The Medway Discussion Group met to share tales from one of our family history places. We made a whistle stop tour around the country, starting and ending in Scotland, which seemed quite appropriate on St Andrew’s Day.
We started in Campbeltown, Argyll where the mother of one of our group had been raised. We learned about lesser-known aspects of this town, from its ‘hidden’ airport and nuclear submarine refuelling to its once abundance of whisky distilleries and their subsequent demise.
We moved on to Manea in Cambridgeshire, the childhood home of one member’s father. We learned about Charles I’s plan to drain the Fens and create a palace and the efforts of the Fen Tigers to sabotage his plans.
From there, we headed to Colerne, Wiltshire, the childhood home of the mother of another group member. We learned about the actual cottage and how it had changed dramatically over time, to the changes that had taken place in the local area, including the arrival of an RAF base and its effects on the village.
Travelling East, our next stop was at North Cray, near Bexley, where a group member’s mother grew up. We were told of visits to the area over the years and the changes that had occurred, including the pub name being changed from the Red Cross to the White Cross, although the actual building remained untouched, and our group member was able to walk in the footsteps of her ancestors.
Next, we headed to the village of Hannah cum Hagnaby in Lincolnshire. Having traced family back to the 1600s, our group member started on a quest to visit the marshland villages that they were associated with in the area, with more family history surprises coming to light thanks to grave inscriptions found there.
Our next port of call was Mistley near Manningtree in Essex. This was the village of the birth of one member’s father. We learned of the family association with the village and our family member’s visit there, which resulted in a tour of his father’s childhood home after knocking on the front door!
Our final stop took us north again to Broughty Ferry, near Dundee. Tales of fishing families, lifeboat bravery and a particularly gruesome over-used graveyard were divulged by a group member who is itching to return to the town to investigate it further.
A most enjoyable afternoon of discussion, tea and seasonal mince pies.
----------------------------------------------
Report by Helen Stenhouse