This is the index page for the period 1900 - 1909 in Whitstable. It connects to events in this period in the History, Family History, People and Genealogy sections. A single page or group of pages might inform you about that specific topic but by viewing all of the pages we hope that you come away with the feeling that you were actually there at the time, that you can relate to these people and understand what life and work was like for them. Then, when you visit the town, you can see for yourself these places as they are today and cast your mind back to the pictures we painted of the way it was then for our townspeople.

1900	Baron Baden-Powell, held Mafeking from Boer attack from October 1899 to May 1900, he later became famous for starting the Scout Movement in 1908.
1900	At the general election, the Conservative Party with Lord Salisbury as Prime Minister stayed in power. The success of the War effort boosted the Conservative Party's popularity.
1900	In February, members of the main socialist political parties, including the Independent Labour Party (founded 1893), met with trade union representatives. The socialists agreed to combine forces to present a united front at Parliament.
1901	In 1901, the British set up camps in South Africa to house "refugees" from the war. The people kept in the camps were used as labour for the mines in the area (a way of gaining the wealth of the land as a profit of war) and the conditions were appalling.
1901	Queen Victoria died on January 22 following a series of small strokes. She was at Osborne, near Cowes, Isle of Wight. Victoria's 63 year reign was the longest in English history. Her large family, she had more than 40 grandchildren, married into almost every royal family in Europe making Victoria an important political influence across the continent. The Prince of Wales became Edward VII.
1902	End of the Boer war. The Peace of Vereeniging was signed in May. Britain took control of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. A grant of £3 million was paid by the British to help repair African farms destroyed by a "scorched earth" policy.
1902	Lord Salisbury resigned as Prime Minister and Conservative Arthur James Balfour took over.
1903	The Women's Social and Political Union was founded by Emmeline Pankhurst with support from her daughters Christabel and Sylvia. The organisation took direct action to campaign for women's rights to vote in general elections. Frustrated by delays in Parliament to extend suffrage, the women protested increasingly visibly and vocally about the inequality of democracy in Britain.
1903	On December 17, Wilbur and Orville Wright's biplane covered a distance of 852 feet and the American brothers became the first men to fly.
1907	The Triple Entente formalised a diplomatic split in Europe. Britain, France and Russia united against the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria and Italy, which was formed in 1882.
1908	Germany launched the Nassau, a powerful warship designed to rival Britain's HMS Dreadnought (launched in 1906). By the end of the year, Britain had produced seven Dreadnought battleships and was ahead in the arms race.
1908	Liberal politician Herbert Henry Asquith became Prime Minister and announced plans for social reforms, including the introduction of pensions (announced in the May budget) and National Insurance (1911 National Insurance Act). Winston Churchill was appointed President of the Board of Trade.
1909	As announced in the previous year's budget, state pensions were introduced in Britain. The pension was set at a rate of five shillings or seven shillings and sixpence for married couples. It could not be claimed by people who had refused to work, the insane, prisoners and the destitute. Taxes were raised to pay for the pension scheme.
1909	Frenchman Louis Bleriot flew across the Channel and landed at Dover in his monoplane. His flight took 43 minutes.

The UK Census took place on midnight Sun/Mon 31st March/1st April 1901. We use it as part of our Whitstable Family History File Project. The population of England and Wales was now 32,527,843.

The fourth of our pages of old Whitstable Parish Church Magazines for November 1900 takes us into the new century with the addition of the inclusion of local advertisers for the first time.

The fifth of our pages of old Whitstable Parish Church Magazines for December 1902 continues the series and starts to show familiar names amongst the advertisers.

1907 - Highways and Byways in Kent. This book recounts a story from the mists of time about Whitstable being formed by the good houses being dropped on a hill as the devil threw the bad houses of Canterbury into the sea. Not proven, but who knows?

As we re-discover more about this period in the town's history and about the people who lived in it we will add to this collection. Hopefully, if you have anything to add you will let us know. In trying to recreate these times the picture will never be complete, but if we leave it too late the stories from this period that have been passed down through the generations might be lost forever.