Marymount International School, Kingston-upon-Thames, England:

Interesting Historical Perspectives on the Marymount House

Diana (Kirchen) Kelly, Ph.D. (Marymount 8^th grade class 1967-68)

 The Marymount house is such a beautiful and historic house.  In the summer of 1967 my mother took me there when I first enrolled at Marymount, just after we moved to England.  After my 8^th grade year at Marymount, we moved back to California.  But over the years I’ve visited Marymount whenever I’ve been in England, and always enjoyed being welcomed in the lovely old house by Sister Mary Catherine Walsh, and later Sarah Key, Alumnae Coordinator.  In October 2004, I visited Marymount with my best friend from 8^th grade, Joanne (Hamel) Ross.  

Sarah Key welcomed us and showed us a special stained glass window in the house, next to the staircase.  She said this was the Guinness family crest and that members of the Guinness family had owned the house many years ago.  Well, I got curious and started researching this lovely old house.  In the process I found that in addition to the Guinness family, a few other interesting families lived here before it became Marymount in 1955.  I also learned that the Coombe area has a more ancient history.  Here is a brief history of what I found in my research.

 

Coombe Area History

Kingston has documented history of Romans in the area, and some Roman artifacts have been found on Kingston Hill.  Early British Kings were crowned in Kingston.  William D. Biden documented the ancient history of the Kingston area in his 1852 book The History and Antiquities of the Ancient and Royal Town of Kingston-upon-Thames.  One section of his book specifically addresses “Combe” (later spelled “Coombe”), the area on Kingston Hill where Marymount is located.  Biden states (page 95) “Combe is derived from the Welsh or British word “cwm,” a ravine or hilltop, a term generally applied to the part of a hill in which the highest springs rise.” He also described the entry of Combe in the “Doomsday Book” (Domesday Book 1086) as 200 acres of land held by Humfrid the Chamberlain. During the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307) the united manors of Combe were held by William de Nevil and were called “Comb-Nevil.”  King Henry VIII annexed Coombe to Hampton Court, and Cardinal Wolsey selected the Coombe Spring to supply the water to the Palace at Hampton Court.  This spring is located on Coombe Lane West, just south of the Marymount school grounds.

Over the years, the Coombe estate had a number of different owners.  For the complete description of owners up to 1852, see The History and Antiquities of the Ancient and Royal Town of Kingston upon Thames by William D. Biden, published in 1852.  Young King Edward VI, son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, granted Comb-Nevil and Combe-Park to Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset. After the Duke of Somerset was beheaded in 1552, the Coombe estate reverted to the Crown.   Queen Elizabeth I later granted the Coombe estate to William Cecil, Lord Burleigh.  In 1753 the Coombe Estate was purchased by the trustees of John Spencer, Esq (later first Earl Spencer, ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales). Earl Spencer still owned the Coombe Estate in 1761 and was later shown as the owner of “Coombe Nevil” in the 1815 Crosby Gazetteer of England and Wales (p.262). By 1852, when Biden’s book was written, the Combe estate was the property of H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge (a cousin of Queen Victoria).

 

John Galsworthy family in Coombe

In the latter part of the 19^th century, Kingston was a desirable suburban retreat from London for well-off families of solicitors and other professionals.  John Galsworthy (1867-1933), author of “The Forsythe Saga” and many other novels and plays, was born August 14, 1867 in a house called “Parkfield” which is now known as the “Galsworthy Care Home,” located at 177 Kingston Hill.  He grew up in the Coombe area in three different houses built by his father, a London solicitor also named John Galsworthy.  The name of their first new house was “Coombe Warren,” later called “Coombe Court.” The Galsworthy family lived here until 1875 when Mr. Galsworthy sold Coombe Warren to Mr. Daniel Watney of the brewing family.  This house was later sold to Lord and Lady Ripon who enlarged the house considerably.

In 1875 the Galsworthy family moved to “Coombe Leigh,” one of the other two houses Mr. Galsworthy had built.  This house was later called “Coombe Ridge House” (the current Holy Cross School on George Road). The Galsworthy family lived here until 1878, then they moved to the third house built by Mr. Galsworthy, called “Coombe Croft” (the current Rokeby School on George Road).  They moved back to “Coombe Leigh” in 1881, and in 1886 the Galsworthy family left Kingston Hill to move to London where Mr. Galsworthy had his law offices. 

The Galsworthy family is shown living at “Coombe Warren” in the 1871 and 1881 census records, and a June 25, 1870 newspaper article in the Surrey Comet shows that Mrs. Galsworthy was hosting a special benefit concert at “Coombe Warren” on July 6, 1870.  But “Coombe Warren” was name of the area where the three Galsworthy houses were located, so these records indicate that the Galsworthy family lived in the “Coombe Warren” area – not necessarily at the house which was originally called “Coombe Warren” and later named “Coombe Court.” The house called “Coombe Court” was demolished in 1931 and today there are several houses in this location on a street called “The Drive.” 

 

Ballard, Coombe Warren (Marymount House) – William Edgar family 1873-1884

In 1873, “Ballard” house at Coombe Warren was built for William Schindler Edgar, a magistrate with offices in Piccadilly. This is the house that later became Marymount International School.

