Macklands Arms Pub Outing (pre 1945)

Found the attached photo amongst my late Father's possessions.  My Father was William Blundy (third from the left back row). 

I believe this is a pre-war photo of them going on an outing, probably arranged through the Macklands.  My Father's other brother, Sid Blundy is sitting at the front.  My Aunt also thinks the Moore family are also in this photo.  

My Grandparents lived in Station Road and we later lived at 54 William St

Not sure but it may be Mr. & Mrs. Gillman, who ran the Macklands for many years in the top right hand of the photo.

History Articles

On the day that Queen Elizabeth reaches the milestone of being the longest reigning British monarch it seems appropriate to remember the A2 in Rainham being renamed Sovereign Boulevard for her Silver Jubilee in 1977.

The A2 in Rainham has various different names along its length including Moor Street, High Street, Broad Walk as well as Sovereign Boulevard.

History Articles

Memories of Fairview Junior School

I attended Fairview Junior school from 1977 to 1981. The headmaster was Mr Queen and the teachers I remember were Mrs Terry, Miss Kitchener, Mr Roome, Mr Baker, Mr Thomas. The school had an outdoor swimming pool which was always freezing despite a solar blanket being purchased to try to warm it up. I had very enjoyable school days at Fairview with lots of happy memories and left in 1981 to go to Rainham Mark Grammar school.

School dinners have changed massively since the 1970s, I recall horrible goulash but loved the gypsy tart and apple. You'd never find salad served in school with peanuts now but for some reason nut allergies weren't a problem back then. Occasionally the school dinners were served from the church hall next to the school. This wasn't all the time so I'm unsure now why this happened.

The school playing field seemed massive as a 7 year old and I remember it seemingly taking ages to get from one side to the other when playing games out on the top field.

Every summer the school had a June Fair to raise money for the PTA, the photo below is of the Fancy dress competition in 1981.

Photo of Fairview School June Fair fancy dress competition, June 1981

History Articles

Top Rank Motorway Service M2 Farthing Corner Kent

Good food, service and comfort with unrivalled panoramic view of the Medway estuary. Excellent parking with petrol station along side.

In 1970 this was considered fine dining and a destination in itself - hard to believe now. The M2 services were renamed Medway in 1992 and are currently owned by Moto (2015). The slip roads contributed to the rapid development of Parkwood estate in Rainham at this time.

History Articles

The Rainham Whirlwind of March 1924

Many present day residents of Rainham will remember the great hurricane of 1987 that caused a considerable amount of damage in the area but few will remember the whirlwind that hit the centre of the village in 1924.

According to the East Kent Gazette of March 8th 1924 black clouds covered the sky and created an eerie semi darkness late in the afternoon of Friday March 1st. A powerful spinning whirlwind followed this and struck top end of Station Road with terrific force as it moved across in just seconds but caused considerable devastation.

Rainham as it would have appeared around 1924

With the vortex centred on the corner of Longley Road and Station Road, Mrs Clark of Ramsey House described it as ‘quick as lightning’ while Mr A Stinton, a builder and contractor who lived on the other side of the road said: ‘It was for all the world like the roar of an express train.’

The whirlwind destroyed both chimney stacks on Ramsey House and that of Mrs Kitney’s house almost opposite Longley Road. Bricks were hurled through the air by the wind, these smashed windows and landed on the roofs of other houses in the vicinity. The mass of debris that fell sounded like a bomb exploding according to some eye witnesses.

A house belonging to Mrs C Clark in Station Road had the chimney stacks blown off the roof and suffered other damage. Mrs Clark’s parents who were in the house at the time were left terrified by the commotion but were unhurt. Mr F Shepherd of 38 Station Road was taken up in the air and hurled across the road by the force of the whirlwind.

‘I had come to my gate when the storm burst and I was sucked into the vortex, blown across the road and thrown down,’ he explained.

Mr Sheppard only suffered a cut wrist but others were not so lucky like Donald Ede a horse and cart driver who worked for grocer Mr Quinnell. He was driving a horse and cart packed with groceries down the top end of Station Road when the sudden arrival and power of the whirlwind caused the horse to bolt and crash the cart into a lamp post. The cart turned over, the shafts were snapped and groceries were strewn across the road and ruined in the heavy rain while Donald Ede was thrown off his vehicle and onto the road. He sustained a cut face and head which needed medical attention and he had to have a week off work. The damage cost Mr Quinnell £50. His manager Mr Rose cleared up the mess.

