Happy days at school
John Snellgrove left school at 14 and became an apprentice to a printer, the Modern Press in Church Street, Tovil.
He did two years of National Service in the RAF at West Malling, before returning to complete his apprenticeship.
He then became a nurse with the NHS for the next 28 years until retirement in 1991. He married another nurse – Rosemary Avery – in 1969 and the couple had two children, Vanessa and Adam. He now passes his time with his twin hobbies of birdwatching and wood-turning.
He said: “I always looked forward to going to school.
“Miss Rootes was the teacher whose class everyone wanted to get into. She was lovely and so softly spoken.”
Mr Snellgrove lived in Hardy Street with his parents William (called Jack) and Dorothy (called Doll).
He said: “During the holidays, I used to knock about with Tony Bolton and Peter Woods. We would go scrumping, or into the woods near Penenden Heath looking for birds’ eggs.”