The William Edgar family lived in this house from 1873 until 1884 and sold the house following Mr. Edgar’s death at “Ballard” house on August 13, 1883.  Unfortunately, a very tragic event took place in this grand house in 1876.  Henry Ingle Edgar, 25-year-old son of William Edgar, committed suicide in the nursery of the “Ballard” house on Monday, March 13, 1876.  Henry was a retired Royal Navy Sub-Lieutenant, and his death inquest was described in great detail in the Surrey Comet newspaper of March 18, 1876.  The inquest was held at the “George & Dragon” pub (currently the Kingston Lodge Hotel).  After hearing all of the testimonies and evidence, the jury rule that Henry’s death was “Suicide while in a state of Unsound Mind.”

 

Ballard, Coombe Warren – Captain Benjamin Lee Guinness family 1884 - aprox. 1906

In 1884, Captain Benjamin “Lee” Guinness (1842-1900) purchased “Ballard” house from the estate of William Edgar. Lee Guinness was the son of Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, M.P. and great-grandson of Arthur Guinness, founder of the famous Guinness Brewery in Dublin. He was a member of the Royal Horse Guards and retired at the rank of Captain.  In 1881 Captain Lee Guinness married Lady Henrietta St Laurence at Howth Church near Dublin, Ireland.  Henrietta was the daughter of Thomas, third Earl of Howth. Lee and Henrietta Guinness had three sons:  Algernon, Kenelm, and Nigel.  Captain Lee Guinness and his wife were active in London society and were frequently included in the society pages of various newspapers, documenting their attendance at social events and their travels.

Ten years after moving into “Ballard” house, Captain Lee Guinness hired architect Mr. W.F. Potter to expand the house.  According to an article in The American Architect and Building News (July 21, 1894), the house was expanded with a new wing, coach houses, lodge, and stabling.  The front of the house was extended from 200 feet to 400 feet across.  Captain Lee Guinness died of pneumonia in 1900 in Bournemouth at the age of 57.

In 1902, an estate ad for “Ballard” appeared in the Surrey Comet newspaper as follows “Ballard Coombe, Kingston Hill.  This charming residence, standing in 15 acres of beautiful wooded ground, and with stabling for 15 horses, to be let furnished, unfurnished, or sold.”  Apparently it was not sold because two years later, in March of 1904, another estate ad for “Ballard” was in the London Standard, stating that the auction would be held on April 12, 1904.  Here is the detailed description of the house from the ad:

“Ballard,” Coombe Warren, delightfully placed, 170 feet above sea level, on gravel soil, commanding magnificent views, approached by a carriage drive 300 years in length, with lodge, entrance, and containing 21 bed and dressing rooms (additional bedroom accommodation if needed), bath-rooms, a fine suite of entertaining rooms comprising large entrance and sitting hall, drawing, morning, dining, billiard, and smoking rooms, boudoir, a complete set of domestic offices, with menservants’ accommodation; modern stabling for 15 horses, including several loose horses, extensive coach houses and 5 men’s rooms; exceedingly delightful pleasure grounds, with terraces, sunk gardens, wilderness, wild gardens, and small paddock, ranges of glass houses, and a covered tennis court, the whole extending to about 15 acres; the property in situate in a favorite residential district, midway between Norbiton and Malden stations on the London and Southwest Railway and in close proximity to Richmond Park, Coombe Wood, and Wimbledon Common.

 

The house was sold to William Cleaver sometime between September of 1904 and June of 1906.

 

Ballard, Coombe Warren – William Cleaver family - aprox. 1906 - 1922

According to the 1911 census, William Cleaver was a “West African Merchant.”  He and his wife, Ida, two adult sons, two adult daughters, and six servants were living at “Ballard” Coombe Warren.  Two daughters celebrated their marriages at “Ballard” house and one daughter gave birth to a son at home at “Ballard.”  In 1919 Ina Cleaver died at home, and in 1920 William Cleaver also died at home at “Ballard” house.  Around 1922 the house was sold to Charles Fletcher Lumb.

Ballard, Coombe Warren – Charles Fletcher Lumb family 1922 – 1955

The Charles Lumb family lived in “Ballard” Coombe Warren longer than any other family.  Charles Fletcher Lumb (1872-1964) bought the house from the estate of William Cleaver.  In a ship passenger record dated May 3, 1922, Charles Fletcher Lumb’s home address is “Ballard” Coombe Warren, Kingston-upon-Thames.  His nationality is listed as “Canadian.”  Prior to this, in the 1911 census, Charles and his wife Margarita and their first son Charles were living in Weybridge.  However, Charles Fletcher Lumb previously lived in Philadelphia and in 1901 was a Major in the Battalion of the 6^th Infantry of the National Guard in Pennsylvania.  He was also involved in the Spanish American war, and he met his Cuban wife, Margarita Johnson (1880-1959), on a passenger ship as she was returning to Europe from Cuba.  Charles Lumb was a businessman who was the Director of a company, “Petroleum Storage and Finance Corporation, Ltd.”  Charles and Margarita Lumb had a family of five children who lived in the “Ballard” house:  Charles (1910-1977), Margot (1912-1998), Theodore (1913-1942), Raymond (1915-1940), and Bernice (1917-1977).

