A VILLAGE school’s archivist spotted Mr Selfridge’s signature in its archives after watching the current series of the television show based on the man.
Abbotsholme School near Rocester received a visit from the retail legend Harry Gordon Selfridge Sr. and his wife Rosa in 1909 and they decided to send their only son Harry Gordon Selfridge Jr. to the school in 1911.
Dr Cecil Reddie, the founder of Abbotsholme, and one of the foremost educationalists of the late 19th century, had founded a pioneering school with Abbotsholme which has spread worldwide and it is perhaps no surprise that the forward-looking entrepreneur, Mr Selfridge, chose the school for his son.
In December 1911, Harry Gordon Selfridge Sr. is recorded as speaking to the Abbotsholme Parents’ Association in London ‘with great force, eloquence and charm’ about the education his son was receiving.
