Miss Phyllis Elliot, the West Heath headmistress who made the bold decision to move the school from Ham Common to Sevenoaks in the 1930s, sadly drowned in a swimming pool accident in 1967, two years after her retirement.

Miss Elliott joined the staff in 1928 and was appointed principal the following year.

Although her accident has been previously mentioned by a few old girls, some of the details surrounding the tragedy are still unclear and require confirmation.

One story that circulated was that Miss Elliott had a fear of water, and this caused her to have reservations about there being a swimming pool in the grounds of West Heath.

Another point of uncertainty is where the accident happened. Some believe it was while she was staying at Claydon House in Buckinghamshire. She was a friend of the Verneys, who owned the estate, and this enabled West Heath to be relocated there during the second world war – see full story by CLICKING HERE.

Gail Lynch (nee Malcolm) was a pupil at West Heath from 1955 to 1960 during Miss Elliott’s reign as headmistress – see Gail’s memories and photos in a separate story on this website by CLICKING HERE.

Gail has found an obituary for Miss Elliott in a newspaper (see image here). It confirms she retired to her cottage in East Sussex and describes the accident as a ‘tragic mischance’.

The register of her death in Battle also confirms she died in January 1967, at the age of 67. This would appear to indicate that the accident happened in this area.

However, this produces another query as to why Miss Elliott would have a pool in her garden if she had a fear of water? Did the tragedy take place somewhere else?

An online search has not revealed any further information. Are there any former West Heath pupils or staff members who can confirm more details?