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Disasters

Whitstable at War
 
The third draft of our story of Whitstable during World War II -  with thanks to the many contributions from our regulars. Special acknowledgement goes to Brian Smith who has spent so much time on the article and provided so much of the content. 

Beach of 1946
 
John Harman describes some of the WWII anti-invasion measures and what it was like to be free on the water in 1946

The Flood of 1953
 
Photos, maps, stories and anecdotes from our visitors

Day the Sea Froze
 
Day the sea froze in the winter of 1962/1963 - photos kindly supplied by Jackie Evans and taken by  dad, Jack Ferrell

Town Events

Whitstable Regatta 
Glimpses of the Past
 

An article by Richard Perks who was involved in organising the 182nd and 183rd Regattas back in 1986/7. Richard traces the history back to the first Regatta in 1792 and explains what is involved in staging it all. 

Watch out for some lovely photos - including crowd shots and the fondly remembered greasy pole event. 

Old Haunts

The Old Boating Lake
 

A wide range of pictures of one of the town's "most loved" locations. All supplied by our visitors! 

West Beach Swim Pool
 
The town's first public swim pool? We take a trip to the '40s & 50's with the photos of Chris Vernon-Jarvis (BC Canada)

The Red Spider Café

A brief history of one of the town's best remembered beach structures - with photos kindly supplied by Tim Holman and Ian & Jennifer Johnson

Places

Vigilant Beach
 
John Harman takes us back to the boat yards of the 1950s

Story of West Beach
 
A personal interpretation of West Beach history based on photos contributed by our visitors

Bexley St Chapel

Photos of the demolition of the Chapel taken by Wallace "Wally" Darby in 1985. Reproduced with kind permission of Margarett Emery.

Streets

Harbour Place

Tracing the long lost Harbour Place and the House of the Good Shepherd

Shops

Birth of Newells... and Woolworths

The story of three High Street premises that gave us Newell's shop.... and, ultimately, Woolworths. With thanks to Diana Suard for photos and commentary.

Characters

Bill Wade - Shotgun Milkman

Details of a real character from the past.... a milkman who carried a shotgun on his round. Many thanks to Peter Wade for the photo and story

 The Wandering Minstrel of West Beach 

A lovely shot of a minstrel from the 1940s supplied by Ivan Knowles and further details from John Harman

... with thanks to all  contributors
to the Simply Whitstable Web Site

 

NOTE

It is not our intention to provide a detailed history of Whitstable.  That is beyond our resources and we leave the task to more experienced historians. However, we present anecdotes and stories contributed by our readers and we hope these will add a human touch to the overall picture.

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Memories

Memory Articles
 

A range of text articles on past
 Whitstable

Fountain of Youth

John Butler's fascinating memories
 of his childhood in Whitstable
 - living at the Fountain Inn 

Miscellany

The Photobox

Miscellaneous photos provided
by our regular readers and
 covering a wide range of topics.
 

Origins of Beach Furniture

Evidence from Diana Suard, John Harman & Brian Smith of wood recycling for breakwaters & the Horsebridge Pier.

Transport

Jumbo Gisby's Taxis

Photos and background to the taxi business of one of the town's well remembered characters... with thanks to Jackie Evans

Music

Rock-a-Beats of the '60s and Black Cats of the '50s

If you were a Whitstable teenager of the Swinging Sixties, you will have fond memories of the town's most celebrated pop gorup - the Rock-a-Beats. Here we discuss the groups origins as The Back Cats with the help of Pip Hadler, Alan Hadler and Phil Page.

Rock-a-Beats to Black Cats - an Inside View by Roger Head

Following our article above, Rock-a-Beats drummer Roger Head has kindly provided an article describing how it all came about, what it was like to be part of the group and how it ended. 

 

Whitstable in Old Ads

Commercial Whitstable - adverts of 1957!

A lighthearted look at business of the 1950s - using adverts from the Whitstable Carnival Programme of 1957. With thanks to Ian Johnson.

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Clubs

All Saints Youth Groups

The 3rd Whitstable Scouts Cubs & Guides... and the Youth Clubs of the 1940s and 1950s... with thanks to Bill Dancer & Sue Pidford 

Whitstable Sea Scouts

The 2nd  Whitstable Scout memories.... with thanks to Jock Harnet and Cliff Cuttelle 

Girls Life Brigade

Photos of the GLB of 1959 and 1960... with thanks to Ian Johnson and Jenny Ashford (nee Johnson). can you name the personnel?

Football

Whitstable Town FC and the
Golden Years - 1946-1959
 

The story of Whitstable FC in the powerful Kent League of the 1950s 

Whitstable Old Boys FC
 

The town's most successful amateur football club of the '60s and '70s 

Schools

Sir William Nottidge
 
(Photos and tales of ex-pupils.. ranging from autographs of teachers to the recipe for Gypsy Tart!)

Whitstable Junior School
 
The first draft of a substantial item that traces the history of the Oxford Street school form its origins as The Whitstable Boys Board School in 1877 to the co-ed Whitstable Juniors of today.

Albert Street School
 
The curious Albert Street Infant school of 1879 that gave rise to an even more curious Domestic Economy Centre, a school meals kitchen and now the Kindom Hall of local Jehovah's Witnesses. Along the way, the story uncovers possible links between Oxford Street schools and Westmeads Infants.

Endowed School
 
A whole school photo from  1953 and other memories of the town's junior girls school

Whitstable & Tankerton Collegiate

Memories of "The Tom Cat" School
 in Shaftesbury Road  

The Kings Leigh School

Perhaps the most unusual private school
we have discussed to date. Operating
in the 1930s, it was part-boarding
and 'prepared boys for public school
and the navy'! Thanks go to Sandford MacLean, Brian Eames, Diana Suard
 and Peter Dalrymple for contributions 

Miss Lamb's Nursery School

Memories of Miss Lamb's much loved Meadowcroft School at Church Street. 

Hobbies

Cigarette Packets
 

Bill Dancer presents extracts from an amazing album of cigarette packets collected around Whitstable between 1945 and 1953

Whitbread Cards
 
Cards issued by the Whitbread Brewery in the 1950s and containing the signs and history of local pubs. With thanks to Sue Pidford and Joe Gibbens.

Building the Marcelle

How do you build a boat in your back garden in 1948? John Harman explains.

Royal Events!

Coronation & Jubilees

Photos of local celebrations of Coronations and Jubilees. With thanks to Sue Pidford, Terry Moore, Bill Dancer, Ian Johnson, Ann Nash and Derek Drury

Pieces of Old Whitstable!

Some of the curious mementoes that have surfaced around the world!

Mark's Clown Catcher

 The story of  how a penny slot machine was salvaged from one of Whitstable's amusement arcades and located in the home of Mark Foreman.... on the prairies of Canada!

Ray's Beer Engine

 The story of  a set of  beer pumps (from a well known Whitstable pub) that found a home with Ray Leeden in West Vancouver

Policeman's Truncheon

 The auction of a railway police truncheon from the old Canterbury-Whitstable line.