Published 16 August 2001

Secret plan
AN INTERESTING insight into conditions in Shspway in the Second World War came to me from a fellow Kent Family History member, Mrs Win Rolfe, of St Albans, who has helped local author Peter Hayward, of Nonington, who wrote a series of books on children who were evacuated to Wales for safety.

The first of these, "Children Into Exile," was about the experiences, good and bad of schoolchildren from all over Shepway, Dover, Deal and Sandwich districts - "Hellfire Corner" - evacuated to South Wales.

Win has also studied the subject and passed on to me the memories of Paul Moreton who joined Folkestone police as an auxiliary messenger on September 29, 1940, before he was old enough to join the RAF and worked on evacuation arrangements - not for children but families , in case Britain was invaded, j Mrs Rolfe lived in the Medway towns and was herself evacuated to South Wales, like thousands of East Kent schoolchildren.

After the war she and a group of school friends began to collect evacuation memories and she contributed much of her material to Peter Hayward's Medway Towns book “For the Sake of the Children."

Peter was born in St James' Street, Dover, which was practically destroyed by bombing and shelling in the war, and he and his three sisters were evacuated to South Wales in 1940.

Since moving to Hertfordshire Mrs Rolfe has done research about wartime evacuation and
other plans there, and discovered what had been planned to be done about our own refugees in the event of the enemy invading Britain.

"Trains would have arrived here at regular intervals, the city under the command of a Provost Marshal. People would have had to stay where they were told and no changing billets!

"Presumably this was how those who left Folkestone or any other coastal town in Kent would have been treated. Thank heaven we never needed to find out!

"My mother lived at Littlebourne during World War One and she told me they had their cases packed throughout the war, with instructions to go to Stelling Minnis if there was a threat of invasion," says Mrs Rolfe.

But to return to the memories of Paul Moreton, now living in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire.

His first job, he says, was to sound the air raid 'siren' at a Folkestone laundry. "I was there at night for three weeks, pulling the cord on the steam whistle, until a firewatching party took over."

Shock plan for pets

Afterwards he worked at the police station: "It must have been well into October when I became involved in the "evacuation" scheme for Folkestone," he said.

"One Saturday morning I started work at 8am. I was told to contact another messenger, Lionel Taylor (I was at school with him) and we were detailed to report to the Food Office at Grace Hill. We were to warn our parents that we would be on police duty right through the weekend, but we must not tell anyone what it was all about.

"At the Food Office we had to count the number of people in each house and each road. The numbers were found by counting ration books.

We started at the Central Station and counted out lots of 500 in each area. Families were to be kept
"A RED letter day in the history of Folkestone Rowing Club" that was how the Folkestone Herald saw the christening of Folkestone Rowing Club's new four-oared galley, the "Sybil Sassoon/' in August 1908. This postcard picture of her, below, was shown to me by local history enthusiast Peter Hooper, of Folkestone. The same photographer, Clark, of Bouverie Road East, took the similar photo used in the Folkestone Herald report of the event. The new boat was bought following a collision which badly damaged the club's boat "John Sherwood," the previous year and MP Sir Edward Sassoon gave a generous sum to the appeal fund.
A BIG crowd listen to speeches that preceded the christening of Folkestone Rowing Club's new lightweight craft "Sybil Sassoon" in 1908, by the Mayoress, daughter of the Mayor, Cllr Hall. Then the crew, Capt Beddington, Messrs J McStein, P Lucas, F Reich and Burvill (cox) launched the galley and took her out for their first row in her, in preparation for three local regattas, Dover on August 19, Folkestone on August 31 and Hastings on September 2. The craft filled a long felt need for a light, almost river boat, type of craft.
together in each household. Each 500 persons made a train load. Folkestone was worked out as being 20 train loads.

"Some people were to stay behind, but I only found that out later. As far as i can remember the final count was about 9,000, which would be 18 train loads."

Paul added that people were told later to have one case packed to take with them. And, he revealed, the RSPCA would have been ready at the station to "put their pets down," as people arrived to join the special evacuation trains.

Paul went to Marks and Spencers to buy a case for five shillings (25p) and says he still has it! "I was to go with the police to Maidstone. I would not be going with my Mother and Father," he said.

"Where the terminus for the Channel Tunnel
Railway is now, there was a nursery school which was evacuated at some stage. At the time of the blitz on Canterbury in 1942 the school was used as quarters for the Canterbury police.

"Because of bomb damage, both the Kent County Constabulary and the Canterbury City force were out of action. Police travelled to and from Canterbury by buses, to be on duty for 12 hour shifts.

