Betty Sayer

What is your full name?

Betty Margaret Sayer

Do you know why you were given this name?

I have no idea, Betty is the middle name of my mother, Margaret I don’t know, and Sayer is my husband’s surname.

Could you tell me a bit about your family please?

My family, before I was married, come from Sheerness. My grandmother was a Sunday school teacher at St Paul’s Dockyard Church. She lived in Westminster. My mother was adopted by Mrs Turvey, the Sunday school teacher. My other grandparents, they lived in Sheerness and my grandfather worked in the Docks and they originally come from Surrey. So, none of my family actually come from Sheppey, except for my father, my mother and myself. Going back in history, they come from Surrey, Sussex and everywhere.

What do you do for a living?

I am a works administrator for the Brickner Company, over in Sittingbourne.

How did you grow up?

Sorry, could you say that again?

How did you grow up?

How did I grow up? I was one of three, the oldest of three daughters, and I went to the Westminster school. I then went to the National School, which is behind the Co-Op, which is now the car park. Then I went to Secondary Modern School, which is, used to be called Lady Anne Cheyne, down Jefferson Road, it’s now one of the Academy things that you’ve got. Then I went to Minster Academy, which was originally known as Sheppey Comprehensive and I was one of the first ones there. Then I left and then I joined the Air Force and then I was in the Air Force, and met my husband and then we settled here. We got jobs here and settled here and raised a family.

Where were you born and did you like it where you were born?

I was born in Sheerness and I didn’t know anything else, but there was a lot less people on the island back in the 1950s.

Did you have any siblings?

Yes, two. Two younger ones. Both girls.

Did you visit the Church often and how often did you go?

When I was younger, I went to the Church every week with my grandmother and the Sunday School. I was christened there and then I continued going there and helping my grandmother with jumble sales, and everything in the hall that used to be behind Boots now and I helped her right through until they closed that Church and they built a new Church, St Paul’s down St George’s Avenue.

What did you like about the Church?

 To be honest, I was very young. There’s not a lot that I can remember actually about the building.

Do you remember much about the Church?

Just the fact that I used to go to Sunday School there and I can remember little bits and pieces if I see pictures, but not actually to mind.

What did you use the Church for?

In those days, it was just Church services and Sunday School, and Christenings and Weddings and Funerals and things like that.

Do you recall any of the fires that took place in the Church?

Fires?

Yeah

No, no

Did you hear about the fire?

The big fire?

Yes, the big fire

I was working on the island and I remember seeing it one morning as I was going to work. Yeah, I don’t know what rumours are about, you know?

Well, what did you hear?

Well, we just heard that it was started deliberately, because the person who owned it at the time couldn’t get planning permission. There’s just, you know, rumours, that go around the island.

What do you think the Church should be used for now, in the future?

I’m not quite sure what it should be used for, but they should find a common ground as to what it should be used for. It shouldn’t be allowed just to be sat there and be empty because that’s a great shame. It’s part of the Dockyard history, to be perfectly honest. So it should be a common use for everybody, not just for the elite. Just for everybody, that can go there. Whether it be meeting places, similar to what they’ve got down in Bluetown at the moment, where they used it for everything, a common ground for everybody.

“I went to the Church every week with my grandmother and the Sunday School. I was christened there and then I continued going there and helping my grandmother ...”

If you have your own memories of the dockyard church – as a church, a social club or as it is now, we’d love to hear from you. We're also keen to build an image archive by making copies of photographs and memorabilia of the church.

If you’d like to contribute memories or images to the archive, please tell us a bit more about what you have using the form.