Rainham vicar Reverend Ball may have been the most fortunate to escape death or injury. He happened to be shopping in Station Road when the whirlwind struck so he took shelter in a doorway. Almost immediately chimney stacks from houses crashed down on the road and pavement just a few feet away from him but he didn’t get struck so he luckily remained uninjured.

The Salvation Army Hall in Station Road, a timber building had one side blown off its foundation by the whirlwind. Mr and Mrs Russell were inside at the time. When the whirlwind began Mr Russell looked out of the window just as the upper part was suddenly blown in and the glass hit him in the face. The hall got so severely damaged that it could not be used for some time so services had to be held in Rainham Church Hall.

Just below the Salvation Army Hall the whirlwind blew over thirty yards of brick wall and a chicken house lifted in the air and deposited in Parsonage Meadow. Another house owned by Mrs T Kitchingham in Station Road also had its roof lifted, the wind blew a chimney pot off the roof and through a greenhouse. In Longley Road a row of houses had flames belching from their chimney pots as the wind blew flames from fires in the houses up the chimneys causing the soot to ignite which lit up the semi darkness of the late afternoon sky. Window panes in the same houses were smashed.

Because of torrential rain a lot of people sheltered under the veranda of the Co-Operative Stores at the top end of Station Road opposite St Margaret’s School. The force of the wind lifted the roof of the building from its supports which caused panic with women and girls screaming with fright but nobody got injured.

As the whirlwind spun across central Rainham slates were blown off houses in Ivy Street and outbuildings at the back had roofs blown off while farther along at Moor Street Mr and Mrs Castle’s house got so badly damaged that they had to vacate the premises and sleep at Westmoor Farmhouse for the night by courtesy of Mrs Scott.

At Westmoor Farm some damage occurred mainly to outbuildings while a large bough from an elm tree crashed on to the roof of a fruit store and completely wrecked the building incurring an estimated £100 worth of damage.

After the whirlwind had moved away and the storm finished Mr Stinton of Station Road and a gang of building employees cleared up the mess in Station Road where most of the devastation had taken place while lots of Rainham residents flocked to the area to view the damage in the evening. Glaziers and slaters arrived the next day to repair the roofs and windows as Rainham reverted back to calmness after the most powerful whirlwind to hit Rainham in living memory.

History Articles

The Rainham Seaman Torpedoed on Two Ships on the Same Day in 1914

Originally from Portsmouth where he joined the navy in 1888, John Brading moved to Rainham in 1906 and continued his naval service.

With the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 Brading served on HMS Hogue. On September 20th his vessel along with HMS Aboukir, HMS Cressy and HMS Euryalus were sent to patrol the Broad Fourteens, an area located near the Dutch and Belgian coastlines to look out for German naval war vessels. They were not escorted by destroyers which made them vulnerable to submarine attacks.

On September 20th HMS Euryalus turned back to Sheerness because of an aerial problem while the other three cruisers continued their journey. On September 22nd German submarine U9 spotted the cruisers and fired a single torpedo that struck HMS Aboukir on the port side causing heavy flooding. The vessel capsized after 25 minutes and sank five minutes later. While this was happening Aboukir’s captain Drummond ordered the crew to abandon ship.

While the Hogue and Cressy were preparing to pick up survivors from the stricken HMS Aboukir they were also torpedoed. U9 fired two torpedoes at the Hogue and one of these hit her amidships which flooded the engine room. The second torpedo struck a few feet from the first followed by a third explosion caused by an ignited magazine which resulted in the vessel listing over to forty degrees as the sea poured in on the waterline amidships. Realizing that the ship was sinking John Brading jumped into the sea with other members of the crew and swam towards Cressy as fast as possible to avoid being sucked under the water by the vortex of the sinking Hogue.