At two in the morning on Wednesday, July 15 1925 a terrible fire broke out at “Ballard” which destroyed part of the house.  According to newspaper reports, only the servants’ wing was spared from the fire.  Fortunately, everyone in the house at the time was able to get out, but the estimated damage to the house was 20,000 – 30,000 pounds. According to daughter Margot (Lumb) Gordon’s obituary, renovations included the addition of a ¾ size Squash Court and badminton and tennis courts in the garden.  In the history of Marymount described in the Marymount 50^th Anniversary booklet (2005), photographs show that the house was rebuilt with different color bricks on the upper level, which can still be seen today.

In the spring of 1932, “Ballard” Coombe Warren was listed for sale in several London newspapers.  Here is the description from the estate ad in the Times on May 21, 1932:

"An Outstanding Residential Property of Merit.  In excellent condition throughout.  The beautiful freehold manor-style country house, enviably placed on high ground, gravel soil, facing South, enjoying a wide expanse of magnificent view, is approached by a long and imposing drive with Lodge Entrance from Warren Road and a secondary drive from George Road. Vestibule lounge hall, 3 reception rooms, billiard room, dance or music room 9all with polished oak flooring), boudoir, school room, 14 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, and complete offices.  Electric light, Central Heating, Constant Hot Water, and all services.  Excellent stable and garage premises, with groom’s and chauffeur’s flats over.  Particularly fascinating gardens and grounds in terrace formation, adorned with a variety of well-grown ornamental and flowering trees and shrubs.  Grass and hard tennis courts, glass-covered Badminton court, squash racquets court, kitchen garden, small range of glass [blurred], orchard, woodlands and paddock, the whole embracing nearly 15 acres of which part is freehold and part leasehold held for a long term at low ground rent.  To be sold by auction in the Estate Auction Hall, 22 King Street, St. James’s, S.W. 1 on Wednesday, 15^th June, 1932 at 2.30 pm, unless previously sold privately."

 However, the property did not sell, and Charles Lumb and his family continued to live at “Ballard.” Charles and Margarita Lumb, two daughters (Margot and Berniece) and one son (Raymond) were listed at “Ballard” in the 1939 Register, and Charles Lumb provided his home address as “Ballard Coombe” on several ship passenger lists between 1946 and 1951.

In the summer of 1937, the future Queen of Egypt, Sasi Naz “Farida” Zulficar, age 17, and her future mother-in-law, Queen Nazli of Egypt, stayed at “Ballard” Coombe Warren while the young King Farouk was staying at another country house nearby. Farida and Farouk were married in Egypt on January 20, 1938.  They had three daughters, then divorced in 1948.

The most well-known of Charles Lumb’s children was his daughter, Margarita “Margot” Lumb.  She and her siblings were very athletic, but Margot achieved great success in Squash (called “Squash Racquets”) and Tennis in the 1930’s.  In 1934, at the age of 22, Margot became the amateur Squash Racquets champion at Queen’s Club.  In 1935 she was the captain of the British ladies’ Squash Racquets team.  She won the Squash Racquets championship five years in a row, and had a winning record in tennis at Wimbledon, too, playing 1934-39 and again in 1949 and 1951.  She made it to the ladies singles quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1949 and the finals of Wimbledon in 1937.  Margot also played ladies doubles at Wimbledon with her sister Berniece from 1935-39, winning the quarterfinals once.  Margot was a left-handed Squash and Tennis player who played aggressively and quickly, overwhelming her opponents with her speed and hard shots.  After her marriage to Bill Gordon in 1944, they moved to Africa where he was in the petroleum industry.  While in Africa, Margot became very involved in Ugandan and Nigerian political life.  When they returned to England, Margot continued to play Squash into her 70’s and Tennis into her 80’s.  She was often called to Wimbledon to participate in pre-tournament exhibition matches.  Margot Lumb Gordon died in 1998 at the age of 85, just one month after her husband’s death.  Margot and Bill Gordon had four children:  one daughter and three sons. 

In 1955, Charles Fletcher Lumb sold “Ballard” Coombe Warren to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary who were looking for a London area location to start another Catholic girls’ school as a sister school to those in Rome and Tarrytown, New York.

Marymount International School Beginnings

On February 8, 1955, the Times published a notice that “Ballard” Coombe had been sold to “a religious order” for “a finishing school.”  The house and six acres (of the 15 acres) were sold for 40,000 pounds.  The Derry Journal published a small article on June 20, 1955, showing that the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary purchased the house, which was a “former home of King Farouk of Egypt.”  This was not accurate – King Farouk’s mother stayed briefly at “Ballard” with her future daughter-in-law.  The article went on to say that the house was staffed with six nuns “last Thursday” and that their motherhouse is in Tarrytown, New York.

 

A brief history of the beginning years of Marymount is included in two anniversary booklets:  25^th Anniversary Silver Jubilee booklet published in 1980 (researched and written by Sister Mary Catherine Walsh) and 50^th Anniversary booklet published in 2005 (compiled by Alumnae Coordinator, Sarah Key).  According to these histories, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary started looking for a location for a school in 1954.  They purchased the house and six acres of grounds in 1955.  The house was initially used for offices, classrooms and dormitories, and over the first few years, changes were made to the grounds.  The chapel was built in 1956 where the former squash court had been.  The greenhouses and horse stables were torn down to build Gailhac and Butler Halls, which opened in spring of 1959.  Later, in December 1959, Gerard Hall was opened.  It was built on the site of a former orchard.

