Edgar A. Clarke-Smith (1935)

Post date: Mar 03, 2018 8:15:41 PM

In the Church vestry is held a scrap book with newspaper cuttings marked "in Memory of Edgar Clarke-Smith". Some cuttings have a date handwritten beside them. Many are probably from the South Eastern Gazette. The following is marked as from 5.2.35

WATERINGBURY HEAD-MASTER RETIRES

PARTING GIFTS TO MR. E. A.CLARKE-SMITH

On Friday last Mr. E. A. Clarke-Smith brought to a close his long career as Head-master of Wateringbury Village Schools.

He has held that position for 38 ¹/₂ years and now goes into retirement. But he has built a house close to the school where he will continue to reside.

The Vicar of Wateringbury (the Rev. G. Griffiths), with Mrs Sydney Smythe and Miss Bingham-Stevens, representing the Managers, attended the school on Friday and presented Mr. Clarke-Smith with a wallet and a cheque to which 170 residents of the parish had subscribed.

The staff and pupils of the Girls and Infants Schools presented the retiring headmaster with a hall seat; and the Boys School gave him a study chair.

The boys also presented Mrs. Clarke-Smith with a case of eau de Cologne and a silk handkerchief.

Mr. Clarke-Smith was appointed Headmaster at Wateringbury in 1896 from St. John's C.E. Schools , Gosport, and before that he held his first appointment at the District National School, Faversham, his native town.

Before the ceremony on Friday a short service was held in the Church for which the boys chose their own hymns, which were accompanied on the organ by Mr. Clark-Smith who was organist at Wateringbury for 27 years. The Vicar gave the address.

Amongst the contributors to the gift from the parish was Canon G.M. Livett, formerly Vicar of Wateringbury and now of Canterbury.

It is interesting to recall that 31 years ago Mr. Clarke-Smith started a drum and fife band at Wateringbury School, and that each morning and afternoon ever since the boys have always marched into school headed by their band.

For 26 years Mr. Clarke-Smith was Scoutmaster of the Wateringbury Troop, and for some eight or nine years he was Hon. Secretary of the Maidstone Boy Scouts Association. Ever since the outbreak of the War in 1914 he always had a Boy Scout in uniform on duty at the school.

His successor as Headmaster at wateringbury is Mr. A. Aldridge, from Aylesbury, Bucks.