Soon after Brading had climbed aboard the Cressy which had moved in towards Hogue to rescue survivors, it was also struck by a torpedo in the starboard boiler room and listed but did not start sinking immediately. When a second torpedo struck and the vessel began to keel over crew members began jumping overboard which included Brading. He jumped into the cold sea for the second time that day where he remained for four hours bobbing up and down in high waves amongst dead bodies and about 2,000 sailors struggling amongst a mass of wreckage and pieces of wood to which most of them clung. Many were paralysed with shock and cold while they waited to be rescued. In the meantime, the triumphant German submarine U9 moved off towards the German port of Wilhelmshaven because all six of its torpedoes had been fired and the captain was fearful of British destroyers arriving in the area. One 493 ton U-boat with a crew of 28 had destroyed 36,000 tons of three British cruisers in less than 90 minutes which served as great propaganda for the Germans.

Brading and other survivors were rescued by the Dutch merchant ships Flora and Titan and British trawlers JGC and Coriander before a force of light cruisers and destroyers arrived from Harwich and escorted the survivors aboard the British vessels to the English port of Lowestoft while Flora and Titan sailed with survivors to Holland. In total 837 men were rescued but 1,459 died. Many of these were young cadets and reservists. The incident caused an outcry in the UK at a time when submarines were not seen as a serious threat so it established the U-boat as a major threat in warfare and questioned the invincibility of the Royal Navy.

Photo of HMS Princess Irene, a similar ship from WW1.

Because of the psychological effects of his experiences on September 22nd from which he never fully recovered, Brading worked at Tilbury Docks as an armourer assisting with the arming of liners for the remainder of the war then retired from the navy after the conflict had finished.

 In 1920 Brading moved to Edwin Road in Rainham where he lived with his wife and two children. He later became a trustee of the Rainham Methodist Church in Station Road where he became well-known for organising children’s social events, he worked with the Royal Naval Temperance Society and he also became a playing member at Gillingham Bowls Club. He was left with only memories of that fateful day on September 22nd 1914 before he died aged 68 in August 1939.

David Wood.

History Articles

The Amalgamation of Rainham and Gillingham

In 1928 the border of Rainham extended almost to Gillingham due to a marked increase in population and housing. This was in contrast to 1887 when a waterworks did not exist and only a few houses were located on the main road outside the village centre in the direction of Gillingham. Rainham had doubled from about 3,000 to over 5,800 people between 1887 and 1928 which put pressure on available amenities.

During the late 1920s Rainham Parish Council began to discuss the possibility of leaving the Borough of Sittingbourne and Milton and amalgamating with Gillingham, the biggest borough in Kent with a population of 57,000 people. The main arguments were that the borders almost touched, urban powers were too expensive for Rainham alone and better public services like main drainage would become available at an affordable cost.

Main drainage became the biggest issue as existing conditions were insanitary due to the subsoil becoming excessively polluted which meant that action was desperately needed to avoid a possible outbreak of disease. The growth of Rainham had exceeded its limitations with regard to the existing sanitary conditions. After pressure from the Ministry of Health Milton Rural Council considered main drainage for Rainham at a cost of £21,231 and came up with three options. 1. The Chatham Scheme which would connect Rainham with the Chatham and Rochester sewage system with Rainham at Motney Hill Works. 2. The Rainham Scheme meaning a separate sewage system for Rainham. 3. The Gillingham Scheme to convey the sewage to the Gillingham Disposal Works for treatment.

The overall cost of the various options showed that if Rainham amalgamated with Gillingham they would get definite and affordable main drainage so in March 1927 Rainham Parish Council drew up and submitted a statement to Gillingham. The council made a unanimous decision on the issue. The summary of the statement read:

‘That the amalgamation shall be on an equal rating basis in consideration of which the Gillingham Corporation agree to accept all present and future liabilities, all charges for improvements made in the parish to be a charge on the common fund of the combined districts.’

Gillingham Council took note of this then passed their own resolution stating that Rainham should be on equal rating with Gillingham and that rates would be increased to 14/4d. This accounted for main drainage, the widening of Rainham High Street, the erection of a town hall and offices and the extension of electric lighting without any other future financial commitments. This proved to be a much cheaper and better option for Rainham than what Milton could offer.

At a meeting at the Rainham County School on Thursday April 21^st 1927 the proposed amalgamation was discussed by Rainham parish council. The main argument put forward was that if Rainham remained with Sittingbourne and Milton they would have to pay the full cost of £21,231 for main drainage but if they amalgamated with Gillingham they would pay substantially less and have the widening of roads, a town hall and offices included in the cost. The Mayor of Gillingham also said that the river frontage from Gillingham to Rainham could be developed and electric lighting extended to Rainham. All the work planned by Gillingham Council for Rainham was to be a gradual process.

