This gallery shows a selection of images of the immediate aftermath and of trees uprooted taken some weeks later near Queendown Warren. You can see the scale of the tree roots that have been ripped out of the ground compared to the person standing next to them which gives an idea of the ferocity of the hurricane force winds that hit Kent on 15/16 October 1987
Old photos
Rainham Kent Snow Photos from 1987:Winter 1987/88 Snow in Kent
Rainham and Kent in general were hit particularly badly by snow in 1987 and for some days were cut off completely. I recall milk being flown in by army helicopter due to roads being impassable and major roads being blocked for many days. As outlined below the weather station recorded 22 INCHES of snow in Jan 1987 in Gillingham (in 2010 the roads were brought to a standstill with less than 20cm!!)
At the time I was working at Rainham Co-op as saturday staff. As school was closed due to the snow and being one of the staff that could walk to the shop I worked many extra hours during the snow building up my savings! Later on in the year the great Hurricane hit Kent during October 1987 leaving many trees blown down.
In 1987 the sea at Rainham (Motney Hill) even froze showing how cold the weather got. See the photo above of the frozen sea at Motney Hill.
Severe snow also hit the South East and Kent in 1991. This article from The Telegraph explains some of the recent snow events including the infamous wrong kind of snow quote from British Rail. The article says "During the 1991 event level snow lay 12 inches deep in central London, and on January 12-13, 1987, the deepest snow was in south Essex, Kent, Surrey and south London with 22 inches reported in the Maidstone and Gillingham areas. "
Video of the snow from Thames News 1987 BBC News Great Storm Oct 1987
Train stuck in snowdrift Kent 1987
Photos of 1987 snowdrifts in Kent
Snow in Kent-Photos
Kent snow photos from 1987
Medway snow photos January 1987
Further pictures of the 1987 snow in the South East
Photos on this page are clickable to view higher resolution versions. These snow photos were kindly supplied by Steve Murdoch.
Snow on Lower Rainham Rd,Kent
M.V.Resilience at Otterham 
Frozen Sea 
Otterham Quay Docks 
The scrap metal yard at 
Rainham Station in Snow 
Rainham Station Footbridge 
Angel Pub Rainham 
Otterham Quay Docks
Lower Rainham Road
Motney Hill Road Dock
Snow in Rainham Kent 1987:Photos by Andy James
Snow in Rainham Kent 1987:Photos by Andy JamesSnow in Rainham Kent 1987:Photos by Andy JamesSnow in Rainham Kent 1987:Photos by Andy James
Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
Snow in Chatham Kent 1987:Photos by Alun Rodgers
Hempstead Valley Shopping centre (aka Savacentre) near Gillingham Kent was constructed in the late 1970s just outside the village of Hempstead. It opened on 17th October 1978 so has celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2008. These photos showing the construction of Hempstead Valley were kindly sent by Chris Shade. You can see the large sign showing the original name of Savacentre. A current photo of Savacentre is shown on the Hempstead Valley website
There is currently (2010) a proposal to redevelop the Hempstead Valley shopping centre to modernise areas of it. You can view the proposal on the Hempstead Valley website here When it is completed in 2015 it will make a huge difference to the appeal of the centre as a shopping destination.
What may seem commonplace now was groundbreaking in 1978 as there were very few other out of town shopping centres of this size at the time. Hempstead Valley was the second Savacentre (Washington Tyne & Wear opened in 1977). At the time of opening Savacentre was one of the largest out of town shopping centres in the South East. The original Picnic Parlour was the first Food Court in the UK. You can see more info about Sainsburys Savacentre here
When originally opened the main shop was Sainsburys Savacentre, the brand they originally created for their large hypermarkets. At the time Sainsburys was by far the largest supermarket in the UK with Tesco trailing far behind – a far cry from the current situation with Tesco leading the field. The originally Hempstead Valley offered 250,000 square feet of shopping space but when the centre was redeveloped in the early 1990s with an extension and new shops like M&S being added, this was increased to 330,000 square feet.
The challenge is to remember all the original shops that were there when the centre opens….Sainsburys, Presto (which then became Safeway) - but which others?
So far the following shops have been suggested for the original opening
NSS (Newsagents) then became Forbuoys
Our Price
Post Office (not one of the original shops)
Sainsburys Savacentre
Boots
Thomas Cook
Presto Supermarket
Wimpy Burger Bar
Spud-U-Like
Later additions when the extension was added in early 1990s were WHSmith, Marks & Spencer.
Notice in the aerial shot the area to the bottom right which was developed for large housing estates shortly after the shot was taken.
Photos on this page are clickable to view higher resolution versions.
Looking towards Savacentre Hempstead Valley from roundabout
Looking towards Hempstead Valley from Sharsted Way 
Looking towards Hempstead Valley from roundabout
Looking towards Hempstead Valley from Sharsted Way
Aerial photo of Hempstead Valley Savacentre 1980
Old photos by decade
Roads around the Rainham - old photos of how roads used to look in days gone by