Rooms at Rothwell, Sundridge Avenue are used five days a week by the workers, who number a hundred, most of whom are volunteers. Miss N.L. Spicer is the manager of the Centre with Miss Galloway, head storekeeper, and Mrs Ford Hutchinson, assistant storekeeper. Seen by a Kentish Times representative, Miss Spicer, who is the daughter of Mr Leonard Spicer, 20 Orchard Way, and the late Mrs Spicer gave some interesting particulars of the useful piece of war work tat is being done in bringing consolation to the brave men of…
Year: 2020
Advertisement for Regent Portraits (Photographers)
“When Jack came home on leave…” …he realised how much happier his friends and family would be while he was away if they had a photograph of him…. a life like portrait which would always form a comforting link between them. So he went along to Regent Portraits where he knew he would get a portrait with which he would be perfectly satisfied. Now more than ever it is a family duty for everybody to be photographed… not just “sometimes”… but NOW. Satifaction Guaranteed Source: Bromley & District Times, 26th…
Flying Officer Ross James
Roll of Honour MISSING. Hero who raided Berlin A fortnight ago we announced that the Distinguished Flying Cross had been awarded to Flying Officer Ross James, R.A.F., son of Mr and Mrs H.J. James, of 20 The Mead, West Wickham. Since then official intimation has been received that Flying Officer James is missing after operations over Germany. This popular young officer, who is only 27, had taken part in more than thirty raids over Germany including Berlin, and he had flown “Flying Fortresses” across the Atlantic. He belonged to the…
Mrs Ethel Augusta Pond
Recognition for Bravery Red Cross Distinguished War Service Certificate The many friends of Mrs Ethel A. Pond, MBE, Commandant Kent 50 Voluntary Aid Detachment, will be delighted to hear that she has been awarded the British Red Cross Society’s Distinguished War Service Certificate or devotion to duty on the night of a severe raid in April. She went out with the mobile canteen serving tea and light refreshments to firemen and members of the Civil Defence Services in the midst of danger always, and at times under the arch of…
Sergeant Peter David Devereux
Lost at Sea Sergeant P.D. Devereux, R.A.F. Sergeant Peter David Devereux, aged 22, who has been reported “missing” while on an R.A.F. patrol at sea, joined the R.A.F. before the present war began. He was in action in France last year and was wounded. Sergeant Devereux’s parents have until recently been living at Bourne Way, Hayes. His wife, formally a Miss Keech, of Faversham, Kent, has received a letter from the Flight Commander of Sergeant Devereux’s squadron, in which he pays a high tribute to his ability and personal charm. …
Bad Traffic Lights
It’s strange to imagine a world without traffic lights, as they have now become a necessity in keeping our busy roads safe and less chaotic. Before traffic lights, police controlled the flow of traffic using hand signals. The world’s first traffic light was installed in London in December 1868. It as a gas-lit signal operated manually by a policeman. Unfortunately this model had limited success, as less than a month later it exploded after it was implemented, injuring its operator. The more modern electric traffic light was developed in 1912…
Gunner Sydney Bax: Wedding
A member of an old Bromley family was married at St John’s, Eden Park, on Saturday, when the bridegroom was Mr Sidney Bax (now Gunner, R.A.), eldest son of Mr and Mrs S. Bax, of The Cottage, 11 Upper Park Road, Bromley, and the bride , Miss Gwendoline Prior, second eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs W. Prior, of 338 Upper Elmers End Road, Beckenham. The Rev. W. J. Berry, M.A., officiated, and appropriate music was played before and after the ceremony, the hymn, “O Perfect Love,” being sung during…
Canteen Truck donation to Bromley Fire Service, 1941
The donor, Mrs King, with the canteen she presented to Bromley Fire Services. On the left are Mr E. Ford Duncanson and the Mayor (Councillor H. Lynch Watson), and on the right Dr. K.E. Tapper and Fire Chief A.B. Craig. Source: Bromley & District Times, 18th July 1941 (page 5)
Complaints about Food Waste, 1941
Looks like complaints about food waste is not a new phenomenon. Although it seems comical now, this complaint printed in the Bromley & District newspaper in February 1941 shows a real disgust at the thought of people wasting their unwanted sandwiches! Coats Off I dunno. Some people don’t realise there is a war on. Three times a week somebody leaves a packet of fresh sandwiches in a public convenience in Sidcup. On the floor, too – so they are to all intents spoiled. We journalists (hum!) like to weave stories…
Squadron-Leader Barrie Heath
Born in Warwickshire in 1916, Squadron Leader Barrie Heath was a son of Mr G.R. Heath. He saw active service in 1940 with No. 611 Squadron RA, flying in the Spitfire IIa P7883 “Grahame Heath”, which had been donated by his father in memory of his brother Grahame, who had died in service in the first world war. It was in this Spitfire that Heath fought in the Battle of Britain, for which he received his medal. A memory of him, written on the 611 Squadron website, noted that he…