Questions about whether Rainham would have to change from the Diocese of Canterbury to the Diocese of Rochester and from Sittingbourne to Gillingham constabulary remained unresolved but amalgamation proceeded.

On May 1^st 1927 a referendum took place in Rainham to gauge the attitude of residents towards amalgamation with Gillingham. In the first referendum ever to take place in Rainham a disappointing 27% of voters turned out. Those who voted for amalgamation totalled 565 and those against 124 resulting in a majority of 441 in favour of amalgamation. Some opposition did exist in Gillingham because of the proposed rates increase but this did not prove to be a big obstacle.

On April 1^st 1929 a ceremony took place at the border between Rainham and Gillingham at Rainham Mark where a blue ribbon extended across the road. Troops of boy scouts and girl guides from Rainham and Gillingham and the Gillingham and Rainham Fire Brigades were present. Important municipal figures in attendance included Mr Treacher the Mayor of Gillingham, Gillingham fire chief Mr F White, Rainham fire chief Mr D Smith, Gillingham Division Constabulary superintendent Paramour and Sittingbourne superintendent Hoare. Others included the Lord Bishop of Rochester, Alfred Hinge the chairman of Milton Rural District Council and Rainham councillors W Holding, R Quinnell, and G Brown who had played a big part in pushing for the amalgamation of Rainham with Gillingham.

Photo of a house in Marshall Road in 1929 at the time of the amalgamation ceremony at Rainham Mark

At the ceremony the Mayor of Gillingham cut the ribbon then Mr Robert Quinnell and the mayor shook hands as a symbol of municipal friendship. This was followed by a speech from Robert Quinnell at what turned out to be a historic and moving event after which the dignitaries went for a special luncheon at the new Rainham Co-operative Society hall in Rainham High Street.

Other activities on the day included a football match between Rainham and Gillingham fire brigades on Rainham Recreation Ground while the band of the Royal Marines played music on an improvised band stand. This was followed by displays by the United Brigades including life-saving from a burning house. In the evening a firework display took place with the fiery motto ‘Success to Greater Gillingham’ lighting up in the sky. Amalgamation had finally taken place and Rainham remains part of the Borough of Gillingham today.

David Wood.

History Articles

Wakeley Road Primary School

Well-known TV and radio broadcaster Professor E N Andrade opened Wakeley Road Primary School on Tuesday May 11^th 1954. The School also opened on the same day as Featherby Junior and Twydall and Featherby Infant’s Schools, all constructed about the same time as part of a plan in Gillingham to meet the growing demand for more schools in the area.

Wakeley Road Primary School became the first of the new schools to be opened in front of parents and a party of 140 people from the education sector. Rainham vicar Reverend F Jordan who also served as vice-chairman of Gillingham Education Committee conducted a dedication service. After this the audience watched a film made about Medway schools in which about 10,000 Medway schoolchildren participated. Richmond Road Secondary School teacher Mr P Northcott acted as cameraman for the film designed to show the ideas underlying the educational practices of schools in the area.

Terry Arnold attended the school during the late 1950s and early 1960s and remembers that there were about 240 pupils, eight classrooms, a hall, a canteen and a playing field. He also recalls his four teachers Mrs Gott, Mr Hopkins, Mr Martin and Mr Chudley, a New Zealander. Of these he says that the boys all liked Mrs Gott because she was very attractive and Mr Chudley became the first teacher who asked the pupils to call everyone by their first names.

Terry remembers Mr Martin starting a gardening class when pupils had to dig up part of the school field which he found gruelling work. He also remembers that when taking basket weaving classes with Mr Hopkins some boys enjoyed breaking bits of material off their baskets, soaking these in the sink then setting the ends alight and smoking them like cigarettes.

Terry recalls Sports Day that took place annually on the school playing field each summer and usually included a relay competition against pupils from St Margaret’s School in Station Road. He also remembers the annual school nativity play in which he once participated as ‘The Black King.’

Terry says that the boys liked football and played during the playtime breaks. They also played some matches against other schools. The school had a good reputation for PE and Terry recalls a film being made about the pupils performing exercise routines in the school hall.

