VE Day 75

The Bank Holiday weekend of 8th/9th/10th May was set to include a huge nationwide celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day - the end of the Second World War in Europe.

As a result of the Covid-19 lockdown - most celebrations have either been cancelled or postponed. Activities would have included street parties, exhibitions, parades and other community events.

The organisers of 'VE Day 75' hope to move some of the planned activities to the weekend of 15th/16th August (the 75th anniversary of VJ Day - Victory over Japan Day).

For more information and updates, visit the 'VE Day 75' website.

Many folk had intended to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day by organising street parties. Some have now decided to arrange 'stay at home street parties' instead.

If you organise a 'stay at home street party' on 8th May - send your pics to Village Voices Publishing for inclusion in a future community magazine. Get in touch by emailing: office@villagevoicespublishing.co.uk

During these odd and worrying lockdown times, I'm going through my local history collection and archive. 

A few years ago I bought 49 copies of a WW2 magazine called 'The War Illustrated'. I'm checking each magazine to see if I can find any items relating to the Hoo Peninsula and Medway Towns - for inclusion in my local history columns in the Village Voices Community Magazine and the Strood & Hoo Peninsula Times.

  

Birdsong

With most of us spending considerably more time at home (and in the garden) many people are enjoying the sound of birdsong - all day long!

The Covid-19 lockdown has resulted in fewer vehicles on roads, almost deserted skies and a cleaner, more peaceful, environment. Birdsong seems amplified by the reduction in other noise.

Birdsong is really relaxing - the perfect tonic in these worrying times. 

It's disappointing when people complain that 'birds are too noisy' or feel they're a nuisance because they might poo on a garden fence! 

The Hoo Peninsula is best known for having a vibrant bird life. 

Along with the wider Thames Estuary, the Hoo Peninsula is a vital migration hub for hundreds of thousands of wintering wildfowl and wading birds, as well as providing a summer breeding ground for migratory birds.

From garden birds to nightingales at Lodge Hill and herons at High Halstow - our local landscape provides rich pickings and a safe haven for many species. They enjoy hedgerows and gardens, farmland, waterways, wetlands, salt marshes, mudflats and woodlands.

Keep tweeting birds - and make everyone feel a little bit better.

  

Small discovery - big satisfaction!

Those who research their family history will understand the satisfaction given by the smallest discovery. 

I recently found the below photo in my collection (it was actually sent to me back in 2013). It is part of a much larger photo (a wedding photo) but my interest is what is shown in the background.

The image shows a small dwelling once occupied by my two-times great grandmother Susannah Watson. I believe she died there in 1925. 

The cottage was demolished (or fell down) many years ago - today it is a yard and garage next to Stoke Garage in Lower Stoke. I’ve always wondered what this house looked like, and now I know.

  

Good news for Aveling group

Following the group’s first public event last September (Thomas Aveling’s Birthday Celebration 2019), the Thomas Aveling Society rolls into 2020 with three positive developments to report.

Firstly, Hoo resident and talented artist Alan Page presented Michael Pearce with a fabulous painting showing an imagined scene featuring Thomas with one of his steam road rollers outside the Invicta Works in Strood.

Secondly, thanks to a donation of £200 from the Blakemore Foundation (owners of Hoo Spar), plus additional support by Village Voices Publishing, the ‘Mobile Thomas Aveling Museum’ will be launched later this month (January). The project is part of the group’s ‘Reaching Out Education Programme’ and will see an exhibition placed in schools and local groups for set periods.

Lastly, the Thomas Aveling Society recently lobbied Medway Council and housing developer Taylor Wimpey to assign Thomas Aveling themed names to roads on a new housing development along Stoke Road in Hoo (yet to start construction). Thomas worked for farmer Edward Lake (of Abbots Court) on the fields around Stoke Road (and Abbots Court) as a young man - possibly developing his early inventions and engineering ideas on the very fields now being developed. The Thomas Aveling Society has agreed for the following road names to be assigned: Thomas Aveling Road, Invicta Drive, Harvest Rise, Plough Close, Foundry Close, Blacksmith Lane and Edward Lake Drive.

The Thomas Aveling Society was formed in 2014 to promote and celebrate the life and legacy of pioneering engineer Thomas Aveling, who lived in Hoo as a boy and young man. He was buried in the churchyard at St. Werburgh Church following his death in 1882, aged 57.