On Saturday (7 March) we held an inaugural WHS Archive Day – very aptly falling just before both International Women’s Day and National School Archive Day. It was a wonderful chance to gather such a knowledgeable group of alumnae and staff and look at some of our archive photo collection, and as we did so, reflect on the lives of so many women shown in them.
It was a exuberant occasion, with many anecdotes and personal memories shared. And a great turn-out, with representation spanning from the 1950’s to the 2020’s,which meant we were able to label and categorise photographs and memorabilia from each decade of school life. The aim of the event was to identify and date photographs which can then be added to our online digital archive.
Particularly striking was the presence of so many of those with multi-generational WHS connections – we share some of their stories here:
Keeping it in the family:
Dudley Buchanan (née Cocke – Class of 1964) entered WHS aged 5, left aged 18 and later returned as a Governor. She was delighted to find a photo of her mother, Jessie ( née Ferguson), who joined the Kindergarten in 1922 and is pictured in her class photo in 1934.
Dudley’s sister and niece also attended Wimbledon High.
The Shinn Triplets
It was wonderful to see three members of the ‘Shinn dynasty’ – Emma, Carole and Elly – descendents of the legendary Shinn triplets – Dorothy, Christine and Florence (shown here – from left to right) who were at Wimbledon High until 1955. Emma Burton (Class of 1984) is the daughter of Christine who ran the WHSU for many years. All three cousins came to Wimbledon High.
Sarah-Jane Kelland (née Hunt – Class of 1984) spotted herself in the 1974 whole school photo, taken just a year after starting at Wimbledon High aged seven. Sarah – Jane’s sister Susannah Tow (Class of 1986) was also at Wimbledon High and their niece is now at Wimbledon High Junior School and carrying on the family tradition.
Here are a selection of STEM- related photos we found, which we wanted to share as part of Science Week 2026:
