VE Day in Upchurch by David Wood

With the planned official Upchurch VE (Victory in Europe) Day 75th anniversary celebrations in the village hall cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, we can reflect on how residents celebrated the first event in May 1945.

VE Day in Upchurch took place on Tuesday May 15th and not on the official day May 8th. A patriotic mass of red, white and blue bunting decorated the village centre, Union Jack flags flew in many parts of the parish and the church bells were rung by the bellringers as the event, directed by Cecil Bishop on behalf of the parish council, progressed through the day.

A decorated trolley which patrolled the village became the main feature of the event for spectators. On the trolley Upchurch resident Joan Latter played tunes on a piano and well-known village characters such as postmaster Teddy Neame appeared with his family in fancy dress. At the same time Messrs Grigg and Higgins made a collection for the Upchurch Welcome Home Fund. In total they collected £14/13/1d from spectators. Later in the day reverend Lightburne conducted a service in the church at which Roy Rogers played the organ and a small orchestra participated. Members of the parish council, the village home guard and the police attended a packed service.

Children’s parties and teas were held in different parts of the parish. About sixty children attended a party in The Three Sisters pub where entertainment with music and games was provided. After this every child received a beaker bearing the flags of the allied nations and the famous V sign. They also received a red, white and blue bag containing sweets and a new sixpence.

In The Street 58 children attended a party at the Infant’s School while in Oak Lane 24 children were served with iced cakes and tea on Mrs Burton’s lawn. After this they participated in races and games held in councillor Ted Tress’s orchard. Finally, all the children were presented with a book, a pencil, a rubber, a shilling and a threepenny piece.

At Gore Bank about 40 children sat down in Mr Boakes’s orchard for tea. After this races took place and a cockerel and eggs were presented to winners. Every child received a token and sweets. Babies received a ball and money, older girls received a china beaker and money while older boys received a knife and money. Mrs Boakes presented the prizes. A bonfire and fireworks followed this to end the day.

At Ham Green a victory tea took place in Mr Hinge’s meadow attended by about 40 children. Messers Hinge, Holloway, Starns and Howland gave gifts and money. Mrs Witherden gave strawberries and Mrs Moon contributed cherries. Meanwhile, Pat Atkinson from Webb’s Cottages organised children’s competitions. After games and races a bonfire with figures of Nazi leaders Adolf Hitler and Hermann Goering placed on top was lit and accompanied by fireworks.

Street parties were held in many parts of the parish where residents sang, ate and drank at decorated tables and danced on the roads to celebrate the end of the war.

War leader Winston Churchill summed up national feelings and jubilation in a patriotic speech when speaking in London on VE Day.

“My dear friends, this is your hour. In all our history, we have never seen a greater day. This is not victory of a party or of any class. It’s the victory of the great British nation as a whole…”

Hopefully, the 75th anniversary celebrations will still take place in Upchurch as we join in national commemorations and celebrate safely together at home with our families.

David Wood

About David

David Wood was born, raised and still lives in Upchurch today. He is able to write from personal experience about village life and the changes that have taken place over the years, making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable and detailed historical study of the village.

David's book is available from David at david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + postage and packing.

Talked About Upchurch Landmark will be Restored to Commemorate VE Day 75

To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day, a sadly neglected phone box standing in a field at the end of Crosier Court is now under restoration to once again become worthy of this great British icon of the era.

Stood in the same spot for 30 years, it has become the most photographed landmark in Upchurch other than St. Mary's Church and has prompted many a small child to ask their parents “what is it and why is it there?”

This type K6 phone box was designed to commemorate the silver jubilee of King George V in 1935 and was sometimes known as the “Jubilee Kiosk” when it went into production in 1936. 

The K6 was the first red telephone kiosk to be extensively used outside of London and many thousands were eventually commissioned in nearly every town and city across Britain, replacing most of the existing kiosks and establishing thousands of new sites.

In 1935 there were 19,000 public telephones across Britain, by 1940, thanks to the K6, there were 35,000. They survived the bombing during WW2 and served as a focal point in many towns and villages. Alas due to mobile phones only a few remain in place today.

Jim McAlpin

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Swale Borough Council Urges Motorbike Users to Ride Responsibly

The small minority of motorbike users who are riding irresponsibly are being reminded by Swale Borough Council that they risk having their bikes seized by police.

Despite most people staying safe at home, local police have seen an increase in section 59 warnings being issued as some motorbike users are riding dangerously through parks and green spaces.

Cllr Richard Palmer, cabinet member for community at the council, said:

“While most youths have been staying safe at home and being a credit to the community, there are unfortunately a minority group that are behaving in a way that is not only unlawful but irresponsible.

