Those who have sadly left us

Sheila Batterbury (nee Watson), 1932-2021

Sheila attended Blackheath High School between 1945 and 1956. After leaving school, Sheila went on to live a life full of creativity, surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. She was a skilled plants woman and opened her garden many times for charities for the Yellow Book Gardens Scheme. She also held art exhibitions of her watercolours of notable buildings of Bath, Blackheath and Greenwich. In her early career she was a teacher of Home Economics and moved into cookery journalism in London for Woman's Home, Woman's Journal and Good Housekeeping. She published several cookery books under the pseudonym Susan Graham. While raising her children, she taught needlework at St Olaves Junior School in New Eltham and later helped a friend set up a catering business in London. She used to bake lavish cakes for BHS school raffles (when I was at school at BHS myself). She is remembered for her fun youthful exuberance, enormous zest for life and always welcoming friends to her home and parties.

Thank you to her daughter Susan – who is also an alumna of Blackheath High School – for this wonderful tribute to your mother.

Anne Elizabeth Frank (nee Marr), 1939-2023

After a long illness, my Mum, Anne Elizabeth Frank (nee Marr) recently died and left instructions for the school to be notified. She attended Blackheath High Junior School after the war and then won a scholarship to the Senior School. She always talked fondly of her time at the school. It was at Blackheath High that her talent for languages was really encouraged, and after passing A-levels in Latin, Greek and History in 1956, she won a place at Girton College, Cambridge University. Quite a thing back then for a young woman from a south London state school to go to Cambridge.

After University she moved to Sussex and later became an English teacher and librarian for many years at Worthing 6th Form College.   

Thank you to her son Jim Frank for informing us of her passing.

Angela Patterson - passed away August 2022

Angela was at the school from 1975 to 1982. and was Head Girl in her final year. She was involved with various sports teams and with the science society BAYS. After school she graduated from Sunderland Polytechnic with a degree in Chemistry and Physiology and became a Chemistry Teacher – working at Woldingham School for Girls, the GDST Nottingham High School for Girls and then Leicester Grammar School. She kept in touch with many of her friends from school and there was a good contingent at her funeral after she sadly passed away in August last year from cancer, aged just 58. She was sadly widowed just 5 years after her wedding to Jeff, and leaves a 17-year old son, Thomas, who now lives with Angela’s sister Sue in Barnehurst.

Thank you to her sister Sue - who is also an alumna of Blackheath High School - for informing us of her passing.

It is with great regret that we report the deaths of

Heather Jones (née Collins) - passed away March 2021
Class of 1953

Betty Bush (née Preece) - passed away June 2021
Class of 1953

Doreen Dickson - passed away May 2021
Class of 1950

Jennifer Miskin - passed away March 2023
Class of 1953

Thank you to Barbara Moyce for informing us of their passing.