Category Archives: Hawley

Wide Awake Dartford

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wide-awake-dartford-journal

Dartford Borough Council published a monthly journal with articles and local news between 1932 and 1934.  Copies of these journals can be found in Dartford Library, and are an interesting mix of news about local people, events and village developments.  The items below refer to Sutton-at-Hone and Hawley.

September 1932

For twelve hours Dartford Fire Brigade were dealing with a stack fire at Hollands Farm, Hawley, and brought some 30 lengths of hose into use.

January 1933

Steps are being taken to form a section of the Legion of Frontiersmen at Dartford, Lieut. C. F. Camburn, of Hawley, being the prime mover.

February 1933

The Rev. W.E. Bott, M.A., who has been appointed Vicar of Sutton-at-Hone, has been Vicar of Christ Church, Erith, for between six and seven years.

Dartford & District Scouts’ Association are celebrating the quarter century of Scouting by holding a “Scout Week” commencing on Saturday, May 27th, and concluding on Whit-Monday, June 5th, with their Annual Jamboree at Sutton.

March 1933

The Rev. W.E. Bott, Vicar-designate of Sutton-at-Hone, is to receive a presentation from his parishioners and friends in Erith, and has received a white stole from scholars of Christ Church Sunday School.

Sutton-at-Hone Parish Council have not jumped at the idea of joining a federation of Parish Councils in the Dartford Rural District Council’s area, and postponed consideration of the matter for further details; whilst Longfield Parish Council have definitely declined to participate.

April 1933

Monday 3rd – Election Day – for Dartford Urban District Council and Dartford Rural District Council
Sunday 9th – Summer Time commences

The Rev. W.E. Bott was instituted to the living of Sutton-at-Hone by the Bishop of Rochester, who said he went to Sutton with the general assent of the parishioners, and carrying the goodwill and affection of his former parishioners at Erith.

May 1933

After enquiry it has been decided by the Rural Council to retain the sub fire stations at Hawley, Sutton Village and Horton Kirby subject to the firemen attached thereto making themselves efficient.

June 1933

Monday 5th – Whit-Monday. Scouts’ Jamboree at St John’s Park, Sutton-at-Hone
Saturday 24th – Alexandra Rose Day

July 1933

The Scout week arranged by Dartford & District Scouts’ Association was a triumph of organisation, and the boys had a happy time in the camp at Sutton Park (otherwise known as St John Jerusalem).

October 1933

Miss Dorothy Bott, only daughter of the Vicar of Sutton-at-Hone, was married to Mr W. J. Moore, of Grimsby, the ceremony being performed by the bride’s father, the Rev. W. E. Bott.

Sir Stephen Tallents, of St. Johns, Sutton-at-Hone, has been appointed by the Postmaster-General to the role of the Public Relations Officer at the General Post Office.

January 1934

Sutton-at-Hone Friendly Society, which shared out 16s 6d to each of its 144 members, has now entered on its 69th year.

Sutton-at-Hone Parish Council, faced with an expenditure of between one and two thousand pounds for playing fields at Hextable and Hawley, are enquiring how it is that Horton Kirby can make their recreation ground self-supporting.

March 1934
Friday 2nd – County Council Elections

April 1934

Sutton-at-Hone Parish Council have agreed to certain street lamps in their area being set back to allow the passage of double deck ‘buses on condition that the cost is borne by the Transport Board.

Application has been made to Kent County Council to divide Sutton-at-Hone into three wards – Swanley Junction, Swanley Village and Hextable.

wide-awake-dartford-1934

Remembering the men who fell at the Battle of the Somme

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The Battle of the Somme started on 1st July 1916, and the first day is notorious for the number of men who died or were wounded on the first day, making it the worse day in the British Army’s history.

The following men are from Sutton at Hone and Hawley, and they died during this battle, which lasted from 1st July to 18th November 1918

3rd July – Corporal Henry K Smith, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

13th July – Private Arthur Mankey, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

17th July – C.S.M. Francis (Frank) Neave Reynolds, York and Lancaster Regiment

29th July – Sergeant Charles Elliott, Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment)

11th August – Private Thomas Harold Ovenden, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

15th September – Private Leonard Willett, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)

3rd October – Rifleman Arthur Owen Mayne, King’s Royal Rifle Corps

15th November – Private George William Mayne, Northumberland Fusiliers

 

A Hawley VAD in World War One

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The Red Cross has recently completed uploading all their WWI VAD record cards to their website, and have made them searchable.  Whilst I have not yet found anyone from Sutton at Hone, there is a VAD from Hawley.

