Thomas Faithfull Chittenden (1860 – 1905) and Eliza Cummins Wheeler (1859 – 1952). Their son, Hugh, does not appear in the UK census in either the 1901 or 1911.

The year of the senior Chittenden's death—1905—drew my notice. Having married a Wheeler, presumably the daughter of Reverend Faithful's partner, Mr. Wheeler, and with Hugh and his father having been named after the Reverend, these families seem to be inextricably tied to the school and each other.

That seems to have been made more apparent when one reads the probate of Charles Chittenden:

CHITTENDEN Charles Thomas Grant Faithfull of 33 Hatfield-road St. Albans Hertfordshire died 17 May 1905 at Little Grange Broxbourne Hertfordshire Probate London 18 July to William Albert Wheeler, school-proprietor Effects £5226 3s. 6d. Resworn £5526 3s. 6d.

Having left behind at the very least a 44-year-old widow and a 12-year-old son, Hugh, Charles Chittenden opted to bequeath his legacy to the proprietor of the school!

Charles died at the location of the original school, Little Grange in Boxbourne, Herts, where two of his sisters still lived, although the school itself had gone by 1905. (By the way, earlier census records show that this 'Little Grange' was, indeed, the location of the Grange Preparatory School.)

It's strange, though, that during the 1901 UK census, the Chittendens—Charles and Eliza—lived in a boarding house owned by Sarah and Susie Searle in Sidmouth, Devon, along with Arthur G. F. Chittenden, 38 and "living on means," and Evelyn R. Wheeler, 35, with no occupation listed, presumably a relative.

The occupation of Charles on that 1901 census form is recorded as "banker's clerk," not schoolmaster, not even remotely related to the field of education, and they are clearly not living near Herts or Seaford. So much for the notion that this family was very close, and that their lives revolved entirely around the school, making the peculiar probate above far more difficult to understand than it started out! The fact that H. F. Chittenden would become Head of Newlands was apparently not always carved in stone.

None of the couple's children is listed as boarding there with them in 1901, and by 1911, Eliza is living in the Greenwich district of London, according to the census from that year.

In fact, the first record we find of their son, H. F. Chittenden, is in an issue of the London Gazette dated 19 November 1915, in which "Hugh F. Chittenden" is listed as an entry in a section headed by the term "The Royal Sussex Regiment." It reads: "The undermentioned Second Lieutenants to be temporary Lieutenants. Dated 27th September, 1915."

We can see from his WWI medal index card [pictured, left, front and back] that he transferred to the Royal Engineers, and that his service under the Colours was meritorious. Still, it is difficult to find much mention at all of our H. F. Chittenden, let alone information about his boyhood or education.

And here's a mention in the text Fifty-five years at Oxford: An Unconventional Autobiography (Methuen, 1946) written by George Beardoe Grundy, Hugh's father-in-law:

"Of my two children my son Major Grundy, East African Engineers, has lived in Africa since the close of the last war, and my daughter Barbara married Hugh Chittenden of Seaford, Sussex. In the case of both of them a light-hearted youth has been succeeded by a middle age of hard and successful work. ——G. B. Grundy"


Hugh F. Chittenden's hardworking wife, Barbara May Grundy, was born 2 April 1896 in Epsom, Surrey. They were married in Oxford in the spring of 1917, and the success to which Grundy refers must involve Newlands.

They had a son, Sgt. H. J. R. Chittenden, who was born in Oxfordshire in the summer of 1918, and died on active service with the Military Police of the East Africa Corps in October, 1942.

Their son's 1943 probate reads: "Hugh John Robert Chittenden, of Newlands School, Seaford, Sussex, died 30th October 1942, on War Service. Administration Lewes, 25th October, to Hugh Faithful Chittenden, School Proprietor. Effects Five Hundred and Sixty Four Pounds, Eighteen Shillings and Eightpence."


In early 1932, the couple may have had a daughter, Anne Chittenden, in Marylebone, London.

At first I found no indication that they may have had a child bearing the Christian first name of David, except that in the Newlands website's "History of the School" we find:

Many years ago an exclusive interview was conducted with the late Mr David Chittenden, ex headmaster and direct descendant of the man who started Newlands, some insight was gained into what life was like at Newlands before and after the war:

'Things were very strict then. The swing door by Matron's surgery led into my Parents' private area where no one was allowed, not even me during term time! I had to call my Father, "Sir", and my Mother, "Mrs. Chittenden." However, I liked the life. It was different and a lot tougher than today. Every morning we had cold showers, Winter and Summer and until 1950 boxing was compulsory for all pupils whether they liked it or not!'