Former pupil Lorna Cook who attended the school during the early 1960s experienced happy times there. She remembers that there were eight classes in years 1-4 with two classes for each age group and classrooms on two levels. She thinks that the headmaster’s name was Mr Dawes and there were about eight teachers including Mr Chudley who became her teacher. She remembers the hall that doubled as a gym with gymnastic equipment stored under the stage and that numerous good gymnasts were produced at the school.

Lorna recalls a playing field and a playground where football and rounders were played and a free standing wall that older pupils climbed in playtime periods. Meanwhile, younger pupils skipped with skipping ropes or juggled tennis balls. Lorna felt proud when she became old enough to climb the wall while younger pupils watched in awe.

Pupils did not wear school uniforms but black indoor plimsolls were compulsory to protect the flooring. Fourth year pupils who took turns as plimsoll monitors policed the area.

Lorna remembers a nurse periodically visiting the school to inspect children’s hair for nits. She also became a member of the Brownies who met there once a week and remembers walking a long way and almost getting locked in the pupil’s toilets not realizing that she had permission to use the teachers’ toilets situated close to the hall where the Brownies met. She recalls the Cycling Proficiency Test that was taken at the school on Saturdays and that before getting permission to ride a bike to school the certificate had to be produced.

Lorna feels that the pupils were generally well behaved and recalls that when in the classroom on a rainy day she and other pupils stopped the rain coming through the windows by lining up wooden rulers along the gaps.

Almost 60 years since it first opened Wakeley Road Primary School finally closed on August 31^st 2003 when Mrs Daley served as headmistress. In the years leading up to this the school roll had fallen dramatically and 41% of places were unfilled. Numbers fell to 153 pupils compared to well over 200 in earlier decades. A fall in numbers also occurred at Meredale Infant’s School so the education authority decided to discuss the future of the two schools and put forward six options. The fourth option which entailed the closing down of both Wakeley Road Primary and Meredale Infant’s and combining the children from both schools on the Wakeley Road site with a different name was chosen. The Wakeley Road site was considered to have more flexibility, more space and safer for parents to drop off and collect their children in their cars than on the road outside Meredale which often got congested.

The closure of Wakeley Road Primary School led to opposition from school governors, staff and parents. At the time of closure the school’s results had improved according to the most recent Ofsted inspection. In the National Curriculum Tests pupils had achieved 62% in Maths and 64% in English at level 4 or above. At the same time Meredale Infant’s School had been designated highly successful and the closure shocked the school governors and the staff but at the end of the day economics turned out to be the overriding factor.

After the closure in 2003 Riverside Primary School opened on the same site as the former Wakeley Road Primary School. It has a present day roll of 153 pupils.

History Articles

The Amazing 54 Year Rainham Love Affair

It started as a teenage friendship, developed into a full blown love affair then circumstances split the couple between two countries. They reluctantly parted but never stopped thinking about each other. This is the story of George Frid from Rainham and Ann Hubbard from Upchurch whose love affair captivated local people and hit the pages of The Sunday Express in 1924.

The story began during the 1860s when teenager George Frid from Rainham met Ann Hubbard from Upchurch. Ann later described how they met.

‘George had a sister, who, before I met him was already my friend. She took me to her home and I met George. We became child friends. We met at play, at day school and at Sunday School. Jolly years sped on during which George and I wandered together about the district, along the footpaths, down the lanes joining the two villages until we were finally recognised as sweethearts.’

George got a job in the Lower Rainham brickfield when he left school but because he was ambitious and wanted to improve his life he decided to immigrate to Canada. Because he loved Ann and had courted her for three years he wanted to marry her and take her to Canada with him but Ann’s parents objected and so she reluctantly had to stay at home.

Ann and George’s mother were against him going to Canada but he said that he would return home after one year. Ann explained:

‘Before he left home we pledged our troth. I promised to join him if he was unable to come back, as soon as he could make the home ready. But my parents were against the plan. They resolutely declined to approve the great adventure.’

When it was time for George to leave for Canada in 1870 Ann accompanied him to Chatham railway station.