The very first graduate of Marymount International School was Marta Carrizosa, who graduated in 1956.  In 1957, Jerry Lee Bishop graduated.  The first graduating class was in 1958, and included the following seven graduates:  Joan Dickinson, Maria Eulalia Guillamet, Carol Kirchhoffer, Jo Ann Newton, Maria Isabel Picornell, Sally Stone, and Adelaide Wiley.  The subsequent graduating seniors are listed in the 1980 Silver Jubilee Booklet, year by year, through the class of 1980.  However, this list does not include the many students who attended Marymount for only a year or two. 

Conclusion

The history of the Marymount house is much longer and more complex than most current and former Marymount students may realize.  The Coombe area of Kingston has a fascinating history, starting with ancient Roman times, going forward to Henry VIII, and then to the time of author John Galsworthy. The “Ballard” house at Coombe Warren, built in 1873, has been home to several interesting and prominent families, including a world-class squash and tennis player, a future Queen of Egypt, and members of the Guinness family, before being sold in 1955 to start the Marymount International School.  This history may help us to more fully appreciate the beautiful and historic environment of our school.

 

Reference List – Marymount House History

Coombe Area History

Biden, W.D. (1852) The History and Antiquities of the Ancient and Royal Town of Kingston-upon-Thames; Kingston:  William Lindsey, printer.

Gent, L.E. (1979) The Manor of Coombe or Coombe Nevill; Kingston upon Thames Archeological Society.

http://maldensandcoombeheritagesociety.weebly.com/the-manor-of-coombe-or-coombe-nevill.html

Hawkins, D. (1996) Roman Kingston-upon-Thames:  A Landscape of Rural Settlements.  London Archaeologist 8(2), 46-50.

https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archiveDS/archiveDownload?t=arch-457-1/dissemination/pdf/vol08/vol08_02/08_02_046_050.pdf

Lown, Sue & Panizzo, Patricia (1996) A Fair and High Locality:  The Chronicle of Coombe Ridge House and The Manor of Coombe.”  Kingston, Surrey:  PWP Press.

Malden & Coombe Residents Association, Ltd -- The Coombe Estate http://mcraltd.com/history.pdf

Maldens and Coombe Heritage Society:  http://maldensandcoombeheritagesociety.weebly.com

John Galsworthy Family in Coombe

British census records, 1871 and 1881

Lown, Sue & Panizzo, Patricia (1996) A Fair and High Locality:  The Chronicle of Coombe Ridge House and The Manor of Coombe.”  Kingston, Surrey:  PWP Press.

Marrot, H.V. (1935) The Life and Letters of John Galsworthy. New York:  Charles Schribner’s Sons.

 

William Edgar Family, 1873-1884

British Census record, 1881

Coombe Warren Area Directories 1878 & 1880

“Shocking Suicide of a Gentleman at Kingston Hill,” Surrey Comet, 18 March 1876

Marriage announcement – Margaret Edgar, Surrey Comet, 5 Nov 1881

William Edgar Death announcement – Illustrated London News, 25 Aug 1883

Marriage Announcement – Mary Edgar, Surrey Comet, 7 June 1884

Ballard, Coombe Warren, Kingston.  American Architect, Vol XLV No 969 p30-31, published 21 Jul 1894. (Ballard Coombe Warren house erected for Mr. Edgar in 1873.)

 

Captain Benjamin Lee Guinness Family, 1884- aprox. 1905

Ballard, Coombe Warren, Kingston. American Architect, Vol XLV No 969 p30-31, published 21 Jul 1894. (Ballard Coombe Warren house purchased by Captain Guinness in 1884 who added to the house.)

Voters List, Surrey – Benjamin Lee Guinness, Ballard Coombe.

1887 Surrey Directory – Benjamin Lee Guinness, Ballard Coombe

1899 Surrey Voters List – Benjamin Lee Guinness, Ballard Coombe

1900 Surrey Directory – Benjamin Lee Guinness, Ballard Coombe

1901 British Census – Ballard Coombe servants

Chronological list of articles about Captain Benjamin Lee Guinness and his family

1881-9-10 Captain Lee Guinness & Henrietta St. Laurence marriage in Howth, Ireland – Cheltenham Looker-On

1883-5-12 Henrietta Guinness son, Cumberland Place – Morning Post

1886-4-28 Housemaid ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1886-10-15 Footman ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1886-12-15 French Nursery Maid, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1887-1-15 Captain B. L. Guinness house assessment – Surrey Comet

1890-5-7 Nurserymaid ad Henrietta Guinness, Ballard Coombe – The Morning Post

1891-4-41 Lee & Henrietta Guinness on Yacht Ione in Nice – The Times

1891-10-3 Lee Guinness on Yacht Ione – Irish Society

1900-2-6 Captain Lee Guinness obituary – London Evening Standard

1900-2-10 Death of Captain Lee Guinness – Surrey Comet

1902-8-2 Lady Henrietta Guinness, Ballard Coombe – Mainly About People

1902-12-6 Ballard Coombe for sale or let – The Times

1904-3-19 Ballard Coombe Auction – London Evening Standard

1904-9-14 Lady Henrietta Guinness arrival at Coombe – The Times

1959-11-10 The Guinness Family – The Times

 

