From the Folkestone Herald Published 27 April 2000
You solved it!
I HAD barely reached my desk at the Folkestone office after finding
somewhere to park my car last week, when the phone rang. Two Memories
readers rang to say they recognised the spot where the photographer had
captured last week’s picture of a ‘Pop’ Wills, Cheriton, charabanc.
THE ‘Pop’ Wills charabanc in Cheriton Place,
And Peter Hooper, 66, of Dover Road, who is keenly interested in old
pictures of the area, lent me a series of early postcards of charabancs and
taxis taken in Folkestone or Cheriton.
One, pictured below, shows two coaches apparently in the same spot near
Bouverie Square as the Wills ‘bus.’ And Joan Brown, of Cheriton Gardens,
said she had no trouble identifying the spot because, until two years ago
she ran Folkestone Bookshop, in Cheriton Place, which was built after the
picture was taken. The shop premises were put up next door to Gordons, the
corner of whose shop is on the right of the picture.
PETER Hooper’s postcard picture of two charabancs just off Bouverie
Square, Folkestone - a photograph taken by the West End Photo Co, whose
premises were just round the corner at Alexandra Gardens. The outing picture
dates from between the wars. Notice how the charabanc on the right
completely dwarfs the other, no doubt older one, on the left which bears E.V.
Wills' plate advertising his Folkestone, Sandgate & Hythe Motor Service,
operated from a base in Cheriton.
In the centre of the ground floor windows the firm had a ‘G’ for Gordons.
Estate agents Jacques Alleyne now occupy the old book shop premises.
In the picture below staff of the Electricity Board are setting off on a
summer outing from Sandgate Road. The coach is standing at a bus stop which
is still there, near the Grand Hotel.
Among those in the picture, seventh from the left with a flat cap, is
Edward Crockley, grandad of Peter Hooper’s wife Ann Hooper (nee Piddock.) He
provided at least one of Peter’s fascinating collection of old postcards.
Peter, who retired early from British Gas after 43 years service due to
ill health, has kindly lent me a dozen fine motoring theme pictures from his
collection for future use in Memories.
He and his wife have two sons, Ian (40) a biochemist working for Johnson
& Johnson, the pharmaceutical giants, and Paul (36) an electrician who works
for Dover Harbour Board, and they have three grand-daughters.
Peter is a member of the Folkestone Local History Society and both he and
his wife take a keen interest in the East Kent Postcard Club which meets in
Canterbury, Ann Hooper producing the club’s regular newsletter.
Bomb shelter.
Peter has vivid wartime memories of what seemed like hours sheltering
from aerial bombardment and shelling in the school air raid shelters hidden
below tennis courts near the town centre, and of the teacher in charge, Miss
Purchase.
One of his pictures of a bus outside the old Co-operative grocery store
in Dover Road reminded him, said Peter, of a Folkestone character of years
gone by who used to dress like Charlie Chaplin and hawk his summer-time
supply of bananas. I wonder how many other Memories readers remember him?
Speaker at the Folkestone Local History Society’s May 3 meeting is Arthur
Bailey with “An Audio Visual on the Leas.”
AN ELECTRICITY Board staff outing group pictured in Sandgate Road by
Morehall Ave photographer Arthur Ellis, probably in the 1930s, with Grimston
Avenue behind him. In the background is the Grand Hotel.
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1900
Sandgate home ready for Boer War casualties.
BEACH Rocks nursing home at Sandgate had been taken over by
the War Office and was set to receive Its first wounded soldiers from
South Africa. Private Jenner, who had been a compositor with the
Folkestone Express newspaper reported on the local troops’ passage out
to South Africa aboard the steamer Gascon to join soldiers fighting In
the Boer War and of hearing the news of the relief of Ladysmith from a
home-going vessel they passed. Private W Francis of the Folkestone
contingent of the Buffs wrote of the train journey up country after
arrival at Capetown and said Viscount Folkestone was In command of the
military train. He told of a train smash In which wagons carrying
provisions were smashed, of two extra locomotives being coupled on to
the train to haul it up through mountainous country, of a camp hospital
with 600 patients, and of two rebel spies being shot after they were
caught communicating with the Boers from a nearby farm. Sensation was
created by news of the attempted shooting of the Prince of Wales in
Brussels soon after he boarded a train while travelling with the
Princess of Wales.
