In our May meeting Christoph Bull told us about the parish of Stone, its history and how it has changed in recent years, particularly in size.  Did you know that Bean is the newest parish in Kent, as it was detached from Stone in the 1980s.  Stone has also lost other areas to Dartford, particularly along the Thames, but it is also home to Bluewater, which is now the UK’s 4^th largest shopping centre.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 10^th July at 8pm in the Horton Kirby Jubilee Hall (next to the Village Hall) and our Chairman Terry Moyle will be giving us a slide show entitled “Old Dartford & District” with a large number of images to show us.

Our 2017-2018 schedule:

11^th September       Queen Victoria – Anne Carter

13^th November        AGM a short talk by Malcolm Scott and the Cheese & Wine Evening

8^th January             Gravesend- Gateway to the Thames – Christoph Bull

12^th March              Kent and East Sussex Railway – Then and Now – Doug Lindsay

The full list of 2018 speakers will be announced in our next newsletter.

The new walking tour guide is very close to being ready, and we should have an update in our meeting next month.  One of our publications, “Sink the Link” is being used as a reference work for a talk at the Swanley History Group in August.  The recent proposed redevelopment plans for Swanley reminded members of their earlier protesting activities when the Channel Tunnel Rail Link route was announced and this talk will feature a lot of video footage taken at the Swanley protests and other local events.

We look forward to seeing you next month at our meeting,

Our March talk was by Steve Hookins, who has given us talks in the past, this time it was “To Wilhelm with Love – Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Somme”. Steve’s talks are always thought provoking, as he gave us a rounded view of the battle, which lasted several weeks, accompanied by a very well illustrated slide presentation. Steve also brought to the meeting a display of WW1 items which we all had time to look at before and after the meeting, and answered many questions.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 8th May 2017 at 8pm in the Horton Kirby Jubilee Hall (next to the Village Hall) and our speaker will be Christoph Bull, and this time his talk will be “The Incredible Shrinking Parish of Stone”.

Our 2017 schedule:
10th July                     Old Dartford & District – Terry Moyle
11th September       Queen Victoria – Anne Carter
13th November        AGM a short talk by Malcolm Scott and the Cheese & Wine Evening

The new walking tour guide to Horton Kirby and South Darenth is not quite ready yet (there have been significant issues with maps…) and the guide will be available soon. Work is also progressing on the history of the villages during World War One, and I am currently reading the bound volumes of The Dartford Express for 1914, 1915 and 1916, lent to me by a very kind member of the Dartford Historical & Antiquarian Society, and this is providing interesting additional information about the activities in the villages during this period which we will be using in the book.

Forthcoming local events:

British Legion Plant Sale – Saturday, 6th May 10.30am – 1pm.
At the British Legion Hall, Devon Road, with cakes, tea and coffee available

British Legion Quiz Night – Friday, 12th May 7.00pm for 7.30pm.
At the British Legion Hall, Devon Road, bring your own drinks and nibbles

Sutton at Hone Church Quiz Night – Friday, 19th May 7.30pm.
At Sutton Court (off Church Road), £4 per person and teams of up to six.