The Unknown Sailor

This is the grave of an unknown sailor under some trees in a corner of the graveyard at St James church in Grain.

I can imagine he would have been washed up on the shore line days, weeks or possibly even months after his ship was sunk by German bombs or mines in the Thames Estuary.

I stumbled across this grave earlier this year and it made me think of my own late grandfather who also served in the Merchant Navy during World War II.

He went to sea in 1942, aged only sixteen as mess room boy. His first voyage lasted five months and took him all the way to South America and back to the UK via West Africa . On the return from Freetown four ships in his convoy were sunk.

The Merchant Navy suffered huge casualties with ships being lost to enemy action from the 3rd September 1939 right up to VE day in May 1945.

A total of more than 32000 men made the ultimate sacrifice.

Fortunately he was one of the lucky ones and back came home safely to his family.

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Kent's Disappearing Pubs

I have been inspired to write this latest post by my fellow blogger Helen in Melbourne, Australia.

She wrote an interesting piece on her blog about the contribution to the world of the traditional British pub.

I have read reports that pubs are closing at a rate of two a day (although I suspect it could be even more than than this).

A combination of factors have lead to this criminal state of affairs. The smoking ban, increases in alcohol duties and the general economic downturn.

Many well established pubs in Kent have been closed including a number of historic ones like the Terrace Tavern below in Gravesend.

This pub has been closed for several months now and faces an uncertain future. As a riverside town Gravesend used to boast numerous traditional Victorian pubs like this but many have now disappeared and with them their unique architecture.

The Terrace Tavern is a particularly good example of Victorian decoration with the green glazed tiles, etched glass windows (hidden by the hoardings) and fancy ironwork. The Shrimp Brand Beers were brewed locally in Gravesend.

Another closed pub I came across on one of my recent walks is the Fox and Hounds at Darenth.

This pub is located on a busy main road between Dartford and Longfield. Despite the passing trade it still does not appear to have been able to generate enough trade to survive.

The Colyer Arms at Betsham named after a local Great War hero (more about him in a future post) is no longer with us.....

A few months later....

This was the only pub in the village. It's closure followed that of the local petrol station and shop. The village had already lost it's railway station in 1962 courtesy of Dr Beeching.

The pub will be replaced with housing.

The Polhill Arms at Halstead was another large pub on a busy main road close to Orpington. The pub was named after the Polhill family who were important local landowners in the 18th century.

Finally two views of the Chequers Inn in the affluent village of Ightam near Sevenoaks taken on recent walks. The first shows the pub for sale....


Then a couple of months later boarded up....

These are just a few examples of the pubs we have lost in Kent over the last couple of years. Sadly before we come through the other side of the current recession there will no doubt be many more added to the list.

If you have any comments on this post I would love to hear from you.

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The Youngest Person Ever to Fly?

This is a fuzzy old picture of Gravesend airport, or Gravesend London East, as it used to be more grandly known when it first opened in the 1930's.

The airport was the starting point for many air speed record attempts by famous pioneer aviators such as Amy Johnson but I will write more about that in a future post.

Whilst looking through some old newspaper cuttings I came across an amusing article in the Evening News of 5th February 1936.

It would seem that the youngest person ever to fly, may have flown from Gravesend....

At the time the article was written, the airport's Chief Engineer was Mr H C Brown. According to the report his wife had just given birth to a baby boy called Kenneth.

On the Sunday morning, Mr Brown telephoned his close friend Mr Messenger, a pilot at the airport, to pass on the happy news and to invite him to become Godfather to little Kenneth.

Mr Messenger rushed over immediately to see his Godson and congratulate his friends.

To mark the auspicious occasion a fitting celebration was needed.

Without further ado Mr Brown quickly plucked his one day old son from his cot, wrapped him in furs and blankets, placed him in the car and they all set off to the airport.

On arrival at the airport, Mr Brown strapped himself into the open cockpit of Mr Messenger's biplane his baby son held tightly in his arms. Mr Messenger hopped into the pilot's seat and within a few minutes the three of them were airborne.

Mr Messenger flew with great care at up to 2000' feet over the Thames Estuary before landing safely back at Gravesend some fifteen minutes later.

Needless to say, the whole escapade took place without the knowledge of poor old Mrs Brown!

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