Published 11 September 2003

DENSOLE reader Ray Hogben, an old boy of Folkestone’s Dover Road School, has come up with the answer to his former classmate’s question about what happened to the school’s gleaming silver model of a railway locomotive named after former British Rail chief Sir Eustace Missenden.

Round about 1947-48, says Ray, the top forms of the school went on a trip to tour Ashford Railway Works, Sir Eustace being an old boy of Dover Road School.

“After that trip we all went to Shorncliffe Station to look over the first diesel electric locomotive used on the Southern Region, in 1947.”

This was named after the British Rail chief.

“Also, some of the boys, but not me, went on a trip on the new railway ship Maid of Orleans.

“After these trips we had to write compositions about them

- and the prize was the silver model of the engine.

“It was won by the late Mike
Johnson. I have a photo of it, kindly given to me by Mrs Gwen Johnson, Mike’s widow, of Hythe.

“Mike became a British Rail fireman/engine driver and then served in the Transport Police.” he told me.

Sir Eustace presented the prizes at the school prize-giving at the Town Hall, in 1948.

Ray himself became a carpenter and told of an unhappy spell apprenticed to William Dunks, the builder. But he went on to work as a ‘chippy’ for 52 years, and was self-employed for about 30 years.

I slipped up in my recent reference to Martin Walter Ltd having once had a motor showroom at No. 90 Sandgate Road in Memories recently when I featured an early postcard view of a charabanc outing group, and a local postman was quick to point this out.

But I was right on one point! Back in 1938 Martin Walter Ltd did have a business at No. 90, but this was as trunk makers, saddlers, sports outfitters and cycle dealers.

Today, the postman observed, a charity shop does business at No. 90 and, sadly, Martin Walters no longer exists.
ST ANDREW’S, a for-mer convalescent home in East Cliff Gardens, above the Durlocks, is pictured around 1950 when it was a Workers’ Travel Association guest house. More about this in a future edition of Memories.
DOVER Road school boys after the war, a photograph shown to me by Ray Hogben, of Densole. Among those he remembers, from the left are Mick de Vere, now in New Zealand, teacher Cyril Blunt, Ray Barker, Doug Green, Ray Richards, Del Lound, Peter Lever, Dennis Stone, Fred Smyson, Brian Rouse, John Hazard, Clive Chapman, a jump jockey who rode for the Queen Mother, Brian Burville who became an Regimental Sergeant Major in the Royal Engineers, and Percy Goodburn, a steward at the AtfS club.
Cheriton Road sports ground, while a later development, of course, was the former Utilecon works at Cheriton providing work for a lot of local people.

Local history enthusiast, Arthur Ruderman, sent me an e-mail message to point out that the Avro 504K aircraft giving joy flights and doing wing-walking stunts at Capel back in 1928, was a bi-plane, not a monoplane. He’s right of course.

Arthur tells me he has photographs of the aeroplane - which was the word I intended to type, although these days practically everyone calls them aircraft!
Solved!
Founder of Martin Walters was John Walter, of Southgate, north of London, who started out in business in 1773 as a leather merchant, saddler and trunk maker.

Early records are apparently sparse, but the business subsequently switched to Folkestone, cashing in on the build up at Shorncliffe of cavalry barracks, which provided plenty of business for a saddler.

Much later the firm appeared to branch out in the motor business and took a big step forward when descendant Martin Walter was able to take over Hills & Co, a once
internationally known coach building business in East Kent.

Martin Walter Ltd, motor engineers and coachbuilders, were later at 145-147 Sandgate Road, their showroom being on the opposite corner of Shakespeare Road, to rival motor dealers and coachbuilders, Maltby’s, of Folkestone, Sandgate, Hythe and Canterbury.