Checking the 1946 phone records, the following record appears:

Chittenden, H. F, Newlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 2334


Despite the lack of a record of a David Chittenden having been born to a mother with a surname of Grundy, the above anecdote indicates that H. F. and Barbara Chittenden were, indeed, David's parents.

H. F. Chittenden is listed at the Newlands phone until well into the 1960s, after which the listing becomes:

Chittenden, H. F, Rostrevor, Claremont Rd . . . . . . . . . Seaford 4130


Just above that 1969 listing, however, is this one:

Chittenden G. W. D, Newlands School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 2334


Assuming the "D" stands for David, we've found our man: George W. D. Chittenden, born in Eastbourne in March of 1926!

And, unfortunately, we learn even more about David Chittenden [left] in this obituary from the Eastbourne Herald of Friday, 25 May 2001:

Newlands mourns death of Founder

It was with profound sadness and loss staff and pupils heard of the untimely death of David Chittenden on Easter Saturday. There was nobody who cared more passionately about Newlands - past, present and future, than David and his life was intrinsically interwoven with the school. Five generations of the Chittenden family were proprietary headmasters of what was then Newlands Preparatory School, for boys only. David attended the school as a pupil when his beloved father was headmaster. With no secondary schooling available at Newlands then, David went to Eastbourne College before returning to Newlands as a teacher and then as headmaster in succession to his father. This role he carried out in his own inimitable manner... A tribute to David Chittenden from headmaster Oliver Price appears in tomorrow’s Seaford Gazette. A memorial service will be held in St Leonard’s Church on June 25 at 11.30 am.


Education was the career of, as it says, five generations of Chittendens, and that be true (although I can't entirely discern its veracity). However, a hobby comprises this last bit of Chittenden-related trivia: It appears that H. F., an inveterate bird watcher, was ornithologically notable for having made and documented a certain discovery in his garden.

In the 1929 journal British Birds, Volume 22, we find the following: "Mr. HF Chittenden informs us that at Seaford, Sussex, on December 18th, 1927, Lapwings in large flocks were observed heading straight out to sea southwards. The weather was very cold with a strong east wind."


In the 1931's Proceedings of the International Ornithological Congress (Vol. 8), there is an article on page 85 by E. B. Poulton and H. F. Chittenden dated Oct. 15, 1930 entitled, 'The Hedge-sparrow feeding a young Cuckoo on Pieris rapae, L.'

Chittenden's contribution to the above article is described in the Journal of entomology: General entomology, Volumes 5-6, published by the Royal Entomological Society of London, 1930. It reads:

"Poulton exhibited two photographs kindly sent to him by Mr. HF Chittenden, who had taken them, on 29 June, 1930, in his garden at Newlands, Seaford, Sussex. The first showed the fosterer approaching with the white butterfly very clearly seen in its beak, while in the second the food was being transferred. Both photographs showed the Cuckoo sitting on the flat top of a tree-stump. that the Pierine was undoubtedly P. rapae and not brassicae. He did not see the insect caught, but observed that the whole butterfly, wings and all, was swallowed by the young Cuckoo. In answer to the objection that the Hedge-sparrow might be offering to the Cuckoo food which it would have itself rejected, he referred to the known examples of maternal instinct in which the parent bird devoured the faeces of its young."


His observations would soon be sought and held in high regard. In A History of Sussex Birds: American Blue-winged Teal to Red-legged Partridge (H. F. & G. Witherby Ltd., 1938) by John Walpole-Bond and Philip Rickman, for example, the authors note:

"Haematopus has been found more than a few hundred yards from the Channel, and all such relate to single specimens frequenting the banks of estuary and inlet — with one exception, which bears on two birds seen by Major HV Christie in a field adjoining the western Rother at Stopham, quite eleven miles from the coast, on May 5th 1936, though during mid-August, 1937, Captain H. F. Chittenden met with a couple at Littlington about a league from the coast in the vale of Cuckmere. In other words, with us the "Olive " is practically a confirmed shore-lover, where it affects not only the mud-flats and shingle, but also the rocks beneath the cliffs at low tides; and the western half of the coast (especially the southwest corner) is vastly preferred to the eastern. It seldom fraternizes with other species, though on several occasions I have seen it with common curlews."

So, why is an amateur ornithologist, one-time captain in the Royal Engineers, and headmaster of a preparatory school in Seaford, Sussex germane to our ongoing discussion of George Mills?

Besides the usual, multiple, very coincidental relationships—lived in Sussex (Seaford), ran a preparatory school, was an officer in the Royal Engineers (the corps in which George's Uncle Dudley A. Mills was a well-known officer)—it's H. F.'s wife, Barbara, providing the best link!

