Various Shops That Used To Exist In Chatham

[smiler]

  That’s right Smiffy long and narrow,books, magazines and comics at the back. Cigarettes, cigars, lighters and pipes at the front half.

[Smiffy]

I remember that one, smiler. Pretty sure the name was more like the "Anglo-American Bookstore", and that it was quite narrow. I believe that was where my brother used to get his comic books, including the occasional "Classics Illustrated". Anyone remember those?

[smiler]

   When I think of old Chatham shops the American Bookstall always comes to mind, situated between the Ritz cinema and Union St. All the magazines, comics and so many different kinds of cigarettes that was sold there.

[grandarog]

Bought my Weirauch 80 Rifle and scope at n Gray's gun shop back in 1986.

[Quasatron]

I remember that shop called the Sergeants Mess. Because the business owner of the Medway Games Centre smoked in the premises, he would use an air freshener to try and disguise the smell of the cigarettes, and also used to leave the windows open to let the fresh air in. I think he must have been concerned with the nicotine sulphate smoke possibly yellowing the books, magazines, journals, modules, role playing games, board games in the shop and model kits. They sold the TSR Endless Quest of 1-On-1 Adventure Gamebooks there, and fantastic board games such as Rune Quest and Dragon Quest. I always found it odd, that to get to the shop upstairs, the customers had to walk through the ground floor knitwear and embroidery shop. The two old ladies that ran the ground floor shop must have watched customers coming and going all day, because they wanted to visit the Medway Games Centre.

[stuartwaters]

I remember that shop, yes. They also used to sell Airfix model kits too and at the time, I was collecting and building 1/72 scale model aircraft. They used to stock kits for the weird and wonderful German rocket and jet-powered aircraft which began to appear towards the end of the Second World War.


There was a military surplus shop across and up the road a little - the Sergeants Mess.

[Quasatron]

Does anyone at the Kent History Forum remember the Medway Games Centre? The shop address was Medway Games Centre, 1 Church Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4BS. The phone number was 0634 814750. The shop was based on the first floor at that address, and on the ground floor was a knitwear and embroidery shop. To get access to the Medway Games Centre, you had to walk through the ground floor shop and up the staircase at the back of the premises.

The owners of the Medway Games Centre sold role playing games such as Dungeon & Dragons, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Tunnels & Trolls, and many of the Games Workshop board games such as The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain, Kings & Things, Golden Heroes, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000. Additionally, the Medway Games Centre stocked Citadel Miniatures, and model making kits produced by Airfix, and the Tamiya remote controlled boats and dune buggies. The shop was located opposite Zenith Windows and the fish and chip shop, to the left of the Medway Games Centre, was called Bells of Chatham.

Does anyone here also remember the shops called Videotheque and Bargain Junction? Both those shops exists around 1983 to 1987. They were located along Chatham High Street, near to the junction of Medway Street and Sun Pier. On the opposite side of the road to Videotheque and Bargain Junction, was LIA Amusements and Music Land. Then there was the House of Holland, which existed in the area on Chatham High Street, before it was demolished to make way for the construction of the Sir John Hawkins Flyover.