According to the Met Office the last hurricane to hit
England occurred in 1703 with serious damage and loss of life. Perhaps that’s
why BBC weather forecaster Michael Fish seemed so confident when he said there
wouldn’t be a hurricane on October 16th 1987 but how wrong his
prediction turned out to be. At least 13 people were known to have died across
the country as roofs and chimneys were blown off houses and fallen trees caused
havoc with electricity cables, railway lines and roads.
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| Michael Fish. |
In Upchurch chimney pots and roofs were hit hard as
powerful winds swept right across South-East England during the night of
October 16th. The most surprised Upchurch residents were Tony Witherden and his
mother Dolly at Hilda’s Cottage in Poot Lane. Tony said,
‘I was awoken in the early
hours by the movement of the house and howling of the wind. To my surprise when
I awoke all I could see was the orchard. The front wall of the house had
completely disappeared.’
The two shocked inhabitants and their dog were
fortunate to escape uninjured. Their house which had been partly destroyed had
to be demolished at a later date but they were not the only surprised
residents. Charles Barling of Colts Field Farm in Poot Lane had a close shave
while rounding up his cattle when a sheet of sharp edged corrugated tin tumbled
across his field at high speed and narrowly missed him. A little earlier his
garage had been blown away by a powerful gust just seconds after he had removed
his car. At Beckenham Park caravan site in Otterham Quay several caravans were
overturned but nobody suffered injury, a boat was blown on to the seawall at
Ham Green while Mike and Mary Laity from Wetham Green discovered that their
shed of ducks had been blown away. However, many people slept through the worst
of the storm and only realized what had happened when they looked outside the
following morning and saw the damage.
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| David Wood. |
Compared to some areas Upchurch suffered less
devastation but there were damaged chimney stacks, fallen roof slates, uprooted
trees and severed electricity cables. The chimney stack on the co-op building
fell through the roof and caused short term inconvenience and large trees fell
on to the road at Windmill Hill causing some traffic problems.
Local fruit farmers were hit hard and lost hundreds of
fruit trees totally uprooted by the wind. Other trees were badly damaged and
had to be grubbed and replaced during later years while storage sheds were
blown away and strewn across the landscape. Farmers later received some
compensation from the government. Overall, 1987 wasn’t a good year for weather
conditions as heavy snow had cut the village off from Medway for several days
in early January and the summer had been very wet.
The Swale council,
overwhelmed by problems left in the wake of the hurricane, employed local
Upchurch residents armed with chainsaws to clear up the mess left by fallen
trees on roads and property and very soon everything returned to normal. The
first hurricane for 300 years had left its mark but most residents hoped it
would be the last in their lifetime.
About David:
David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David on: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters.
price £12 + p+p £2.
David Wood
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