Barbara Chittenden was a croquet partner and rival of George and his sisters, Agnes and Violet Mills, during the post-War era. Barbara played from 1952 through 1978. She went 10-10 against Agnes Mills in 20 head-to-head matches over the years according to the database at the Croquet Association, and they played both with and against each other countless times in doubles.

Strangely, Chittenden only played Violet Mills once, on 20 June 1962 at Eastbourne, in the first round of the Open Singles (Draw). She also played with and against George, but the database has no records of those matches.

Barbara Chittenden's career croquet record and other sortable data can be perused by clicking HERE.


Incidentally, croquet also leads us to the discovery of another child of the Chittendens, based on this excerpt from a 2008 story, "From the bibliographer's casebook: A ripping yarn with a happy ending " by David Drazin, found at Croquet World Online. Regarding books of rare croquet drawings done by artist Horace Francis Crowther-Smith [one of which is seen, right, a 1912 image of famous former champion Lily Gower], the author writes [my emphasis]:

These were the books of 1911 and 1912 that were donated to the Association by Margaret Payton on behalf of Barbara and Joan Chittenden, mother and daughter, past members of Compton Croquet Club, Eastbourne.

The article continues:

Roger Wood of Compton told me the circumstances in which Margaret Payton first brought the Chittenden gift to the notice of the club. In the early years of the last century Barbara Chittenden was very close to Nora, widow of the Rev George Frederick Handel Elvey, a past Croquet Association chairman. She may well have received Crowther's work from the Elveys. But how they got into the Rev Elvey's hands in the first place remains a mystery.


Of Chittenden's relationship with other players, the 1957 Devonshire Park photograph with which we've been so obsessed here tells the tale.

In the center of the front row, her face raised to the camera, we see Barbara in a white dress. Seated to her left is her dear friend Nora Elvey, mentioned above. To her right, wearing a dark suit, we see Agnes Mills, sister of George.

And for those of you who've been following the last few entries here, next to Mrs. Elvey, to her left, we see Aimee Reckitt, wife of Maurice. And to Agnes's right (our left), we see Lily Gower from above, or Mrs. R. C. J. Beaton as she was known in 1957!

Am I wrong in assuming these smiling women were all, as it seems, very close? Or is the fact that these nodding acquaintances all just by chance happened to end up next to each other in the front row of a group photograph simply another in a string of astonishing coincidences that revolve around the Mills family?

Anyway, we can chalk up yet another possible coincidence to the list above: Croquet.

We don't find H. F. Chittenden himself among the players populating the lawns from Budleigh to Compton. While Barbara played, he presumably was out birding, at least until he passed away in the spring of 1975.

It would not surprise me in the least to find that George Mills at some point had been employed by Hugh as a schoolmaster at Newlands School. But we cannot know for sure, even though Newlands [below, right] is still operating today.

From Lisa Sewell of Newlands, I received this message regarding the possibility of George's past employment:

Unfortunately Newlands went briefly in to administration in 2006, [and] at this time all records were lost or destroyed so I have very little information on anything prior to this date.

Barbara May Chittenden left us on 11 December 1987 in Lewes, Sussex, at the age of 91, many years after the passing of the Mills siblings.

Did George Mills teach at Newlands? We may never know...

Looking at Mr. E. A. Roper and Ladycross School

As we wrap things up here at Who Is George Mills? let's take another quick look at one of our favorite coincidences regarding the life of George Mills: His association with Seaford, East Sussex.

Is it odd that we've never stumbled upon any sort of relationship between Mills and, say, Leighton Buzzard, Great Yarmouth, or Newscastle Emlyn at all, but other places do seem to crop up a great deal, while Seaford has?

Today we'll look at a croquet-related connection between George Mills and Seaford.

As we know from the indomitable Barry McAleenan, the 1957 Devonshire Park photograph that has been of such great interest to us here bears the likeness of Mr. E. A. "Tony" Roper, one time headmaster of Ladycross Catholic Boys' Preparatory School [above, left] in Seaford. We have also speculated that it may have been an acquaintance—or even friendship—kindled on the croquet lawns of southern England that led to Mills teaching at Ladycross for at least the summer term of 1956.

Was Mills simply there in a manner akin to Mr. Aloysius Quole ("Well, should you wish for some light reading, I can commend an excellent pamphlet on the life of the cheese-maggot"), the elderly replacement for fictitious schoolmaster Mr. Lloyd in the 1938 novel King Willow by Mills? Is it possible that Mills actually taught there longer, or at a previous time, a few years before? We don't know, but we do know a bit more about Mr. Roper.