William Cleaver Family – Aprox. 1905 – 1922

1908 Surrey Voters List – William Cleaver, Ballard Coombe

1910 Surrey Directory – William Cleaver, Ballard Coombe

1911 British Census – William Cleaver, Coombe

1915 Surrey Directory – William Cleaver, Ballard Coombe

1920 Surrey Directory – William Cleaver, Ballard Coombe

1920  Death Registry (April – June) – William Cleaver, Age 80, Kingston

Chronological list of articles about William Cleaver and his family

1906-6-16 William Cleaver Assessment Appeal, Ballard Coombe – Surrey Comet

1913-7-10 Marriage of William Cleaver’s daughter, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1914-7-8 Birth of son, daughter of Wm Cleaver, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1914-7-21 Kitchen Gardener ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1918-7-1 Wm Cleaver son engaged, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1918-12-18 Wm Cleaver son married in Wales – The Times

1919-7-9 Kitchen maid ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1919-10-8 Ina Cleaver death, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1919-10-14 Houseboy ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1919-11-18 Valet ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1919-11-27 Under Housemaid ad, Ballard Coombe – The Times

 

Charles Fletcher Lumb Family – 1922-1955

1906-12-11 Charles F Lumb & Margarita Johnson  marriage record, London

1911 British Census – Charles Lumb family in Weybridge

1919-2-20 Ship Record - Charles F Lumb departing Liverpool

1922-5-10 Ship record – Charles F Lumb arrival in New York – home Ballard Coombe

1925-10-17 Ship Record – Charles F Lumb departing Liverpool – home Ballard Coombe

1931 Surrey Directory – Charles Lumb, Ballard Coombe

1935 Directory – Charles Lumb, Ballard Coombe

1939 Malden & Coombe Register – Charles Lumb, Ballard Coombe

1946-3-17 Ship Record Aquatania – Charles Lumb leaving UK, Ballard Coombe home

1949-9-14 Ship Record Queen Elizabeth – Charles Lumb leaving UK, Ballard Coombe home

1951-10-26 Ship Record Mauretania - Charles Lumb leaving UK, Ballard Coombe home

1958-2-22 Ship Record Queen Elizabeth – Charles & Susan Lumb leaving UK, Eastbourne home

1959-11-30 Death Registry - Margarita Johnson Lumb death in Lambeth, age 80

 

Chronological list of articles about Charles Fletcher Lumb and his family

1900-5-27 Captain Charles Lumb US citizenship, Philadelphia Inquirer

1901-12-8  Major Charles F Lumb, Sixth Infantry, Philadelphia Inquirer

1914-9-11 Charles F Lumb with British Army, Harrisburg PA Daily Independent

1915-10-15 Charles F Lumb son birth, London Standard

1925-7-15 Fire at Ballard Coombe, home of Charles F Lumb, Gloucester Citizen

1932-5-7 Ballard Coombe for sale by auction – The Times

1932-5-21 Ballard Coombe for sale by auction – The Times

1932-6-11 Ballard Coombe for sale by auction June 15 – The Times

1933-11-6 Charles F Lumb, Company Director, Gold Coast Exploration, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1934-10-9 Charles F Lumb, Company Director, Gold Coast Exploration, Ballard Coombe – The Times

1934-12-10 – Margot Lumb, Squash Champion – The Scotsman

1935-1-2 Margot Lumb Squash Captain – Tatler

1935-1-29 Margot Lumb & Squash Team – The Bystander

1935-2-19 – Charles Lumb & daughter – Chester PA Times

1938-1-19 Ballard Coombe – future Egypt Queen – Dundee Courier

1938-5-13 – Margot Lumb – Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News

1938-9-13 Margot Lumb article – Milwaukee Journal

1940-2-21 Charles Lumb Director Cleveland Petroleum, Ballard Coombe – The Guardian

1944-10-23 Margot Lumb marriage announcement – Dundee Evening Telegraph

1959-12-02 Margarita Lumb death on Nov 30 1959 – The Times

1964-10-16 Charles Fletcher Lumb Estate – Times

1998-1 Margot Lumb Gordon death on Jan 3 age 85 – The Times

2015-10-24 Margarita Johnson Lumb story in Postcards – The Guardian

 

Marymount International School, 1955 to present

1955-2-8 Marymount purchased Ballard Coombe – The Times

1955-6-20 Marymount house purchase – Derry Journal

1980 – Marymount Silver Jubilee booklet – history by Sister Mary Catherine Walsh

2005 – Marymount 50^th Anniversary book – history by Sarah Key, Alumnae Coordinator

 

 

My Many Careers & Circuitous Career Path

Diana K. Kelly, Ph.D.

 

For many years, futurists have predicted that we’ll have seven different careers in our lifetime – not jobs, but careers.  Maybe I’m ahead of my time, but I’ve already gone beyond seven careers, and I’m not anywhere near retirement.  The old notion of preparing for one career (in college), then doing that career for the rest of your life is quaint – something from my father’s era.  Today’s careers are fluid, flexible, and varied.  The bad news is that there is less job security.  The good news is that we won’t get bored!  We’ll need to keep learning new things throughout our lives – both to enhance our current professional skills and to prepare for potential new careers.

 

So here is the story of my circuitous career path.  By “circuitous” I mean that it was not really planned out, but one thing sort of led to another.  It has not been a straight path in one field, but a path that led in many directions in different career fields.  My career path has had many twists and turns, and even loops back into previous careers.  I’ll start by describing what I wanted to be when I grew up -- where I thought I might be going.  Then I’ll show you how combining work with college helped me to get my career path off to a good start.  Next, you’ll see how one career led to the next, and the next, and the next.  Finally, you’ll see some of the common threads running through the careers I’ve had so far.

