Dymchurch holiday camp

In the early 50s people from Stoke Heath, juniors I presume, went via train to a holiday camp near Dymchurch in Kent. We went for a week, stayed in dormitory like accommodation, presumably ex-military. Must have gone on for a few years, as my brother (3 years older than me) went, think that my sister may have gone twice. Remember having a midnight feast at about 7 o'clock. The little railway was there, also remember Dungeness Lighthouse, very scary that, lots of small steps and very high. Must have been cheap or maybe even free, not sure how parents would have afforded it. Lots of us went, may well have been everybody, not sure. Anyone else from Stoke Heath or other school got any memory of this?

Yes, made a similar trip from Broadway school - maybe twice. Can't remember if the journey was by train or coach. So long ago I only have vague recollections along similar lines to Slash1 - the RH&D railway and the bleakness of Dungeness. Must have been before the nuclear power station was built.

I too have memories of holidaying in Dymchurch, not as a school outing but with my parents in the early to mid 60s. The camp site we stayed at was owned (and still is) by Pipers and was situated about half a mile from the village, although I do recall another site situated on the Hythe road nearer to the beach. Both were very basic and could well have been military bases previously. The journey down to Romney Marshes took forever by car, somehow my parents always got lost in and around London. My father missed a particular exit on the M1 once and proceeded to do a U-turn across the central reservation (before barriers were erected). I kid you not!

I was at Stoke Heath Primary in the fifties and visited Dymchurch for a week. It was called St. Mary's holiday camp. Other schools were there from various parts of the country. We played a cricket match against a school from Accrington in Lancashire, they took their cricket seriously and we were well beaten. It was a cracking holiday with visits to Dungeness Lighthouse, Dover Castle, Folkestone and travelling on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch railway (15 inch gauge). As you know slash1, I was in the same class as your elder brother at Stoke Heath and we were both on the Dymchurch school trip and you also know we were both at the Coventry Technical School, then Woodlands, followed by long careers in the Royal Navy and served for 3 years together on the Polaris submarine HMS Resolution between 1976 and 1979.

Good to hear from you Ken. Glad to know that you remember this place. Have placed this info on several sites and seemed to have difficulty finding anyone else that remembered the place. Was speaking to Tony (Sam) yesterday and he remembers it well, as does our Ann. Apparently Sam refused to go to Canterbury Cathedral, not sure why he would do that at age about 9 or 10. There is a facebook page for Stoke Heath school, may have told you that before.