Barge at Oare, Faversham, Kent.

Taken by me from the Ferry House Inn, Harty, Isle of Sheppey, the barge is nudging up to her summer berth, the unmistakeable spire of the parish church, ST MARY of CHARITY, Faversham, this spire can be seen on good days at great distance.

The aftermath of the Great Gunpowder Works explosion at Oare, Faversham, in 1916.

The Great Gunpowder Explosion of 1916.

This picture is of the aftermath of the explosion of the Gunpowder Works at Oare, Faversham in occured at 2-20pm on Sunday the 2nd of April, the death toll is not exactly certain but 108 souls are thought to be the number, but there also many injured and maimed, a real disaster for a small rural town, many of the dead were buried in a mass grave at Faversham Cemetary.

I can remember in my late teens courting a girl whose Grandfather a Mr Holmes, was a victim of the blast, he was a Whitstable man, I knew him quite well, but he was permanently mentally scarred by the blast, some would say shellshocked he never worked again after that event.

This will give you an idea of the power of the blast, windows were reported as having been blasted out of their frames as far away as Southend it also shattered two plate glass windows, and was heard as far away as Norwich and Yarmouth.

It was here St Johns's Church, Swalecliffe where, I was unfortunately married, the land surrounding the church is now built on, and is now a council estate.
The WUDC put in St Johns road , and at that time I was working for Bowzell a Civil Engineering firm, and I was employed in putting this road in, little did I realise two years hence I would be domiciled on this estate, married and would live happily everafter in marital bliss for the rest of my life, Not !!! These turned out to be the darkest days of my entire life.

West Beach, Whitstable.

This view of West Beach , Whitstable was probably taken in the late 40's or 50's any native of pensionable age will be familiar with this scene.