Miss Ellen Tamar Wingrove, of 1 Royal Road, Hawley, became a Head Cook in the 5th December 1917, with a salary of £45 per annum, and served until the 27th May 1918.  Ellen was Head Cook at Canadian Special Hospital (tubercular), Lenham, where the Canadian Army had taken over the Kent Sanatorium, which had been built in 1914.

The war diaries of this hospital are available online, and the entry for 3rd December states that Major Hart had been in London where he had arranged tentage and VAD women cooks. On 4th December twenty bell tents were received for use as personnel accommodation.

On 5th December, the war diary notes that Head V.A.D. Cook reported for duty ( a day before nursing staff), and that all personnel accommodation had been moved from the hospital buildings to the bell tents.  So Ellen Wingrove and all other staff, would have lived in tents in the grounds of the hospital.  There is no specific comment about Ellen’s departure, and I have not yet read through all the diary, but the weather is noted daily, and there are comments about air raid warnings at night, as well as regular entertainment for the patients.

Ellen Wingrove was born on 21 June 1882, the daughter of John and Isabel Wingrove, and by the 1891 census, the family were living at Spring Gardens, Franks Lane, and her father was described as a butcher. in 1901, Ellen had gone into domestic service, and was a maid at Riverside, working for Hawthorn Brown (a paper maker) and his family.  In 1911, Ellen and her mother Isabel were in Edmondton, visiting an uncle.

The 1939 Civil Register tells us that Ellen was living at 110 Tufnell Park Road , Islington, London, and she is described as Hospital Nurse & Caterer, and Ellen died on 2 November 1970 at 8 Church Lane, London, N8

Remembering Dunkirk – 75 years later

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The War Memorial lists three men who were lost during the evacuation of Dunkirk in May and June 1940

Douglas John Macpherson was born in Hawley,  joined the Royal Navy in 1926, and married in November 1934 at St John’s to Florence Amy Docksee, and the couple had two children. At the time of his death, Douglas’s family were living in Bexley.

Douglas was serving on HMS Boadicea, which had been in Chatham for a refit since the beginning of May 1940, and on the 9th June HMS Boadicea set sail for Le Havre, France to assist in the evacuation of British troops. On the 10th June, the warship was severely damaged by Junkers Ju 87 “Stuka” dive bombers that knocked out her engines and boilers. Douglas was an Engine Room Artificer 2nd Class, and so was probably killed during the raid.  He was buried at Alverstock Cemetery, Gosport.

HMS Boadicea

HMS Boadicea during WWII – Imperial War Museum

Richard Swaffer was serving as a Driver in the Royal Army Service Corps, and died during the retreat, his date of death is given as between 31st May and 1st June 1940.  He is buried in the De Panne Communal Cemetery in France.

Donald Eastburn Waterman was a 2nd Lieutenant in the 140 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, having been a member of the Honorable Artillery Company before the war.  His father was Bertie Waterman, a well known Dartford Auctioneer, who lived in Wilmington (Donald is commemorated on the Wilmington War Memorial), and his mother helped raise funds for a Comfort Fund for troops in Wilmington. Donald was married, and he and his wife Chloe were living in Sutton at Hone in 1939.

Donald died between the 28th and the 31st of May and is buried in Dunkirk Town Cemetery. His death was not confirmed until October 1940.

Do you have a Kentish Toilet Cistern ?

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1910 Alfred Clifford Kentish Water Syphon

This advert appeared a January 1910 edition of the Dartford Chronicle – and it seems there was a manufacturer of toilet cisterns in Hawley.

The testamonials shown on the advert name two local people, Mr Butters of Hawley Post Office, and James Birch of Sutton at Hone.  It would be interesting to know if anyone still has one of these cisterns lurking in an old outside toilet.

According to the 1911 Census, Alfred Clifford was living at Claremont House, Hawley Road, Dartford, and is shown as being a plumber, living with his father and a housekeeper, and was born in Dartford, his father James had been a baker.  At some point after the 1911 census, Alfred marries Alice Maud, and dies in 1947, still living at Claremont House, Hawley Road.

in a 1899 Directory, he is listed as Alfred Clifford, inventor, patentee and manufacturer of Clifford’s reliable eel, rat, vermin & animal traps; 2 prize medals awarded at Truro and Scarborough exhibitions, Hawley Road, Dartford and at Wilmington.

In a 1918 directory, he is listed as a Rat & Vermin Trap Manufacturer, Hawley Road, Wilmington.

 

1919 Christmas & Boxing Day Football Matches

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Once the Great War had concluded, Sutton at Hone (known as Sutton Athletic) and Hawley Football clubs started up again, as local football leagues had been abandoned in 1914 “for the duration”.  Both Sutton Athletic and Hawley played in the Darenth Valley League, and Hawley also played in the Dartford & District League.