‘Never shall I forget our last farewell at Chatham. The heart of youth is always filled with hope and I did not think the parting would be for long as we bid each other a tender goodbye. Letters followed punctually on his arrival in Canada and he gave me enthusiastic accounts of the pretty little town of Hamilton where he decided to settle. He told me of the beautiful scenery of lake and mountain, and stressed the point that he had alighted in the garden of Ontario. As he was striving so hard to make progress he was unable to return as he had planned and sent for me to go out to him. Of course, I was longing to join him, so that we might face the world together in a wonderful new country.

My mother was a strong minded woman and she stated if I tried to go to Canada she would follow and bring me back. And as I was only eighteen I was made to realise that the laws would enable her to fulfil her threat so I delayed and delayed hoping that the months to come would find some solution to our problem.

George’s father died soon after his departure and his mother, with a family of big boys, left to join him, but my mother now insisted that he should return to England and marry me in my old home. At this time this was impossible. Money was still scarce and hard to earn so we just hoped on. Time moved more slowly. The days seemed to grow longer. Several springs came and fled, and I was still listening daily for the click of the gate as the postman came up the path to bring me news of my far away lover.

For ten years our letters crossed the great ocean that divided us and each letter seemed to make me feel the distance was growing greater…’

George worked as a brick-maker in Hamilton for about seven years before going into business as a brick manufacturer. He eventually decided that Ann was never going to join him so he met and married a girl from Montreal. Ann explained the situation.

‘… Then one horrible day the message came that, since I could not go to him, he had met someone in Canada and that he had decided to marry and make a good name for himself………It was terrible to have all my girlish hopes blighted, but I appreciated his position and wrote him sending my very best wishes and prayers for his happiness and explained there was no good reason why he should remain single, as I was bound by filial duty to remain with my parents. Then came a great silence. All correspondence ceased between us until I heard no more of him until this summer (1924).’

After years of marriage George’s Canadian wife died in 1922 making him a widower. By this time George had retired. He made a visit to Rainham and made inquiries about Ann but he could not find her. In July 1924 he made a second trip and stayed at the Jubilee Temperance Hotel (later The Railway pub) in Station Road. While staying there he discovered that Ann was still alive, single and living in Rainham aged 70 and both of her parents were dead. She had never married and still loved George. He decided to visit her. Ann described what happened:

‘Early in July he arrived, and once more my heart thrilled to the click of the garden gate. A silver haired man with tanned features and the clear eyes that I remembered so well greeted me as in the old days, and I knew that my love burned brighter and stronger than ever. We chatted over old times and tender memories were revived that showed he had not forgotten. He learned too, that my love had remained through the years, unchanging and true. He confessed that he had always kept my picture, and laughingly told how the children used to call to their mother as they looked through the old family album. ‘Come and look at dad’s old sweetheart.’

George then popped the question and asked Ann to marry him and to return to Canada with him. Ann described what happened:

‘Then the great question came. I realised that my life of constancy and love was going to receive its reward and I answered as my heart had dictated as a girl-54 years ago.

The news spread. Friends expressed their kindly interest and inquired whether Mr Frid was an old beau of mine. Only those who had known me in my girlhood knew anything about my early love, as I had always jealously guarded my secret from the outside world. So my life’s hidden romance came as a great surprise to many when they heard that I had been led to the altar, and with my bridegroom how so kept our troth of years ago.’

The happy couple got married at Sittingbourne Congregational church and then went to Margate by car for their honeymoon. Ann summed up her feelings before embarking for Canada:

‘And after all I am going to Canada. I am looking forward to embarking soon for my new home. I have no regrets in leaving the old place. To me Hamilton is not new; it represents the dreams of my youth. I know I am going to find it vastly different from the time when Mr Frid first went out as it has grown to a population of 120,000. Of course, I shall not have the happiness of helping him make his life, but at least I am going to enjoy with him his success. I feel that a true and noble man is the greatest blessing which can be bestowed on any woman and to win such a man has been worth waiting for…I have waited 54 years for the man of my choice. Fifty four years is a long time but it is over. I am happy now and that is all I care about.’

On September 27th 1924 the couple left Southampton for Canada on the liner ‘Empress of France’ and they were seen off by several friends. Their long affair had embodied great happiness and deep sadness but it all ended happily as the couple lived out the remainder of their lives together in a new land.

David Wood.