Esme Antony Filomeno Roper was born in Christchurch, Hampshire, on 5 June 1895. The easiest information to glean regarding Roper is his service in the First World War as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 9th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment. Roper's address was listed in 1916 as "Ladycross, Seaford, Sussex," and his father named: A. F. Roper. This at the outset would indicate that Ladycross School was a longtime family-owned institution.

The London Gazette dated 16 October 1914 lists Esme Antony Roper in a section indicating, "The undermentioned to be Temporary Second Lieutenants. Dated 13 October 1914."

Roper's medal card indicates that he earned a "Badge" on 9 October 1916, and adds: "Refusal List/25." An additional entry reads: "2nd application through A. F. Roper (father) 22 – 4 – 17." The final entry on the card notes: "Further application 29th – 9 – 17 A. List 336."

I have been unable to discover what the "Refusal List" might have been.



Roper's father appears to have actually resided at Ladycross for a number of years after the war while Tony took up quarters elsewhere (with his bride, as we shall find). For example, the 1933 telephone directory that encompassed Seaford shows the following separate entries:


Roper, Alfred F, Ladycross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 52

Roper, E. Antony, M.A., Cross Keys . . . . . . . . . . Seaford 89


This indicates that the younger Roper had earned a Master's Degree. Checking the 1956 Oxford University Calendar, we find an entry that reads: "Roper, Esme Antony Filomeno 1931." The 1957 yearbook includes the notation: "Oriel 1917," indicating that Roper had returned from the war and had matriculated in 1917.

Sir Francis Cowley Burnand's The Catholic Who's Who and Yearbook: Volume 35 contains the following entry: "ROPER, Esme Antony, MA. (Oxon.); Headmaster of Ladycross; yr.j. of AF Roper, MA. (d. 1935), founder of Ladycross 1894, and Isabel May, nee Hoffman: m. 1929, Dorothy Marie Gladys, yr.d. of late Alfred Ames, formerly of Ceylon; Educ: Downside; Oriel Coll., Oxford (1st cl. Classical Hons); served W. War 1 as 2/Lt. E. Lanes Regt.; Publ.: Ladycross Motets. Address: Ladycross, Seaford, Sussex."

The Downside Review (Volumes 35-36) in 1916 contains the following entry in a list of soldiers: "Roper, Esme Antony F., April 1910-July 1914, 2nd Lieut., 9th East Lancashire Regiment."

So Roper [right] was an "Old Gregorian" from Downside School, a Catholic independent school located in Stratton-on-the-Fosse, Somerset, as well as having taken degrees at Oxford.

In addition, we see reference above to a publication entitled Ladycross Motets (Cary & Co, 1947), which is listed thusly at amazon.co.uk:

Ladycross Motets for general use four Voices (and Organ). Book 1, etc by E. Anthony [sic] Roper (Unknown Binding - 1947)

The music is still available through Banks Music Publications.

Once again, we easily can see no less than six very commonly occurring "coincidental" links to George Mills: Attendance at Oxford, a connection to Sussex (often Seaford), an interest in the performing arts (especially music), a boys' preparatory school, croquet, and a devotion to Catholicism.

In regard to the Devonshire Park image mentioned above, Barry Mc indicated to us that: "E.A. 'Tony' Roper was the former (till 1954) headmaster of Ladycross."

Retiring in 1954, Roper most likely still had influence at the school that his family had founded and run for exactly 60 years, even after he had indicated a preference for spending his time upon England's croquet lawns. If Ladycross had needed a teacher in 1956 and Mills was an acquaintance, George's appearance at Ladycross having been a result of some connection between the men seems probable.

We know Mills played from at least 1957 (although there are no complete records for him in the database at the Croquet Association) through the very last game of croquet I can find George playing on 26 June 1970. As far as we know, Mills never played Roper, but the latter played George's sisters on three occasions, having beaten Agnes Mills once, while having been defeated by Violet Mills twice.

[For a compilation Roper's croquet record and other information, click HERE.]

To where exactly did Roper retire? On 8 April 1960, the R.M.M.V. Winchester Castle, of the Union-Castle Mail S.S. Co. Ltd., steamed into Southampton from Durban, South Africa, bearing the passengers Esme Antony Roper, retired, and Dorothy Marie Roper, housewife, born 19 November 1888. The couple's address is listed as "Ladymead, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex."

Roper passed away in Surrey early in 1979 at the age of 83. Ladycross School already had closed in 1977 and was demolished.


For more about Ladycross, visit: http://www.ehgp.com/ladycross/


Next time, we'll cross Seaford and visit another local, longtime, family educational institution there, Newlands School. Stay tuned…