Joyriding in our green spaces is selfish antisocial behaviour that puts people’s lives at risk.

People who are enjoying their daily exercise do not want to be intimidated or harassed by irresponsible and unlawful motorbike use.

Police have issued a number of section 59 warnings recently, so if these motorbike users are found riding recklessly again, their vehicle can be seized and impounded.

The country is banding together to support one another and it’s a shame that the reckless few are endangering their own and others’ lives.

I urge anyone who encounters this antisocial behaviour to report them to the police.”

To report the incident call 101 or visit: www.kent.police.uk/ro/report/asb/af/antisocial-behaviour to use the online reporting tool or live chat portal.

Swale Borough Council

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UPDATE from SGN - Gas Network Upgrade in A2/High Street, Newington - Thursday 7th May

Good afternoon

We are continuing to replace our old gas mains with new plastic pipe along the A2, Newington to ensure a safe and reliable gas supply.

I’m pleased to share we have completed our phase of work in Keycol Hill at Key Street roundabout and have safely re-opened the A2 to all motorists including HGV’s.

Over the coming three weeks our engineers will be replacing our gas main along the A2 outside property No.102 High Street and Eden Meadows.

For everyone’s safety we have installed temporary traffic lights around our work area at Eden Meadows. We have also employed ‘give and take’ traffic management for everyone’s safety around our site outside No.102 High Street.

We continue to plan the final phases of our work in consultation with Kent County Council. All being well we plan complete all the necessary upgrades by the end of June 2020.

I’ll provide details of our plans once confirmed. In the meantime I would like to thank residents, businesses and road users for their continued patience and understanding while we carry out this essential work.

If you have any further queries please let me know.

Kind regards

Paige Roberts

Stakeholder and Community Manager

SGN Gas

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Medway Council Household Waste & Recycling Centres to Reopen

Plans are underway to safely reopen Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) across Kent and Medway for essential use.

HWRCs were closed in March in line with government guidelines to encourage people to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives as part of its response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Medway Council has developed a new online booking system in preparation for its HWRCs at Capstone and Hoath Way in Gillingham to reopen from Friday, 15th May - the online booking system will be the only way to access a waste centre. Further plans will be put in place for the site at Cuxton to safely reopen as soon as possible at a later date.

This will enable residents who have booked an appointment to dispose of waste that is presenting a hazard and cannot reasonably be disposed of in other ways. The booking system will enable the council to both manage demand and meet essential social distancing requirements, which are being introduced to ensure the protection of customers and staff.

Cuxton HWRC will remain closed when Capstone and Hoath Way reopens on 15th May. 

Social distancing measures include:

• Every other parking bay will be blocked off.

• Number of visitors limited: 10 at Capstone and 5 at Gillingham.

• Members of staff will not assist customers with lifting their waste to reduce the risk of infection. To assist, two people per vehicle is permitted. However, where assistance is not required we ask that only one person leaves the vehicle to dispose of the waste.

• Customers must bring and wear gloves whilst on site.

• Customers must attend the site within their booking slot, if they miss the slot, they may not be permitted to use the site.

The same system is being implemented across all Kent County Council waste disposal sites at the same time.

Medway’s Portfolio Holder for Front Line Services and covering waste disposal, Cllr Phil Filmer, said:

“Medway Council has been busy working on plans to allow our Household Waste and Recycling Centres to safely reopen in line with government guidelines for essential use only. I am pleased our centres will be reopened soon for residents who have no other means to securely store or dispose of waste.

Although the council has maintained an excellent weekly household waste and recycling collection throughout the lockdown, we know there is demand for these much-appreciated and additional facilities to be reopened. However, it is essential that we do so in a way that keeps people safe and avoids customers having to wait in long queues. Implementing a booking only system is the best way to achieve this.”

To ensure all customers get fair access to a site to dispose of waste, households can only book 1 visit per calendar month. All waste items usually accepted at each HWRC can be disposed of during this time, but please only book a visit if the journey is essential. Initially only the sites at Capstone and Hoath Way in Gillingham will be reopened - the HWRC at Cuxton will remain closed until plans have been put in place for it to be safely reopened.

Customers will be asked to show their booking reference on arrival - either on a device such as a phone or a print out. The online booking system is anticipated to go live from Wednesday, 13th May - further details on how to access the system in Medway and Kent will be released nearer the time.

Cllr Filmer added:

“Thank you to residents for your patience during this difficult time. To reduce the risk to both residents and our staff, we ask that everyone carefully considers whether a trip to a HWRC is essential or if the visit can wait until restrictions are lifted. Please only book an appointment if you absolutely need to visit a HWRC and if you do, remember to stay two metres apart.”

