Many of our favourite treasures in the College Archive are items donated by Old Ardinians themselves. These items – that have been safely kept and treasured over many years and sometimes many decades – give a wonderful insight into what individual OAs felt was most significant from their school days. One such collection was recently donated to the Archive by the family of Denys Doxat-Pratt (pupil 1941-49). It contains photographs, drama & music programmes, sport fixtures and more from 1930s & 1940s Ardingly. The Doxat-Pratts experienced pre-war, war-time and post-war Ardingly, with Denys’s brother and cousin also attending the College. We’ve pulled out a few items from the donation to share:
a 1938 letter from the Headmaster, E.C. Crosse, reassuring parents that the school was safe and outlining the school’s plans if war broke out;
a hand-drawn poster for a talk on chairs for the Sussex Society (the Architectural Society set up by Headmaster George Snow in 1947);
a timetable beautifully and painstakingly filled in by hand (spot the little flautist!).
This is a wonderfully broad collection, encompassing so many areas of school life. If you have any school documents they’d like to donate to the archive, please get in touch on archive@ardingly.com.