"A lady working in the Folkestone police canteen was seconded to the school as cook. I, along with other police messengers, also went to work in the canteen, to help with serving food to the off-duty policemen."

What Paul probably did not know, says Mrs Rolfe, is that there are references to Maidstone being the place where British troops would make a last stand against the enemy forces in the event of invasion.
 

Council rejects a refuse destructor land offer >| Q/\>f A SPECIAL meeting was called and. J.9UX on the casting vote of the Mayor, the Folkestone Council decided not to buy the four acre Pavilion Gardens Estate, on the north side of Pavilion Road, for £9,400 for a waste destructor site. The town surveyor said the council had yards on five separate sites across the town, some of them rented, and they could not be supervised economically. Refuse had to be carted long distance by horse-drawn carts but if they had a central site they could build their own refuse destructor. The owner required a quick decision, but an alderman said the price was outrageous. It was agreed to form a sub-committee to look for another site. In the same issue of the Herald the letters columns were filled with thousands of words about "refuse destructors." South Eastern & Chatham Railway launched coastal excursion trips from the port to Dover, Deal and Margate. The Herald forecast these could be very popular, if properly organised, with such beautiful coastal scenery and interesting construction work, both at Shakespeare Colliery and the new Admiralty harbour at Dover.

Regatta week attractions set to draw big crowds *1 QR1 FOLKESTONE was looking forward to J.«79^one of the highlights of the summer season - the annual Folkestone Regatta, with the Rowing. Swimming. Yacht and Golf Clubs all cooperating with the Rowing Club to organise a week to remember. Another forthcoming event was a challenge match between four members of the Hotel Imperial, Hythe Golf Club and four picked bowmen of the Castle Moat Bowmen, in archery golf on the Imperial course. The Herald told of the success story of Townsend Brothers' Ferries, who operated one of the first Channel car ferry services from the neighbouring port of Dover. It all began with an experimental service back in 1928 when small coastal steamers started carrying cars to and from the Continent, the passengers, however, going by mail steamer. Townsend Brothers were formed two years later operating a service with the Fordc, a converted minesweeper, in use for 20 ye,irs. cars being craned aboard. Later the bigger Halladalc. a converted frigate, loaded cars by crane at one .1 minute. "No Pig for Mr Piggins" read a small heading above a paragraph about how Mr W. Piggins, of Burmarsh, had been refused consent by the Marsh district coun-ril tn kppn a nil* in hk cnllnnil hnil*p harden

Herald man Felix protests at Stade demolition threat *1 QOft CONTROVERSY continued over the Council plans to demolish one of the oldest parts of the old fishing port of Folkestone. Herald writer Felix said it would be a crime to demolish some of the houses. He told of visiting one particular home, a "homely palace comfortably furnished,” where a well known fisherman pointed out the thicknvss of the walls, nearly 2ft thick — “built of rock, and there are many more like it in this street. There is no jerry-building about this," he said. Ironically one of the town's chief medical men had lived in Radnor Street, survived to a good old age and raised two sons who also became members of the medical profession, he commented. Reader C.W. Allen, opposing the plans, said many would no doubt retort ’Empty sentiment,' but take sentiment out of holiday making, pilgrimages to slirinf's. visits to historic spots and quaint buildings and you denude life of one of its greatest charms." An official conceded some ancient properties “might" be permitted to stand. But when dealing with a clearance area it was more practical to clear it completely, he said. Les Ames, up-and-coming crickcter star made his debut f rst class appearance for Kent at 20. in July 1926. Son of Mr H. Ames, of Elham he was an old boy of Harvey Grammar School.

Clampdown on water as drought begins to bite A Q^/j WATER restrictions finally caught up with fO drought-hit Shepway and a ban on private garden hosepipes, sprinklers and car washing was one of the top stories of the summer in Folkestone. The Water Board said that imposing a ban early might avoid stricter restrictions later. Fortunately the town had the advantage of not having to rely entirely on reservoirs like many other districts, having good underground supplies of fresh water. The ban was intended to keep consumption down to the existing level of around 10 million gallons a day. Normally it could be expected to rise in summer to 12 million gallons. Government legislation was in the offing to step up restrictions and Increase penalties. Long range weath r furncdi:s suggested there would be little if any rain until mid-September. At the seafront there was good news. The outdoor swimming pool was in use all week, following protests that it was only open at weekends. A Shepway Council spokesman had blamed a staff shortage! Matters came to a head when two school parties arrived to find the pool closed! A woman promptly stood outside and started gathering names for a petitionl Another summer “storm" was over the county wicket at Cheriton Road. Bill Hewson, skipper of Folkestone CC's midweek team, called it a disgrace. Weeks of sunshine and no rain left the wickets dangerous, he said.