Medway’s weekly household waste and recycling collections have continued throughout the pandemic, with crews collecting 26 per cent more during April compared with the same period last year due to more people being at home.

Speaking about the tremendous efforts from the household waste crews, Cllr Filmer said: 

“I’d personally like to thank the crews and all the staff who have maintained our excellent weekly service during these challenging and busy times. Thank you also to Medway residents for your cooperation during this time. I am pleased that Medway residents continue to receive one of the best weekly collection services in the country. Please do continue to recycle and dispose of the appropriate waste on your household collection day or make use of our bulky collection service for larger goods to ensure you can stay home and stay safe.”

Medway Council

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KCC Household Waste & Recycling Centres to Reopen

From next Friday, Kent County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will open to the public for essential use.

On Wednesday, May 13th, people will be able to book a slot to use one of the county’s 18 HWRCs which closed on March 23rd as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown.

People can book a slot either online or by phone for the opening on Friday, May 15th - details on how to book will be released next week.

KCC Cabinet Member for Environment Susan Carey said:

“I know how valued our waste and recycling sites are to the people of Kent and I am immeasurably proud of the work our waste team has put in to getting these sites reopened.

The booking system, which was developed by Medway Council, is crucial to ensure we can keep visitor numbers at a level where social distancing can be maintained and minimise queuing.

Our focus over the last few weeks has been in ensuring kerbside collections provided by district and borough councils continued, and our teams were redeployed to support those crews.

Kerbside collections across Kent are now all, or about to be, fully reinstated by the districts and boroughs, including garden waste services.”

The sites will be open to the public between 9:00am and 3:00pm to allow for enhanced cleaning.

Most sites will be open 7 days a week and will accept all types of waste including chargeable items.

Susan added:

“Government advice is that residents should continue temporarily storing their waste at home, if they can do so in a way that doesn’t pose a risk to their health.

If, however, waste and recycling cannot be stored at home without causing risk of injury, health or harm, please book a trip to your local HWRC.”

Residents can only book one trip in any 4-week period to allow all residents to have access to sites and must follow social distancing guidelines.

Social distancing proved impossible to maintain prior to closure as visitor numbers topped 800 visits a day.

KCC operates 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for the recycling and disposal of more than 30 different types of waste.

Booking

• Visitors to the site will be limited to help us manage social distancing. The number of bookings for each site will vary depending on the size of each site.

• You can only access the sites by booking an appointment. The quickest way to book is online.

• You can only book one trip in any 4-week period. This is to enable all residents to have fair access to our sites.

• If you want to drive a restricted vehicle to a Kent council site you’ll still need to apply for a vehicle voucher. https://www.kent.gov.uk/waste-planning-and-land/rubbish-and-recycling/vehicle-restrictions-and-vouchers Restricted vehicles are not allowed to tow a trailer.

• Bookings will only be accepted from residents in Kent / Medway.

• You should not try to book a visit if you have symptoms of Covid-19, if you are part of a household undertaking 14-day isolation or if you someone who is in the shielded category.

Arriving at the site

• If you booked online you must bring your proof of booking Email, either a printed copy or displayed on your phone. If you booked over the phone, bring the booking reference number we gave you when you made your booking. To reduce infection risk your car windows should remain closed when showing proof to staff.

• You must attend the site within your booking slot. If you miss your slot, you may not be allowed to use the site. We suggest you stagger your entry times within your booked slot, as we are expecting a high demand for the service.

Social distancing and safety

• You will need to observe the social distancing measures when visiting the sites. Site staff will not be able to offer their usual assistance to help unload and dispose of waste.

• A maximum of two people can leave each vehicle to dispose of bulky items without site staff help. However, if you do not have bulky items to dispose of, only one person can leave the vehicle to dispose of waste.

• Traffic management will be in place at all sites. Some sites may also block off every other parking bay so that customers and staff can keep to social distancing guidelines. Site staff will direct you.

• You will not be allowed onto the compactor platforms when a member of staff is operating the machines.

• You will need to follow site guidance, and this may include wearing gloves and masks. If you wear either gloves or masks, you’ll need to take them home for disposal to avoid the risk of cross contamination.

• We ask that visitors to the HWRCs are patient as we all get used to this new way of using the sites. The restrictions are in place for everyone’s protection. If you do not follow site rules you may be asked to leave the site. Security will be in place at the sites. Please be aware that site security includes Automatic Number Plate Recognition, CCTV and body-worn cameras.

• The site may need to close temporarily for cleaning with no warning.

• If you need to dispose of waste contaminated with coronavirus this should be carried out at kerbside. If this is not possible then you need to double bag the material and store this securely for 72 hours before bringing it to the site.

Kent County Council

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