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1925
Weekend chalets and a ‘winter garden’ scheme.
A DECISION by the Town Council to make a charge for
trade refuse and for the refuse from some large houses, caused a stir in
Folkestone when the official notice was published that a charge of three
pence a ‘basket’ would be made. The fact that it; coincided with the
decision to go ahead With the controversial band pavilion scheme
aggravated the situation. The Deputy Mayor Cllr Osborne, put to the
council a plan for a ‘winter garden’ on the sea front consisting of 36
weekend bungalows (presumably chalets) with some garages on some
derelict land adjoining the parade. The sunken ground, he said, could be
developed Into a winter garden. It could be done at no cost to the town.
The Herald said any scheme which could Improve the area concerned should
be seriously considered. Stoker E Couchman, a member of the Zeebrugge
Survivors' Association and formerly of HMS Vindictive which took part in
the First World War raid on the German held port, reported that a useful
sum had been raised by the local showing of a film made of the raid. The
money was going towards the veterans’ trip to Zeebrugge for the
unveiling of the war memorial on the harbour mole, storming of which
cost many British lives.
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1950
Soccer fans fined after using rationed petrol.
NAIL-biting Kent Senior Cup semi-final home tie between
Folkestone and Gillingham highlighted the fact that the UK was still
restricted by petrol rationing. Two supporters, one from Sellindge and
one from Gillingham, were fined for ‘misuse’ of petrol Issued for trade
purposes in driving vans to the match. The dramatic section of
Folkestone & Hythe Operatic Society won the divisional final (Kent,
Sussex and Surrey) of the British Drama League Community Theatre
Festival at Croydon, with their production of “One Evening at Nero’s.”
The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway at Littlestone was besieged by
enthusiasts and local schoolchildren when a well known standard gauge
locomotive “Dunrobin” built in 1895 steamed Into the flag-decked station
after a long journey from Golspie, near Dunrobin Castle, In Scotland. It
had been purchased by the light railway's owner, Capt J Howey. It
steamed into Littlestone from Ashford under Its own power hauling a
coach In which Capt Howey was joined by the Mayor of New Romney. The
Herald carried a photograph of the locomotive. Driver was C Tibbies and
fireman R Johnson. Kent and England bowler Doug Wright spoke to Lydd
Cricket Club, answered questions and signed many autograph books.
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1975
Seamen’s strike dashes hopes of holidaymakers.
A 48-HOUR seamen's strike over a planned withdrawal of the Heysham-Belfast ferry service, hit the Easter holiday hopes of thousands
due to sail on cross-Channel ferries. All British Rail ports were
expected to be hit. As many as 20,000 people had been expected to pass
through the port and extra ferries had been laid on, Plans for 30
council homes on the former School of Infantry site at Hythe were
described as ugly, depressing and appalling by a Shepway council
committee which rejected them. Hythe Civic Society also objected to the
plans but the health and housing committee wanted the scheme to go ahead
because of the pressing need. A glimmer of hope for the homeless was an
impending visit of Whitehall officials assessing what had been described
as a “desperate” housing situation. Future of the fishing fleet was
causing concern and In Parliament local MP Albert Costain sounded a
warning that the brave men on whom they depended to man the lifeboats on
a voluntary basis In emergencies could be hard to find If regulations
forced the fishermen to give up their boats. “How will lifeboats be
manned if fishermen go out of business?” he asked. But his impassioned
plea fell on deaf ears. Subsidising smaller boats would mean less money
to subsidise bigger vessels, was the reply he got from the fisheries
minister.
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