History Articles

The Opening of Rainham Senior Council School

With the expansion of Rainham during the first quarter of the 20th century a need for more schools arose as the old National School in Station Road and the Council School in Solomon Road were no longer able to cope with the growing numbers of children of secondary age.

A new school opened in Orchard Street in 1933 to ease the pressure of pupil numbers and this became known as Rainham Senior Council School.

The school had two parts, one for boys and the other for girls aged 11 years old and over from Rainham and the surrounding villages. The two almost identical parts of the school were each designed to hold 500-550 pupils and the building was constructed around a quadrangle of grass and plants. In the boys section there were nine classrooms with three large rooms for science, art and woodwork and metalwork. In the girls section there were two domestic science rooms for cookery and laundry work. There were also separate assembly halls for boys and girls which were also used for physical education and gymnastics.

Admin offices near the main entrance included rooms for the head teachers. Medical inspection rooms were also provided and a glazed corridor gave easy access to the classrooms. The buildings were lit and heated by electricity while gas and water were laid on where required. Seven acres of playing fields were laid at the rear of the school for sport and a canteen building was constructed at the far end close to Maidstone Road.

 In 1930 the government offered grants of 50% for the construction of new schools with the remainder paid by the County Council. This resulted in the new Council school quickly becoming reality. The education committee received various tenders from companies to construct the school and accepted that of builder Mr R Barwick from Dover at a price of £29,575.

After the construction of the building a stone laying ceremony took place on February 24th 1932 when Alderman John Bate laid the stone which bore the inscription ‘Borough of Gillingham Education Committee.’ Other dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Alderman Richard Wakeley, Rainham councillors William Holding and Robert Quinnell, Gillingham Town Clerk Francis Mountain, architect of the school Mr J Redfern, builder Mr R Barwick, headmaster Mr W Smith and headmistress Miss Hilda Hare. Rainham vicar Reverend R Hodgson conducted a service in the assembly hall.

Although the school began functioning towards the end of 1932 the official opening did not take place until January 18th 1933 when the Marquis of Dufferin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education opened the school. After the dignitaries had assembled in the handicraft room and were presented to the Marquis of Dufferin by the Mayor of Gillingham, they proceeded to the main entrance where architect Mr John Redfern handed the key to the Marquis of Dufferin who turned it in the door lock and declared the school open. The dignitaries then went to the assembly hall where Reverend Hodgson conducted a service in front of an audience of local residents and new teachers. The Marquis of Dufferin gave a speech about the aims and objectives of the new school and architect Mr John Redfern spoke about the school building.

About 400 girls and 400 boys initially attended the new school and these numbers gradually increased to about 500 over the years. Female teachers taught the girls while male teachers taught the boys in a system of single sex secondary education.

In the school’s first year some boys gained notable success when Ray Mountain of Milton House in Webster Road passed Latin and got a ‘Certificate of Merit of the Concours Special de la Societe de Professeurs de Francais en Anglaterre.’ Twin brothers Peter and Jack Longley from Mierscourt Road and Leslie Parsons from Holding Street won scholarships. The Rainham boys also performed well at the Gillingham School Athletics Association held at Gillingham Football Ground in July 1933. Rainham boys won most of the events and the Under 14 team won the relay race. J Sayer won the high jump with G Bolton third, C Smith won the long jump and J Latter won the hurdles race with D Woodley second to complete a great performance by Rainham. The school also gained a good reputation for football and many teams won honours over the years.

With a stable and capable staff led by headmaster Mr Smith, art teacher Mr Newell and metalwork/woodwork teacher Mr Snaith became long serving teachers and taught at the school until the mid-1960s.  

The school lasted until 1967 when the boys were moved to the newly constructed Howard School at Derwent Way then the girls followed about one year later to the new Rainham Girl’s School on the same site. With the demolition of the old National School in Station Road the pupils were transferred to Orchard Street and the school was renamed St Margaret’s Primary School which continues on the same site today. David Wood.

History Articles

The Rainham Poison Mystery of 1931

A dead woman dressed in her night clothes on the bedroom floor, a critically ill lodger on a bed in the same room and a gas heater turned on shocked and puzzled Rainham residents and led to wide speculation and press coverage about the reason for the death at 23 Webster Road in December 1931.