 

Before I get started on my career journey, I must say something about Marymount International School.  Although I was only there for one year in 8^th grade, my experience at Marymount was the best learning experience in all of my schooling until I got to graduate school.  I learned at a young age at Marymount how to be an independent thinker, how to meet very high expectations, and how to learn – all invaluable tools for my career.  Thank you, Marymount!

 

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I’m still trying to figure this one out.  However, when I was young, I thought I knew.  It just depended on when you asked me.  For instance, when I was 6 years old, I was so excited to be in school that every day I’d come home and “teach” my younger sister, repeating everything that we had done in school that day.  Maybe I would be a teacher when I grew up.

 

When I was eight, I started taking ice-skating lessons and decided I wanted to be an ice skater when I grew up.  Then when I was ten, I got a little transistor radio for Christmas and spent all of my free time listening to the radio – that’s when I said “If I were a boy, I’d want to be on the radio when I grow up.”  At that time all of the radio DJs were men . . .

 

In 1967 my dad’s company transferred him to London, and we were lucky enough to live there for a year.  While we were in London we did a lot of travelling, and I admired the “stewardesses”  on our flights – so I decided that was what I wanted to be when I grew up.  Travelling was fun – and I figured it would be a good career because the stewardesses got to travel a lot.  While at Marymount, I admired Miss Fiona Small, our Physical Education teacher.  I was pretty good at sports, so I thought it would be nice to be a PE teacher.  That idea later faded when I found out how much science was required, and I wasn’t very good in science classes.

Back in California in high school, another career I considered and ruled out was nursing.  My good friend planned to be a nurse and volunteered at a local hospital.  She invited me along to see the big nursing school at the University of Southern California.  It looked like a great career – until I started thinking about the science, the needles, the blood, etc.  Not for me.

 

Combining College and Work

When it was time to go to college, I went back to the idea of being a flight attendant for an airline and because you had to be 21 years old to apply for a job, I figured I’d go to college for two years. So I enrolled as an English major at Fullerton College, a two-year community college near my home.  Why English?  Well, I enjoyed reading, and had always been pretty good at writing, so I picked English because I figured I’d enjoy it.  As an English major, I could also take foreign languages, to better prepare myself for a future career in the airlines.  In addition to studying English literature and writing, I also studied German and Spanish.  I graduated from Fullerton College with an Associate Arts degree in English in 1974.

However, during those two years of college, my career goals shifted – and this shift had nothing to do with my experiences in college.  Right after I started college, I got a part-time job on weekends, working at a local amusement park called “Knott’s Berry Farm.”  A friend was working there as a costumed “Pufnstuf” character, greeting children outside the theater, and she asked me if I wanted to work with her.  They had one team of three characters and were hiring another team of three.  So I went for my very first job interview about a month after starting college, and was hired for my first job on my 18^th birthday!   This was a fun job, working with fun people, in a fun environment – more like going out to play on the weekends rather than going to “work.” 

Work also meant money. I was fortunate that my parents were able and willing to support me while I was going through college, as long as I lived at home and attended the local public colleges.  That was fine with me – that’s where most of my friends were going to college, too.  Because I was working part-time and didn’t have to pay for college, I was able to save my money to travel back to England for short vacations in January between college semesters, when the airfares were low.  While I was on those long flights from Los Angeles to London, I carefully watched the flight attendants and decided that was not what I wanted to do as a career.  It didn’t seem as glamorous as I’d originally thought, watching as they worked so hard during the flight.  I’d have to find another way to do some travelling.

 

My first part-time job at Knott’s changed after a few months, so that I became a costumed character working by myself, greeting children at the main entrance gate.  After about a year in the costume, it wasn’t so much fun anymore. It was hot in that big costume and the children could be nasty, punching the costume, somehow not realizing that a person was inside!   In the summers, one day a week (when the costume was being cleaned), I got out of the big costume and dressed up as “Annie Oakley,” working with the gunfighters  in the Old Western part of Knott’s Berry Farm called “Ghost Town.”  We did little impromptu skits in the streets of Ghost Town and I helped with crowd control when they did their stunt fights.  Now that was FUN!  But this was only one day a week – I had to figure out a way to do this job all the time and get out of that big hot costume. 

Then a chance presented itself.  When the announcer for Country Music shows in the outdoor amphitheater (“Wagon Camp”) left, I asked my supervisor if he would let me try to do it.  My dressing room was in “Wagon Camp,” and I’d seen the announcer introduce the country music shows many times, so I knew what to do.  My supervisor was very nice and allowed me to try it. The first few times, I was terrible!  But my supervisor was patient and gave me some tips to help me improve.  It was also lucky for me that he was desperate - he didn’t have anyone else to do the announcing!  So this was how I got myself out of the hot costume and into the “Annie Oakley” role.  At age 19,dressed as Annie Oakley, I would stride out confidently on stage in front of an audience of 700 people to introduce a well-known country group.  In between shows, I worked with the gunfighters on the streets of Ghost Town, doing our little skits and just hanging out.  This was the most FUN job I’ve ever had!  At two dollars an hour, I wasn’t doing it for the money – in fact, if I had the money, I would have paid them to do this job.

