Lympne memories
Here are memories of Lympne and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Lympne or a Lympne photo.
Lympne Airport in The 50s
That plane was bright blue! As far as I can remember, the pilot was Polish - left over from the war. He used to keep the plane at the airport, and give stunning free acrobatic displays on bright sunny days. For special events, like the village fete, he would give short flights. My mum paid for me and my brother to have one once - first time I'd ever flown. When we first moved to Lympne (very near the airfield) in 1952, the planes were Silver City Bristol Freighters, with huge front opening doors that swallowed cars whole. Silver City moved to Lydd, and they were replaced by Skyways, with a fleet of Dakotas. The runway was grass, and when Skyways wanted to replace their ageing Daks with HS748 turbo-props, they had to lay a concrete strip because the new planes couldn't land on grass. There was a lady (can't remember her name) who used to excercise her racehorses on the periphery of the field. One of her horses triggered a... Read more
County Members
That pub is the County Members. We lived just round the corner, in the Street, which leads to the Castle. Between us and the pub, was an old farmhouse, which became the Castle Tea Rooms for a short while. My mum cleaned at the pub, which was three old cottages knocked into one, resulting in the living accommodation being at the top of one flight of stairs, but going to bed, meant you had to go downstairs, through the public bar, and then up another flight of stairs between the public bar and the 'snug'
Lympne Castle Stables
I used to have my horse Shogun there and its a real part of Lympne and the castle!
Memories of Kent
Born in Sellindge
I was born in Sellindge in 1947, at 1 Railway Cottages. There were 3 cottages, my aunt lived in no. 2, and Mrs Clark in no. 3. My dad was born in Sellindge, married and started married life in no. 1, and lived there until his death in 1961.
I remember Mum sending me 'up the shop' for a bag of sugar or 'half a pound of marge'. Sometimes it would be a Sunday when the shop was closed or Wednesday afternoon, and Mum would say 'Go round the side door and ask Mrs Batchelor if she could let me have a bag of sugar till Friday when Dad gets paid'.
One day my dog had puppies, and when they were old enough, Dad said I had to get homes for them. He'd made me a 'truck' out of an old wooden box and wheels and I pulled it along with string. So I put the puppies in the 'truck' and took them up to the shop and... Read more
Lived There
i lived there with my parents.... in fact they still live there
My Parents And One of my Aunts Lived Here
My parents lived in one of the double houses in Grange Road from the early 1970s till the late 1980s, while my aunt lived in one of the singles in Rectory Lane from the 1960s until her death in the early 1990s.
I was at the old primary school in the 1960s and we often had "gym" classes in the village hall, I remember the paintings were enormous to a small child. Jumble sales were always good fun and I remember buying a Monopoly game for sixpence that my aunt had donated. In recent years my nephew had his wedding reception there, it hasn't changed a bit.
The Bon Marche
My grandparents lived here. My grandmother ran the shop and my grandfather was a carpenter in Hythe. I have very happy memories of sitting behind the big glass fronted cabinet on a stool, taking the customers' money and giving them their greenshield stamps.
I remember a very old fashioned grocery shop near The Bon Marche with wooden floorboards and high shelves with tins on. The cashier was in the middle of the shop in what I always thought of as a cage. I think a Miss Sharp ran this shop.
There was also another village shop overlooking the village green where Nanny and I would go. They sold little Hovis loaves which she would buy when I came to stay.
My grandparents also owned and ran Balgowan. I believe this was after WWII and was a type of boarding house.
Red Lion Pub
My father talks of growing up in the Red Lion Pub near Saltwood - would this be correct or have I got the pub's name wrong? His surname is Casey.
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- Edlington, South Yorkshire
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- Lewisham, Greater London
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- Milton Abbot, Devon
- Gratwich, Staffordshire
- Kingston Upon Thames, Surrey
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- Liverpool, Merseyside
- Hounslow, Middlesex
- Twechar, Lanarkshire
- Chadwell Heath, Essex
- Hawthorn, Wiltshire
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