Wing-walking

Back in 1938 Martin Walter also had premises in Bouverie Place, Shorncliffe Station garage Cheriton and coachbuilding and engineering works adjoining the
 

Hunters take on farmers in friendly cricket match 'I QflQTHE MAYOR of Folkestone said in a JL«7vfO report in a national daily newspaper that the South African War had hit the local tourist trade but it was picking up again. The "Daily News” was collecting the views of mayors around the country for its survey of the tourism industry. He spoke of a railway service second to none, an excellent amusements association and first class golf links, cricket and lawn tennis as well as a variety of swimming facilities. Sandgate was in the process of approving the installation of street lighting by electricity supplied by the Folkestone Electricity Works, the switch-over being expected before Christmas. Local farmers and members of the East Kent Hunt who relied on each other's cooperation met for lunch and a cricket match at Sibton Park, Lyminge, as guests of the Hunt. The Hunt batted first, their line-up including the Earl of Guilford, from Waldershare near Dover, the Hon W. James, Baron de Tessier and Mr Selby Lowndes, while young army officer members of Shorncliffe Drag Hunt also took part. Spectators included members of some of the leading families in the county and the Royal East Kent Yeomanry band entertained during intervals for meals.

French steamer sinks in collision with ‘Passat’ *1 QOQMYSTERY surrounded an unexplained collision off Dungeness between one of the world's largest sailing ships, the "Passat," four-masted sister ship of the ill-fated "Preussen," lost of Dover in 1910, and a 1,467 ton steamer "Daphne" which quickly sank. Happily most of her crew of 21 scrambled aboard the badly damaged German barque and the others were picked up by the "Passat's" crew. Badly holed at the bow the barque quickly made for the shore, while the crew of the French coaster were taken ashore by a nearby motorboat crewed by Pilot Inn, Dungeness licensee Mr G. Bates and made their way first to the Britannia, at Dungeness, and then by the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch light railway to Hythe and then on to Folkestone, on their way back to Caen with only the clothes they wore. The barque was en route for Chile from Hamburg when the vessels collided in broad daylight with good visibility. Further drama came the next night when, after reports of flares in the Channel the Littlestone lifeboat was launched and had a fruitless search lasting four hours. It had been feared the "Passat," which had been moored off Littlestone until Sunday, might be in trouble again.

Riddle of local soldier who was PoW of the Koreans <i qmFORMER manageress of the Stade J.5/00Court Hotel, Hythe, Mrs Dorothy Adams-Acton, of Folkestone was anxiously awaiting news of her son 2nd Lieut Leo Adams-Acton a PoW in Korea who should have been freed under a repatriation scheme. There was drama when demolition men felled the tower of St Michael's Church, Folkestone by a method, now familiar to television viewers, of undermining foundations, propping them up with wood soaked in oil and then setting light to them. At New Romney they were celebrating restoration of their church tower with a special service. Riding a bike with his familiar number 277 Monty Banks was pictured with trophies after winning the last of the season's local 'speedway' meetings held by Folkestone Motor Cycle Club. Listed as an ancient monument although still in use thanks to an oil-fired engine, Steiling Minnis windmill won cash aid towards the cost of replacing two 'missing' sweeps. Backing the scheme the Kent Council of Social Service said the work would make the mill the only one left in the countv still worked '

Rates rise on way in move to end shabbiness in the town 1 Q7QA NEW multi-million pound scheme / Ofor a Channel Tunnel was being considered by Transport Secretary William Rodgers based on submerged concrete tubes carrying two rail tracks and three-lane motorways. This was an alternative to the single-bore plan which was favoured by British and French railways. Police stepped up the hunt for thugs who were targetting elderly; people, one of whom, 78 years old and blind was beaten up in his flat in Folkestone's Royal Pavilion. He had been followed home from the Post Office, threatened with murder and robbed of his money. Rates seemed likely to go up in Folkestone in a bid to rid the town of an image of shabbiness. Angry councillors said they had had enough of falling standards across the district. Great-great grandmother Alice Setterfield, celebrating her 103rd birthday gave her recipe for long life as a love of men and a glass of wine every night! Alice lived in the Grosvenor Court old people's home in Folkestone. There were concerns that Elham would lose its own vicar when the Revd Ivor Morshead moved to Tavistock, Devon in the New Year. The village was thought to be too small to justify its own full-time minister.