From Percy Reid’s ‘Churchill Townsman of Westerham’: “…Already on his second visit, Churchill’s interest in the carnival was obvious He chatted for some minutes with the year’s carnival queen Jacqueline Musaphia, commented to those near him that entries seemed more numerous than the year before, and gained great laughs from the crowd when, referring to ...
Reference: WH0700
Victory Celebrations June Heath “…At the end of the war the community feeling here was terrific, there were parties at Charlie Sharp’s garage and in all the Pubs, everywhere was alive and, everyone was very friendly – the community feeling was something that I felt or noticed that I hadn’t so much through the war years, ...
Reference: WH0694
The 1990 Gala procession makes its way along London Road heading towards Quebec Avenue. Note the children just casually seated on the trailer in a less regulated age. The Gala would last just two more years after this one and after the 1992 Gala the Committee called it a day. Why? The answer is not straightforward ...
Reference: WH0702
Following the reception, Mr. and Mrs Streatfeild were driven away in a motor-landaulet delightfully bedecked with white ribbons to the carriage handles and wheels, en-route to Southampton where they would board the steamer to their honeymoon destination on the island of Madeira.
Reference: WH0664
From the Herald newspaper: ‘…it is worthy of mention that the handsome three-tier wedding cake was made by Mrs. Stratford, cook at Squerryes Court.’
Reference: WH0665
Gaily dressed horse-drawn floats pass the Constitutional Club in Sundridge on a wet summers afternoon in 1933.
Reference: WH0703
During the 1900s Westerham held an annual fair day on May 3 which was initially held on the Green, but moved to market field some time after 1910. The market day would include swings, roundabouts and stalls, but would also be a day of livestock trade. In 1907 Hookers Almanack ‘Epitome of Events’ records: ‘3 May ...
Reference: WH0661
Such was the excitement that work on the proposed Westerham Valley Railway would begin at last, that Col. Warde ordered a banquet be held in the Public Hall to celebrate the momentous occasion for which they had waited so long. The date was set for Wednesday October 1st 1879, with work on the railway ...
Reference: WH0704
This was the occasion of the Wedding of Lt.-Col Charles Arthur Madan Warde, son of Vice-Admiral Charles Warde and the Hon. Anastasia Kathleen Lucia O’Brien daughter of Lucius O’Brien, 13th Baron of Inchiquin and Louisa Finucane which took place in Westerham on 23 October 1879.
Reference: WH0672
This photograph taken by Joseph Jewell shows the second of the two triumphal arches that had been erected in the town to honour and bless the wedding of Lt.-Col Charles Arthur Madan Warde and the Hon. Anastasia Kathleen Lucia O’Brien. Note the Scottish flag hanging from the window of Kirkgate House – a curious touch as Charles was ...
Reference: WH0658
This photograph of the bridesmaids is taken beside the main door of St. Mary’s Church, but the porch was a different construction at that time.
Reference: WH0660
This photograph is believed to have been taken outside St Mary’s school for girls and infants in London Road. ‘Welcome’ was presumably directed towards the Hon. Anastasia who would become a Westerham resident that day.
Reference: WH0657
An assembly of dignitaries and workers from the Estate gather together, possibly on the Toll, in what looks to be fairly foul weather. They probably kept the speeches short…
Reference: WH0656
