Lieut. K.J. Amos Awarded MBE (Military Divsion) Lieutenant (temporary captain) Kenneth John Amos, Royal Corps of Signals, is among those whose names appear in the New Year Honours list with the award of M.B.E. (Military Division) for their sterling work. Lieut. Amos is the only son of Mr and Mrs J.H. Amos of 86 Tweedy Road, Bromley. He was educated at St. Olave’s Grammar School, London where he distinguished himself in the studies of languages. He also had an aptitude for technical and engineering subjects, and on leaving school he…
Tag: Bromley
Bringing in the New Year: 1942
The White Hart Hotel, which once stood in the heart of Bromley High Street, was a large premises which hosted a number of events in its heyday. In 1941, the RAF (Bromley branch) hosted a New Years eve dance, which included two tableaux represent the old and new years. The Bromley Times reported on the event in early January 1942. New Year Tableaux The Bromley branch of the Comrades of the Royal Air Force held a very enjoyable dance on New Year’s Eve at the White Hart Hotel, Bromley. A…
Further Education Courses during 1942
The country may have been at war, but that didn’t stop Kent Education Committee from running Further Education courses in 1942. This advert appeared in the Bromley & District Times in January 1942 advertising to the districts of Bromley, Beckenham and Penge. The courses and classes they ran comprised of Building, Engineering and Commercial subjects in preparation for National Certificates Courses for Air Training Corps, for both Bromley (no. 228) and Beckenham (no. 386) Recreative Classes in Physical Training and Dancing, Music and drama etc. Art and Craft Classes Source:…
History of a Famous Ship – H.M.S. Broke
The Royal Navy lost a large number of their capital ships to enemy action during the early part of the second war, and was facing increasing pressure to provide escorts for convoys in the Atlantic. With ships needing to be replaced, Warship Weeks – another of the British National savings campaigns, was set up during the Second World War, with the aim of encouraging a civil community to adopt a Royal Navy warship. Following a successful Warship Week in March 1942, the HMS Broke destroyer was adopted by the civil…
Showing at the Odeon – January 1942
Birth of the Blues Birth of the Blues is a 1941 American musical film whose plot loosely follows the origins and breakthrough success of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. The film was first release in November 1941 and starred the legendary Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Brian Donlevy. It was directed by Victor Schertzinger. It was well-received by critics on its release, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. Cinemas, such as the Odeon, continued operating throughout the war years, and were no doubt a form…
Mr Victor George Thomas Rickman
For Gallantry: British Empire Medal Mr V.G.T. Rickman His Majesty the King has been graciously please to award the British Empire Medal to Mr Victor George Thomas Rickman, 39 Brooklyn Road, Bromley, in recognition of his gallant conduct and good service on the occasion of the enemy attack on London last April. During the __ a high explosive bomb wrecked a shelter and three embers of the Southern Railway staff were killed and four badly injured. Mr Rickman is a clerk at Blackfriars good station. With him on the night…
Bromley’s Christmas Games – 1941
Holiday Football Home Guard Overwhelmed On Christmas Day Bromley met the local Home Guard in a friendly match at Hayes Lane, Bromley. The match resulted in an overwhelming victory for Bromley 15-1. McMillan scored no fewer than five times, and the match caused much entertainment to the spectators. Several Bromley players were claimed by the Home Guard, and Bromley selected four R.A.F. players for inclusion in their forward line. Bromley – Gunner, Stone, Allinson, Marshall, Holder, Tasker, Gardner, Osman, Fowler Champion, McMillan. Home Guard: Tanner, Reeves, Clark, Smedley Wade, Smith,…
William Page & Margaret Holder: Wedding
The perfect romance It seems this was the perfect romance. In the 1939 Register, William Page, then living at 17 Cloisters Avenue, Bromley was listed as a Butcher’s Assistant, along with his younger brother David. Margaret, on the other hand, who was living with her parents on Southlands Road, was noted as being a cashier in a Butchery department. No details of the company they worked for are given, but it could very well have been the same place, and so was how they met. The couple went on to…
Flying Officer Albert Cyril Batt
Gallant Conduct Flying Officer A.C. Batt, R.AF.V.R., Commended The gallant conduct of Flying Officer Albert Cyril Batt, R.A.F.A.R., on the night of April 16, when the Odeon Cinema, Bromley was damaged by enemy action has been recognised by his Majesty the King. The calm manner in which he handled the situation and prevented fires from surrounding buildings spreading to the cinema set at fine example to those around him. Mr Herbert Morrison felt that his resource and initiative were deserving of high praise, and the King has been graciously pleased…
Bromley’s Drive to Salvage Waste, 1941
During the Second World War recycling was at a high in Britain. Though at the time it was not for environmental reasons – far from it. During the war Britain feared a Nazi blockade would leave the country with a paper shortage, so the wartime Government made recycling paper compulsory in 1940 as part of its National Salvage Campaign. Three days after the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, the Ministry of Supply sent a memo to every council in the country demanding an “intensification of salvage work and fullest co-operation…