Some more snippets from the Whitstable Times. In this issue we have the weeks shipping arrivals and departures, a report of an unfortunate accident, and an advert that shows the level of commercial competition beginning to surface in the town.

Also in this weeks paper was the report on the death of the Vicar of Whitstable, Rev. H. M. Maugham. This can be found here.

On Friday last a lad named Rowden, son of Mr. J. H. Rowden of Island Wall, was walking along the beach in front of the West End Parade, when he picked up a detonator such as is used by divers for exploding their charges.

Boy like, he tried to fire it with a Lucifer match, but this failing he got a large flint stone and by concussion therewith the detonator exploded and blew off the tops of three fingers of his right hand.

He was taken to Dr. Wheeler, who dressed the wounds, and the boy is now going on satisfactorily.

It appears that two or three similar detonators had been picked up in the same vicinity previously but how they came to get there is a mystery - Is it not a matter that the police should give their consideration?

Arrivals.

Sailings.

Boys will be boys, bang!

Firstly, the Rowden lad. He would have been over 6 years old at the time so we should be able to pick locate him on the 1891 and 1901 census data. Having his address and the initials of his father will help. We shall investigate and report back here.

Rowden would have been regarded as one of the old Whitstable names and many people of that name live in the town today. The name also appears on the town's war memorial.

In the meantime, if any resident remembers, when they were young, an old man with three shortened fingers on his right hand....

One would hope that our beaches are much safer places these days, although occasionally a fishing boat does net the odd WW2 bomb.

Shipping News

If you were to open a current copy of the Whitstable Times and read the Shipping News it would probably be: "The Union Star arrived on Tuesday, unloaded a cargo of stone and departed on Friday." Not the sort of stuff they write novels about is it?

Then imagine the time, as this week's entries show, that there were 34 arrivals or departures in 5 days. Picture these ships as they were guided masterfully sailing into the harbour on the high tide. Perhaps the wife's of the crew were watching from the quayside. Mind yourself amid the hurdy burdy of mooring as the ropes came snaking up from the ships to be tied around the bollards. Try not to get too dirty from the coal dust as the colliers from Newcastle are unloaded, or from the coke works bellowing out smoke from behind you.

So, one day when you visit the harbour, take this imaginary picture with you and view the scene from a completely different perspective than the one your eyes show you.

Incidentally, the vessel 'FLIRT' listed above is not the same ship as the 'FLIRT' that met a tragic end a year later with the loss of her master- CHIDWICK, mate - RIGDEN, and apprentice - HARE. You can read about that one here. This one was owned by the Joiner family, a brigantine of 187 registered tons. She survived until 1909 when she was condemned and registered as a hulk. Later that year she was driven ashore and presumably broke up in the process.

The 'UNDINE' was a brigantine of 174 registered tons. She was owned by the Nicholls family, Osborne being her master. She was one of the fastest ships out of Whitstable as she was built specifically to transport pineapples from America in the shortest possible time. Her length of boom made her difficult to handle in coastal waters, so in later days when she worked nearer home, she was modified to cope. She lasted until the 27th February 1917 when, whilst drifting in fog in the Wash, she was run down and sunk by the steamer 'Emlyn'.

Interested in local ships and their crews? The Whitstable born crew on board vessels in the 1881 census is here.

Advertising.

Imagine what would happen if J. Foad advertised like that today. In this politically correct world you cannot get away with being so blatantly straight talking. Nevertheless the same problems exist for an independant trader in the town then, as now.

For instance, there is a Television and Hifi retailer in the town today, established for over 55 years, that offers equivalent prices to the multiple retailers, plus installation and service by local qualified engineers, whose stock is UP-TO-DATE and MODERN, and does not sell just anything that (mail-order or internet) firms like to send. ie. Fix it up yourself!

Sounds familiar doesn't it? (Update Jan 2004 - Whitstable Teleradio closed down.)

If you're wondering what sort of address 'Cycledom, Whitstable' is don't bother looking through any town maps. It doesn't, and never did exist, except perhaps as a name above a shop or workshop. Our guess is that it was in Harbour Street as a John FOAD traded there for many years.