Elham HistorIcal SOCIETyA History Research Group for Elham

News

Membership Application Forms and the EHS Launch Flyer are now available online from the FAQ webpage.

Top Stories

• EHS now has over 140 members!
• "Steam in Elham" A talk by Richard Moffatt. Elham Historical Society (EHS) were pleased to present a very successful illustrated talk by Richard Moffatt (grandson of Fred Pegden) which covered the Pegden family's involvement with traction engines in the beautiful Elham Valley. The Pegden family worked with traction engines since the Boer War and were responsible for many restorations at their Elham engineering works. They also started the famous Elham Traction Engine Rallies of the 1950's and 60's.
• EHS launches their online historical database
  www.ehsdatabase.elham.co.uk
• EHS members decide to become the Elham Historical Society.
• Elham church yard monumental inscription survey well underway. This fascinating project means that we now have several hundred grave stone inscriptions accurately recorded before further weather damage occurs. The project is now entering the data validation phase so that the photographs and records can be verified and then entered into the EHS database. Once the church yard survey is completed we will start work on recording the MI's in the cemetery.
• Battle of Britain Talk by David Brocklehurst. This was held on 8th October 2010 and was a great success with over 100 people attending.
• EHS first public meeting.
  The first EHS public meeting was held on Friday 28th May 2010. 41 people attended which meant the venue had to change to the larger main hall. The evening was a great success, giving members and non members an update on the progress made to date. There was also a small exhibition of items held within the newly established archive. 9 new members joined as a result of the evening.
• Robert Kennelly's Winter Weather Report for 1939-1940.
  A personal account of the weather in Elham was wriiten in an excercise book by Robert and subsequently given to Miss Mary Smith. Parts of this information was used by Dennis Knight in his book "Harvest of Messerschmitts". The transcript of Robert's report is now held by the Elham Historical Study.
• Elham Census Information
  The 1841 & 1851 Census for Elham have now been obtained and are awaiting further research.
  
• Kent Directories
  The group now has the 1847 Bagshaw, 1851 Post Office, 1858 Melvilles and 1862 Kelly's Directory entries for Elham
  
• Elham Historical Study
  The group has now officially been formed and the website placed online.
  

Additional Resources

Pictures from the first public meeting

 

A section from Robert Kennelly's Winter Weather Report Reads:

"And several notable incidents are well worth recording before the memory of them fades.

 

Amongst them, the weird aspect of Elham High Street seen by the light of a copper coloured moon which was full on the night of January the 24^th during the great black frost, when on the 19^th, three days after the First quarter, the thermometer registered 6⁰ below zero.  Under this dim and weird light which was greatly enhanced by the enforced lighting restriction, and down a narrow thoroughfare carved through snowbanks by the snowplough which had been constantly at work, there trooped a constant stream of people, both soldiers and civilians, children and adults, carrying skis on their shoulders or dragging homemade sleds behind them, all bound for the snow clad slopes of Mount Top".