Kingham Hill was Tom's second job. We arrived, aged 28, with two sons aged 3 and 1, to make Sheffield House our home. It was quite a liberation for me. Most wives, then, did not work outside the home, but I was able to combine looking after my own young family while entering into the more varied world of 13-18 year old boys.

There were some difficulties - serving lunch on a Sheffield table, I used to stuff Smarties into the mouth of my toddler so he didn't shriek during grace. And he liked to roam around the Hill, and once locked the sewing lady in her room in the office block. I was not popular!

The sewing lady did the clever repairs, but I sewed on the name tapes (easy) and those stiff blazer-badges (tough on the fingers). Once a week, at break, I went up to Mrs Dean's clothing store to meet with whichever Sheffield boys needed new uniform. This was useful practice in judging sizes. I was expert when my own boys became teenagers.

Tom and Jean Bowker visiting Sheffield House with theirgrand daughter in 1993

The medicine cupboard was another of my responsibilities. Sticking plaster was often all that was needed, but I learned that a burn wouldn't heal without attention from Sister in the "San". A high temperature meant a bed over there. We had one boy with epilepsy, and his pills had to be kept in our sitting-room after one alarming episode when he hadn't taken his pills and he fell into a coma.

I enjoyed watching House matches and was disappointed when we lost. I was sorry for the boys having to jump into a cold bath every morning, and I campaigned to have the school uniform trousers changed from shorts to longs.

We had six day week. Wednesday was our day off after supervision of the morning cleaning. I remember those heavy bumpers for polishing the corridors. I used one in the Easter holidays to hasten the arrival of our third son, so that he was born before the boys returned! The Hill was a very close community.

We felt each other's difficulties. The brother of one of our boys was killed in a motor bike accident. Another boy's sister fell from a train. The 'Rohilla' tragedy was felt keenly by all. No Sheffield boy was on the boat, but there was the brother of one. (Brothers were in different houses).

Our fourth child was a girl so there was relief all round that there wouldn't be another Bowker boy having to be rescued from near the swimming pool. The Sheffield boys were wonderful at carrying the children back home, and very tolerant of what must have been little pests in the common-rooms!

I confess that I shed a tear as our car went past Bradford and out of the school gate on our way to Tom's next post. I didn't want to leave. But we still enjoy using some of the china tea-set we were presented with when we left the Hill.