War Evacuee's Grave To Be Dedicated In 2004
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War Evacuee's Grave To Be Dedicated In 2004 |
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Sixty four years after being killed during an Air Raid in World War II, an eleven year old evacuee who attended Raine's Foundation School of Tower Hamlets when it was accommodated within Strode's School, Egham, Surrey, will finally have a headstone placed above his burial site that is an unmarked grave. A campaign to raise funds was initiated by Jean Slattery of the Evacuees Reunion Association and numerous personal donations were received from members of the Old Strodians' Association, the Old Raineians' Association and the Evacuees Reunion Association itself, which has made this possible.
The distinctive emblem, a tied-on luggage label, of the Evacuees Reunion Association. In 1939, Kenneth James Carter was living with his widowed mother at 4 Woodland Way, Brighton, and attended the Withdean Hall Preparatory School for Boys. Kenneth celebrated his eleventh birthday on 13 March 1940, which preceded the Dunkirk Evacuation when civilians were being evacuated from the Channel coastline. For Kenneth's secondary education his mother registered him on the 19th June, 1940 with Raine's Foundation School, which had in fact evacuated to Brighton from Stepney. The school then disbursed some 100 of its Junior (2nd and 3rd form) pupils to Egham, Surrey, which is where Kenneth was sent. Egham was considered a 'safe area'. Kenneth and another Raine's evacuee schoolboy, George Button aged 12 from Hornchurch, Essex, were billeted with Mr and Mrs Arkell who owned the old established local firm of Drapers. The Arkells also had two children of their own, Barbara, aged 15, and Tony, a boy of 13. Egham was inundated with evacuees at that time, overwhelming the education authorities in their efforts to provide sufficient school accommodation. Fortunately, Strode's School made space available for Raine's Foundation which is where both boys attended in the Autumn term. On the night of 15th November, 1940 a bomb
fell on to the pavement outside Arkell's the Drapers. Barbara
Arkell, Kenneth Carter and George Button were sheltering in the
cellar directly beneath. All three children were killed, but
Tony Arkell who was in the back basement cellar, survived.
Arkell's the Drapers in Egham after it was bombed on the night of 15th November, 1940. Three people were killed in the cellar directly beneath where the bomb fell Kenneth Carter, George Button and Barbara Arkell George Button was probably 'taken home' by his grieving family and buried locally in Essex. Barbara Arkell was buried in Englefield Green Cemetery. Mrs Carter laid her son Kenneth to rest in Englefield Green Cemetery (Plot 10, Grave 403) where his grave remains today, unmarked and covered in grass. Kenneth's mother, who had been widowed shortly after Kenneth was born, probably could not afford his return to Brighton nor for his burial site to be recognised. Jean Slattery was a 7 year old evacuee billeted in Egham at the time of these events and she has never forgotten the dreadful effects of war. "There must be other people who feel like me that Kenneth's grave should be properly marked."
Six year old Jean Slattery just prior to evacuation to Egham. She remembers the bombing in Egham and sought donations to fund a headstone for the burial plot of Kenneth Carter to be dedicated with a headstone. Jean, who is a Member of The Evacuees Reunion Association, brought together representatives of Strode's College, Raine's Foundation School, the Old Strodian's Association and the Old Raineians' Association to raise funds to acquire a headstone for Kenneth Carter. She also contacted Tony Arkell who survived the bombing. "When the incident happened in Egham, it made a lasting impression on me that I have never forgotten," said Jean. "I wanted to do something about having Kenneth's grave properly remembered and dedicated." At Jean's instigation, a fund was set up and administered by The Evacuees Reunion and sufficient funds have now been raised to purchase a suitable memorial headstone for Kenneth Carter. The headstone will have the following inscription: "Innocent victim of war Brighton evacuee". A dedication service has been arranged for
1.30 pm on Thursday 6th May, 2004 at Englefield Green Cemetery,
Egham to which local dignitaries from the relevant areas have
been invited.
Strode's College in Egham. The college will host a reception after the dedication for all former students and evacuees from Strode's, Raine's Foundation, Sloane, Holy Trinity C.E. and St. Bernard's R.C. School. The headstone dedication service will be attended by former students of Strode's, as well as evacuees who attended Raine's Foundation School and Sloane School, Chelsea as both London schools were accommodated by Strode's. Other former evacuees billeted in the area who hope to attend were from St Bernard's R.C. School (now defunct) of Bethnal Green and Holy Trinity C.E. School in Chelsea. Refreshments will be served at 2.30 pm in Coopers' Hall at Strode's College and are being provided by The Evacuees Reunion Association. Strode's College will be celebrating its 300 years anniversary in 2004. Further Information: The Evacuees Reunion Association (www.evacuees.org.uk) is a non-profitmaking Registered Charity Association (No. 1073507) and has its origin in the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 1995 when a few evacuees, wearing what has become their distinctive emblem - a tied-on luggage label - took part in the great parade in London. Patrons include The former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, Michael Aspel, OBE, Robert Crawford, the Director General of the Imperial War Museum, Jack Rosenthal, the playwright, and Henry Sandon of the BBC Antiques Road Show. Further details are available from: Evacuees Reunion Association, The Mill Business Centre, Mill Hill, Gringley-on-the-Hill, Notts, DN10 4RA (Email: era@evacuees.org.uk; Telephone: 01777-816-166). Jean Slattery may be contacted for further quotations at: 10 Cloverdale Gardens, Sidcup, Kent DA15 8QL (Email: slattery@scramble.demon.co.uk; Telephone: 020 8850 9942). Further information about Strode's College can be found at www.strodes.ac.uk (Email: info@strodes.ac.uk; Telephone: 01784 437506; Fax: 01784 471794). Kenneth James Carter website: www.DavidASpencer.com/kennethcarter.html |
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Further information about Raine's Foundation School today can be found at: www.rainesfoundation.org.uk
Further information about The Old Raineians' Association can be found at: www.oldraineians.com
Further information about individual Old Raineians, including their memories of the school and their teachers, a message board, a list of famous pupils and some school photographs, can be found at: www.friendsreunited.co.uk