Mary Brown aged 49 and her 25 year old lodger Ernest Frith were rushed to St Bart’s Hospital where Mrs Brown died without regaining consciousness but doctors were unable to determine the cause of her death. Meanwhile, Ernest Frith recovered after being critically ill.

Ernest Frith’s brother Cyril had called the police and when they arrived police-constable Bareham found Mrs Brown unconscious on the bedroom floor. There were two beds in the room, a single and a double bed. Ernest Frith was lying on the double bed close to the slightly open window vomiting violently. The police arrested Frith after he had recovered in hospital and then Chatham Magistrates Court charged him on suspicion of attempted suicide by poisoning but Frith pleaded not guilty then later released.

Mr R Stedman the Rochester City Coroner opened an official inquest in late January but an initial analysis of Mary Brown’s organs resulted in reasons not being found for her death. Her organs were sent to the Home Office for analysis while the gas heater was sent to experts in London. Mr Stedman adjourned the case until further results were obtained. Four separate inquests had to be held until a final verdict could be given.

Neighbours suspected that Mary Brown was an affectionate but jealous lover who had lured Frith away from his foster parents to go and live with her but Frith denied this stating that he went to live in her house as a lodger out of his own free will.

Frith’s version was that he came home from work at Kemsley Paper Mill at the end of the week Mrs Brown gave him potatoes, fish, a glass of beer and a cup of milk then he went to bed at about 10-45 pm. He said he awoke in St Bart’s Hospital unaware of what had happened.

Frith’s aunt Mrs Jane Drury of Albany Road in Chatham said that after the death of their mother Cyril and Henry Frith went to live with Mrs Brown. A few months later Ernest and his brother Montague also went to live there because their father was in Australia.

Frith’s brother Cyril Frith said that when he left his bedroom at 6 am the door of the bedroom occupied by Mary Brown and Ernest Frith was closed. He did not know if the gas heater in the room was switched on or off and could not smell gas, although he stated that he felt ill when he awoke that morning. He immediately called Dr Drake and the police. However, police-constable Bareham said that there was a smell of gas in the bedroom of the deceased when he entered. The coroner adjourned the inquest again until Tuesday March 15^th while organs from Mrs Brown’s body were sent to the Home Office for analysis.

The final inquest was held at St Bart’s Hospital in March and began when Mary Brown’s daughter Lilian Pickavance from Chatham said that her mother and Frith had a good relationship. She also stated that her mother had had the gas heater since December 1930 and that she had frequently switched it off complaining of a nasty smell coming from it and that the heater made the bedroom stuffy and uncomfortable when switched on. She also stated that her mother and father had been separated for some time.

Police-constable Bareham backed up what Brown’s daughter had said when he stated that there was a smell of gas. He also said that later in the day he had returned to the house with Sergeant Winn and after searching the property they found a bottle half full of white tablets but Dr Gerald Lynch, senior analyst at the Home Office said that he could find no trace of poisonous or noxious substance in the body of Mrs Brown or in Ernest Frith’s vomit.

Cyril Frith said that he and his brother had lived in the house for six years and that Ernest and Mrs Brown were living together as husband and wife and were very happy.

The final verdict given by Dr Gerald Lynch of the Home Office at the March 15^th inquest was that the death of Mrs Brown was accidental. It had resulted from inhalation of carbon monoxide and the illness of Frith from the same source. Dr Lynch stated under certain circumstances carbon monoxide could be dangerous and lethal. Evidence showed that the heater had been burning throughout the night. Dr Lynch also said that because Ernest Frith had been on the bed close to a slightly open window with ventilation explained why he survived and was not totally unconscious when found and why Mrs Brown had died. Therefore, the case closed but after months of mystery, speculation and gossip.

David Wood.

History Articles

A new micropub has now opened in Rainham Kent. The Prince of Ales is at 121 High Street. Micropubs are like pubs used to be, proper real ales and ciders, no music and plenty of conversation. The location of the pub is next to Rainham Post Office, opposite Hidsons Citroen dealership. You can find out the latest information about The Prince of Ales on their Facebook page or website http://princeofales.co.uk

The Prince of Ales sells selection of different real ales, often from local Kent breweries. The board below shows the selection available on the opening day

The photo below shows an aerial view of where the pub is located adjacent to the Post Office in the centre left of the photo.

http://princeofales.co.uk

History Articles