Because by this time I had decided against a career as a flight attendant and had become involved in entertainment through my part-time job at Knott’s Berry Farm, I transferred to California State University Fullerton as a “Theater” major.  I was well aware of my shortcomings as an announcer, and decided to take a “Radio and TV Announcing” class in the Theater department  to improve my announcing skills.  That announcing class really stimulated my interest in radio broadcasting, so I changed majors again from “Theater” to “Communications” to focus on broadcasting. But there was a problem – this university focused mainly on television, and I was really interested in radio. 

So while I was attending the university, I went back to Fullerton College to take radio broadcasting classes there.  They had (and still have) one of the very best college radio broadcasting programs, complete with an on-air radio station where the advanced students get experience on the air in a professional environment. I loved it!    While I improved my announcing skills for my part-time job at Knott’s, I had found my career direction at last!  It’s funny that what I wanted to do at age ten “if I were a boy” was the career I ended up pursuing after college.

Meanwhile, back at Knott’s Berry Farm I continued announcing in the Wagon Camp on weekends and in the summer.  I also got involved in the Knott’s Training Department as a tour guide for new employee orientations, and I really enjoyed it.  The Training Director asked me to rewrite some of the training scripts in a more conversational style, and I was happy to put my broadcast writing skills to work. I liked the variety of doing different things, and at Knott’s I was able to work my way into new areas.

 

But a new movement was brewing in the mid-1970’s – DISCO!  One of my fellow radio students at Fullerton College was working as a Disco DJ at a local club and asked me if I’d like to do some DJ work in another place where he had been working (he didn’t want to work at both places).  I figured it was a good opportunity to develop my DJ skills for radio work, so I started doing DJ work some evenings and weekends  - in addition to going to two colleges and working part-time at Knott’s.  I was a busy girl!

One DJ job led to another and another.  At Knott’s I recommended that they start a new Disco dance area for the evenings, especially on weekends and in the summertime. Because I had the DJ experience, I started the first Disco dance area and was the first DJ at Knott’s in 1976.  Over time this evolved into a very popular dance area, and I eventually stopped doing the announcing work in Wagon Camp.  I continued doing DJ work at Knott’s and several other places until I found my first full-time job in a radio station in May 1977.

 

While my new career as a DJ was starting, I finished college and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications in January 1977.  I also gained invaluable skills in broadcasting from my radio classes at Fullerton College.  As it turned out, those skills from Fullerton College were initially much more important in obtaining my first radio job than my college degree.

 

Transition to a Broadcasting Career

Radio broadcasting at last!  I was in the career I really wanted, working as an on-air disc jockey 7pm – midnight six days a week at a small radio station in central California, KONG.  I also read the news and produced local radio commercials.  The salary was very low, but from my radio classes at Fullerton College I knew that this was how you “paid your dues” to get a start in a radio career.  While working in this radio station in a small market, I watched the job advertisements for radio positions in larger markets.  My goal was to get back to southern California where there were many radio stations in the Los Angeles area – but this was a very competitive job market. 

After eight months, I found a part-time job at KWIZ, a major market radio station in Santa Ana, near Los Angeles, and I happily moved back to Orange County in 1978 and started working on the air.  Soon this became a full-time on-air replacement position because one of the full-time announcers had become very ill. 

 

                                          Diana with Jose Feliciano and another DJ, Patty Martinez

A few months later I was recommended for a full-time position as the station’s Music Director, assisting the Program Director who was located 500 miles away at our sister station in northern California.  What a great opportunity!  I worked on the air one shift each week on Saturday nights and worked full-time as the Music Director Monday – Friday.

Transition to a Teaching Career

 While working as Music Director, my former instructors at Fullerton College invited me back as a “guest lecturer” in their radio classes.  They were proud of my success and wanted me to talk with the current students about what it was like to work in radio and how to prepare for a radio career.  I was honored to be invited back to the radio classes and really enjoyed having a captive audience of students who were actually interested in what I had to say about radio.  Then my former instructors at Fullerton College asked me if I could teach one evening class in Spring 1980:  “Introduction to Broadcasting.”  I said I’d be happy to teach the class based on my own professional experience in radio – but I really didn’t know how to teach!  One of the full-time teachers said he’d be happy to meet with me once a week to help me prepare for my class – and that’s how I learned how to teach.  He showed me how to prepare a syllabus for the class, how to organize my class sessions, and how to get the students involved in their learning.  He was a great mentor teacher as I was getting started.

I really enjoyed teaching one evening class that first semester.  It was great to have the chance to talk with students who were interested in a career in broadcasting.  I was able to bring my “real life” radio experience to the classroom for my students, and they seemed to appreciate that.  At the end of the semester I learned that one of the older radio instructors was retiring, and I was encouraged to apply for the full-time teaching position.  Although I loved working in radio, I had a taste of teaching and decided I’d rather move in that direction.  I was very fortunate to be selected for this full-time teaching position at Fullerton College, and I started on this new career path in Fall 1980.  “Fortunate” because it was the first time I’d applied for a full-time teaching position, and it is very competitive to get a full-time tenure-track teaching position.  Most part-time faculty apply for many positions for several years before they are selected for a full-time position.

