Walderslade Village

[Smiffy]

As far as I know most of these pictures of Walderslade were taken in the 1920's or 1930's. The large houses visible on top of the hill don't appear on OS maps until 1908-09.

[KeithG]

This postcard is around 1920's / 30's

[Smiffy]

Looks like this one went unnoticed and wasn't discovered until years later. Could be pipework of some kind was being laid when it was stumbled upon.

[castle261]

I did not hear of any U X Bombs`in the Walderslade area, when I was a Telegram Boy,
from Sept. 1941 to 1942, or when I was an A.R.P. Messenger -- 1941 -- 1945.
Perhaps all this happened before July 1941, when I came back from being an evacuee
in South Wales.

[pete.mason]

ARP/Civil Defence reports should show them Probably TNA  have them but may be local at Medway

[Smiffy]

There must be a database somewhere that details the sites of all uxb's as they were (and still are) discovered. I don't know if this freely accessible or not - perhaps someone will know? My guess at the moment is that this one was found in the garden of a property in Snodhurst Avenue.

[CAT]

The pic is either late 1940s or early 1950s Smiffy. Is it known if any UXB's landed in that proximity, and can the site be pinpointed today?

[Smiffy]

From Google Earth. I think this is the approximate view we are seeing, across Concord and Madden Avenues, but from a slightly lower angle.

[castle261]

Two clues here -- houses in foreground, have roofs suggesting, could have a built in garage.
The other  -- middle distance -- each house could have an alley.
The half white at the top houses -- I have seen them somewhere ?

[Smiffy]

I'm assuming this dates to the 1950's, so if this is Walderslade those houses in the background may have been fairly new. The main developments would have been Wayfield and Weedswood, but I can't relate the house styles or location to either. I think it might actually be a view in a westerly direction toward Davis Estate from the area of Snodhurst Avenue.

[CAT]

I don't know if this would fit here, but the images I have is inscribed as 'Un-exploded Bomb, Walderslade'. Two other images in the same packet show the men digging in the hole, but this shows housing in the background. Can anyone work out where and if it is Walderslade?

[Smiffy]

A better view of the building referred to by Invicta Alec. I think it was a small hall of sorts that was used for social events - I can't remember going inside myself, but my sister went to a party there for the Coronation celebrations in 1953. I'm not sure if there was a different purpose for it originally, but it was already present on maps going back to the 1860's. It's not there anymore, I can't say for sure when it was removed.

[MartinR]

There was another reason for afternoon Sunday Schools being popular with parents.  Think about cramped houses and then consider "the children went off to Sunday School to worship God whilst the parents stayed home and worshiped Venus".  Can't remember where I saw this years ago, but it does sum up the situation quite well!

[castle261]

Sunday School 1930s style -- You had to attend the Sunday School in the afternoon. You were
given a card, which was stamped with a star, with a religious card as well. By getting your card
stamped, that means you could attend the film show, on Monday evening, for free. If not, you had
to pay 1d to get in. Families were crafty, by sending their children off on Sunday & Monday, they
gained a piece of free time, for them selves. This was on the corner of Mills Terrace/ Magpie Hall
Road, in Chatham. Too good to miss.

[MartinR]

Sunday schools, or their equivalent, still exist.  Rochester Cathedral, for example, has the "Sunday Club" which covers baby to 18 years in a series of different classes.