Seeboard, Upchurch Marathon, Winget, St.Margaret's Players,                                    Medway College,  APCM, Leech Opticals, Higham, KFI, Stockbury, Morris School of Dance, RNLI

          

In my first post I did say that contributions would not be on a regular basis, but here I am again, and thank you for sticking with me! I am now working on a different computer with a different photo-editing system which I have used the time in Lockdown to try to understand, so the images are displayed in a slightly different fashion to the previous ones. Also, Blogger somehow messes with the script and you may see large gaps. I've no idea why this happens - all is fine on the preview!!

 

I hope you enjoy the latest selection of photographs from the Dudley Studios Collection.

The electrical power industry was nationalised in 1947 with the Electricity Act. Twelve area branches were created as six hundred power companies were merged. In 1990 these area boards became independant, and by the end of the year were privatised. South-Eastern Electricity Board (Seeboard) merged with British Insulated Callender's Cables (a Swedish-Swiss company excelling in power, robotics and automation technology), and updated the London underground system, under the new umbrella of Seeboard Powerlink.  In 2002 they bonded with 24seven, a utility management company which was owned by London Electricity, and became EDF Energy, a name familiar to us all.  In this image from 1955 the original Seeboard is laying power cables in Aylesford village, which lies four miles from Maidstone on the banks of the River Medway. I think this view is from Mill Hall area, incidentally where one of my great-grandmother's was born in 1859. I'm sure the view was somewhat different to this one. Today there is a large housing complex around the area.

These lads are lining up for the Junior Marathon which was part of the Upchurch Fete celebrations and took part the day before. I wonder if any of them are reading this now?                                                             This was in 1955.

                                

These service vans were parked outside the factory in Esplanade, Strood, Kent. I wish they were in colour. I guess they were green and yellow.

Still with Winget - and I make no apologies, as for years Dudley Studios was in the factory, taking the photographs that would sell their products across the world. All visitors through the main door of the beautiful building, ( that sadly our Council saw fit to demolish), 

were greeted by doorman Mr. Bob Mercer.

    Stockbury church was desperately in need of restoration, as many of them were in the fifties.  £10,000 was needed - quite a lot then. The work was underway when thieves made use of the scaffolding to help themselves to lead from the one part of the roof that didn't need restoring! They also displaced some of the tiles.  Work was halted and an appeal for funds reached the BBC  programme ''The Week's Good Cause'' and £1,165 was raised immediately for the 700 year-old  church. The Vicar, Reverend Wallace E. Edwards 

is seen here discussing the work with the experts.

Medway College of Technology and College of Art combined forces for a 'Rag Day', held annually, raising money for local charities. Of course humour played a great part and some of the participants can be seen (above) at Gillingham railway station, and below at Rochester. All the locals enjoyed this time of year as the Towns were filled with colour and unexpected sideshows, like one I remember of a student crouched over a drain with a fishing                                                     rod - he sat there all day! 

The Kent Farm Institute owned 300 acres of farmland at Grove End Farm, Tunstall, near Sittingbourne, and it became the centre of training for student farmers. Mr. Peter Day who was Chairman of the County National Farmers Union, spoke at their open day in June 1956. ''Agriculture is the greatest industry in this Country today and we have a responsibility to the Nation for the care of this Country's soil. It is our raw material and our industry depends on it. We must improve and maintain it although it means hard work, long hours and frustrations by weather and Governments.'' He also pointed out that unlike hens, farmers could not sit still and make a living! This photograph shows one of the would-be farmers demonstrating hand milking to the MP for Faversham Division Mr.P.L.Wells and his wife.

St. Margaret's church, Rainham, badly needed redecoration by 1955 and £1,500 had already been raised towards financing it. There was an Autumn Bazaar in the offing, plus the proceeds from a  production of ''The Happiest Days of Your Life'' performed by the St. Margaret's Players to help inflate the funds.

I noticed an interest in Leech Opticals on social media recently, possibly because it has now been turned into flats, with the name of the Company emblazoned on the side to maintain the history of the building. I applaud this idea. I notice that Norfolk preserves the history of its buildings in a similar manner and am surprised that it doesn't happen more often here.

Visitors are seen here touring the factory. I'm sorry I don't have any further details, but perhaps somebody else knows the occasion?

Gillingham Park Fete in 1956 took part over two days and was visited by 25,700 people.  Imagine if each one of those had been able to contribute £1 to the 

Royal National Lifeboat Institution!

This stall is hoping to raise funds for the RNLI, which is run by volunteers and is funded solely by voluntary donations. - a charity that saves life at sea.   To make a donation or to see what great work these selfless individuals undertake 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, visit rnli.org.

These delightful dancers are from the Morris School of Dancing and were entertaining crowds in the Rochester Castle Gardens in 1956

     

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