As a full-time faculty member in a California community college you are expected to teach five classes each semester.  This includes developing the syllabus for the semester, developing teaching materials and activities for students, developing projects and tests, grading student work.  In addition to the teaching responsibilities, faculty are expected to develop or revise curriculum and participate in college committees.  I developed several new courses to add to the existing radio curriculum, and I worked with other faculty to make revisions and updates to the existing courses.  I also developed a “Broadcasting in Britain” summer tour for our radio students, so they would learn about radio and TV in Britain, as a contrast to American media.

During the first two years I taught full-time in the radio broadcasting program, I also kept working on the air at KWIZ on the weekends – just to keep current in radio.  I joined the “Broadcast Education Association” and went with other broadcasting faculty to the annual meetings of this group which took place at the National Association of Broadcasters’ Convention – a huge exhibit of all of the latest trends and equipment for broadcasting.  By attending this important convention we were able to bring back all of the latest information for our classes.

 

Community colleges normally provide salary incentives to faculty members who take additional college and graduate-level coursework, to encourage on-going professional development.  So I took a few classes at Cal State University Fullerton in Education in order to learn more about teaching and learning, and I took classes in Mass Communication to learn about various aspects of the media that I hadn’t studied previously.

 After two years of teaching full-time, I decided to take a one-year unpaid leave of absence to pursue my dream of returning to England.  I tried to get work in radio in England, but work permits were problematic.  So I ended up doing some consulting work for a radio station in Wolverhampton and enjoyed learning more about the inner workings of a commercial radio station in the UK. 

When I returned to teaching, I decided that I really wanted to keep on learning new things to keep my radio teaching fresh and interesting, so I started participating in workshops to learn more about how to teach effectively.  One of the workshops I attended was an intensive week-long program, called “Great Teachers” in which faculty members from different community colleges learned from each other about “what works” in teaching.  It really made me think about how I might teach my students more effectively – and I realized how much I didn’t know about teaching!

Combining Work and Learning - again

My interest in teaching and learning led me to look for a graduate-level program where I could earn a Master’s degree in education with a focus on higher education and adult learning.  I found a fantastic program at the Claremont Graduate University, about a 45 minute drive from where I was teaching at Fullerton College.  So while I was working full-time as a faculty member at Fullerton College, in 1987 I started attending graduate school part-time at Claremont, taking just one graduate seminar each semester and one in the summer.  All of the other graduate students in the Higher Education program were also working full-time in other colleges, too, so we all brought a wealth of experience to our seminar discussions.  

For my Master’s degree I took a sabbatical so I could complete my research and Master’s thesis.  I finished my Master’s degree successfully in 1990 and decided that I was enjoying the learning process so much that I just kept on going to earn my Doctorate.  I completed the coursework, my four qualifying exams, my research and dissertation, and finished my doctorate in 1993.

 While I was working on my graduate degrees, my work changed again – because of the influence of what I was learning.  Some new statewide funding created new Staff Development programs at all of the California Community Colleges, and I was selected to be the first Staff Development Coordinator at Fullerton College.  This meant that I was teaching fewer radio classes, but I was coordinating teaching and learning workshops for faculty – based on what I was learning in my graduate work at Claremont.  Once again, learning influenced my work!  I held this position for two years from 1988-1990.  In addition, through my work in Staff Development, I also applied for (and received) several grants for teaching and learning projects. My doctoral dissertation grew out of one of the grant projects. 

Transition from Teaching to College Administration

As I was completing my doctorate, I started to look for new challenges – new opportunities in leadership roles in community colleges.  As Staff Development Coordinator, I enjoyed being in a leadership role and providing continuing professional development for faculty.  My greatest interest was in adult learning, and I was very fortunate to find a position as “Director of Continuing Education” at a community college district in San Diego County.  My husband had also found a new position as a Dean at another San Diego community college, so we moved to San Diego in 1993/94. 

Here are the administrative roles I held from 1994 – 2013:

n  1994-1999 – Associate Dean of Continuing Education, Cuyamaca College, El Cajon, Calif.

n  1999-2003 – Head of Lifelong Learning, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland

n  2003-2004 – Director of CAPSL, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

n  2004-2006 – Lecturer/Consultant – M.A. Program in Academic Development, City University, London

n  2007-2008 – Dean of Liberal Arts, Miramar College, San Diego

n  2009-2013 – Staff Development Coordinator, Southwestern College, Chula Vista

What Happened Next??

In 2013 I retired from full-time work in education, joining my husband who had retired two years earlier.  We enjoyed having the freedom to travel, and took some trips by train to various parts of the United States we hadn’t visited before.

 

Volunteering for special events became another outside interest.  My husband and I volunteered for the Palm Springs Film Festival and the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament for many years, and we have also volunteered for baseball Spring Training in Arizona.  It’s rewarding to volunteer for these events that give back to the local community, but it’s also fun to be involved in these exciting events.

 

Back to my broadcasting roots, I’ve been volunteering as a judge for the Broadcast Education Association, judging academic papers and audio productions.  It’s been fun to learn what’s going on today in the world of media and broadcasting and to make a small contribution to the education of future broadcasters.

While I was still working full-time, I developed new interests in my spare time. One major interest was genealogy research. Around 1999 my grandad encouraged me to get involved in family history research – to carry on all of the research he’d been doing on our family tree.  So I got off to a head start with his great work, and have continued researching our family over the years.  Now I also help others to get their family trees started.

Bottom line – even though my working career is now over, it’s great to keep on learning new things, making contributions by volunteering,  and doing things I enjoy!

 

January 13, 2021