When Jean Liechti’s grandson Charlie began asking questions about family history and where she went to school, it sparked a journey into the past that brought long-forgotten memories back to life. Among the treasures unearthed was a school report from 1943 or 1944, signed by Rev Mother Marie Madeleine Jary, the first Headmistress of the senior school at Notre Dame. Jean would have been around six or seven at the time and is proud to report that her progress was noted as ‘satisfactory’ and her conduct ‘good’!
Jean, who was born in London in 1937, arrived at Notre Dame Covent School in September 1940 to escape the Blitz. By then, Burwood House had been requisitioned for military use, so the Sisters and pupils had relocated to Beechmead – a grand private house with extensive grounds in Cobham.
Her memories of those early years are faint, but vivid moments remain. She recalls sleeping in bunk beds in the cellar, descending steep stone steps each night, and attending chapel daily. And she didn’t quite escape the Luftwaffe – a bomb dropped on the house opposite Beechmead, shattering windows but miraculously leaving everyone unharmed. “It was a lucky escape,” Jean reflects.
Jean returned to her family when the war ended in 1945. In adult life, she worked as a secretary and fashion consultant before marrying her husband, Raymond. His work as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor took them abroad and she spent three years in Australia, where her two sons were born, and three years in Malta before returning to the UK. Raymond sadly passed away in 2004, since when Jean has lived quietly on the South Coast enjoying her retirement.
Now aged 88 and a grandmother of four, she is delighted that Charlie’s interest in family history has brought her back into contact with Notre Dame: “I’ve really enjoyed revisiting all those memories of Beechmead,” she reflects, adding “despite the War, it was a very happy time in my life.”