On Christmas Day morning in 1919 the local ‘big’ match was between Hawley and Sutton Athletic, with the teams playing at Hawley, where Hawley won 3 – 2.

hawley - football field

The Football Field in Hawley – with cattle grazing. This postcard shows Leigh Place (in the middle of the card) and Hawley Terrace (to the right), with Shirehall Road in the distance. Part of this field is now covered by the M25 embankments.

On Boxing Day the return match was played at Sutton, when Hawley lost to Sutton for the first time that season, the score being 2 – 0, and it is noted that the match was watched by some 1,000 spectators.  The first Sutton Athletic goal was scored by J. Foster after 15 minutes, and their next attempt was blocked by Hawley’s W. Chalcraft.  The second Sutton goal was again scored by J. Foster, before half time, and J. Foster had scored both Sutton goals during the Christmas Day match the day before.

However the Christmas Day match in Hawley ended with two court cases thanks to brawling in the Bull Hotel at Hawley after the match and both cases were caused by the same incident.

On Tuesday 30th December at Dartford Police Court, Harry Tidy, papermaker, living at Bank Houses, Hawley, was charged with afflicting grievous bodily harm on Alfred Couchman, licensee of the Bull Hotel in Hawley on Christmas Day.

After the Hawley v Sutton Athletic match on Christmas Day, a group of about 14 men entered the Bull Inn and called for three glasses of bitter each at about 2.40pm.  At 2.55pm, time was called as the pub was due to close at 3pm, and it was very full,  but the group tried to order another 14 glasses of bitter but were told that it was closing time and they were too late.

Mr Tidy first swept a tray with 14 glasses off the counter, breaking them all and damaging the piano with broken glass.  Mr Tidy (who was not known to Mr Couchman) then went after Mr Couchman, striking him in the chest with his fist, knocking him down, injuring his back, chest and arm.

After the assault “the party had to be got rid of by a sort of scramble” and Mr Tidy managed to smash several bottles of  wine and spirits before he was safely back on the ‘public’ side of the bar and removed from the premises.

Edward Langridge, a stoker, of 2 Leigh Place, Hawley, corroborated the account given by Mr Couchman.

PC Clayton stated that he had been contacted at 3.15pm and then went in search of the prisoner, whom he found the following day (Boxing Day) at the football ground in Sutton at Hone.  Mr Tidy, when asked if he  was present at the time of the assault , said “Yes, but I do not know what happened.  I am very sorry“.

As Mr Couchman thought his arm had been broken in this attack, he consulted Dr Renton, and had his arm x-rayed at the Livingstone Hospital.

The case was adjourned as Dr Renton was unavailable, and his opinion was required

On Thursday 1st January (it was not a public holiday), Dr Renton stated that Mr Couchman was suffering from shock and was knocked about when he examined him on Boxing Day.  After x-raying his arm it was clear it was not broken but it appeared to have been twisted and it would be a considerable time before he could lift weights with it.

Mr Tidy was committed for trial.

The following day, a second court case took place at the Dartford Petty Sessions,  where Frederick John Barnett (48) and Frederick William Barnett (20), father and son, pleaded not guilty to assaulting Ernest Couchman at Hawley on Christmas Day.

Ernest Couchman, the son of Alfred Couchman, had tried to clear the pub at closing time and he was hit by Frederick Barnett senior and Frederick Barnett Junior stripped and wanted to fight. During the struggle Ernest Couchman’s jacket and waistcoat were pulled off, he was much hurt and assistance had to be fetched to get rid of both the Barnetts.

Sydney Arthur Dimond, 4 St John’s Terrace, Sutton at Hone, said he saw both the Barnetts at the Bull on Christmas Day and Mr Barnett senior had struck Ernest Couchman in the back.  Edward Langridge, Frederick James Castle and Alfred Couchman corroborated.

The magistrates took a serious view of the case but as neither Barnett previous convictions, the were given the option of either a fine or going to prison. Frederick Barnett senior was fined £4 or a month and Frederick Barnett junior was fined £2 or 14 days.

Mr Tidy was back in court the following week where he pleaded guilty to common assault. It was stated that until this incident he had had an exemplary character, and had served in France and Gallipoli, and had been gassed.  Mr Tidy expressed regret to Mr Couchman for the injury he suffered as an indirect result of the blow.

The Bench decided, in light of his previous good character, to bound Tidy over for 6 months for the sum of £10.

 

Welcome to this local history blog

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Whilst researching for the new publication ‘Never Such Innocence’ – Sutton at Hone and Hawley during the Great War, there were a number of items that could not be included in the book because of space constraints.

The intention is to publish these “extras” as well as any other local history snippets about the villages of Sutton at Hone and Hawley along with related photos and images.

Sutton at Hone parish church

St John the Baptist Church at Sutton-at-Hone

 

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