Above photo, circa 1914, kindly sent by Rory Kehoe. Shown in its Kidd's
Steam Brewery, Dartford livery. This pub was adjacent to Kidd's Brewery,
the main entrance to which was located about 50m further up Hythe
Street. The image shows licensee, Mr. E. W. Hopkins, with a Tommy, who
may have been his nephew, Albert. Dartford War Memorial records that an
A. H. Hopkins fell in WW1. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
https://www.cwgc.org/
further corroborates this
and lists Sergeant Albert Henry Hopkins, C Company, 1st Battalion of The Kings's Liverpool Regiment as having died in France in November 1916,
aged 21. Sgt. Hopkins' parents were Frederic Edward and Alice Mary
Hopkins, of St. Vincent's Road, Dartford.
The arrow sign is indicating the way to a nearby Recruiting Office,
which dates this image as taken after the UK entered WW1 on 4th August
1914. As a member of the 1st Battalion, it's likely that Albert Henry
Hopkins was a pre-war regular soldier and may have been assisting with
the recruitment of local men who were keen to volunteer for "Kitchener's
Army." |
