Nostalgia

Today is Census Day and you should already have received the information that will help you complete it. Like all U.K. census, it will be protected by the 100 year rule. Historians and genealogists are looking forward to the imminent release of the 1921 census due in 2022. A census in England has been taken every year since 1841 (with the understandable exception of 1941). The census has evolved over time. The most recent available, the 1911 census, was the first to be completed by the head of the household rather than someone knocking at the door to ask questions. It also

Monday was a very special day for visitors to Lavender Fields care home in Seal, Sevenoaks.  It was the day when, after months in lockdown, family members could visit their loved ones at the care home.  What made this day extra special for female residents was that it coincided with International Women’s Day. Following the government announcement that care home residents in England will be allowed to receive close contact indoor visits from one person from 8 March, families could not wait to see their loved ones and booked their visits early. Although visits via protective screens were allowed in the past

I began my suffrage research and writing journey back in 2017 when I answered a writing magazine advertisement that said publisher, Pen & Sword Ltd, were looking for new authors.  Little did I know at that time that this was how so many got involved in the suffrage movement more than a hundred years ago.  An example of this is the 1913 Pilgrimage by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).  They advertised country-wide seeking all non-militant associations and friends and sympathisers, both men and women, to join the pilgrimage and help in other ways.  This included giving money,

A real treasure trove of information regarding some of the women of Sevenoaks who worked as nurses during the war is the archive of material left by Kathleen Mansfield, Commandant of the Cornwall Hall VAD 76 Hospital. The archive also includes card, letters, drawings and photos of many of those cared for at the hospital, some of whom are named while others are labelled as ‘patients’ or ‘Belgians’. Kathleen Mansfield and her husband served throughout the war, tireless in their work to care for those that arrived at Cornwall Hall, from the Belgian refugees who began to arrive in Sevenoaks in late 1914,

Following our story about the disappearing woman at Dunton Green Station, here is another strange tale about a mystery man at a school in Sevenoaks.

Rock legend Jimi Hendrix died exactly 50 years ago (18 September 1970) but ever since his death an urban myth has continued to gather momentum that he was responsible for the arrival of wild parakeets in Britain.

The 24 August this year will mark the 93rd anniversary of a dramatic train crash just outside Sevenoaks which claimed the lives of 13 people. Several years ago, former Dunton Green resident Anthony Perry, a retired Facilities Manager with the NHS, had a strange encounter he believes could be connected with the accident.

Prince William celebrated his birthday today (21 June) but did you know some cherry trees were planted in Sevenoaks to mark his birth 38 years ago?

VE Day 75 was celebrated all over the Sevenoaks area on Friday 8 May, but at the Vine War Memorial there was a more sombre events when at 11am Councillor Nicholas Busvine OBE, Mayor of Sevenoaks, laid a wreath.

The nation celebrates the 75th Anniversary of VE Day this Friday (8 May) and although government guidelines continue to say stay at home, there are plenty of ways to celebrate indoors.