NEWSLETTER NO. 10 - Apr 2006

Friday 20 January 1956

To mark the 50th anniversary of the disastrous Meteor crash on the High Street, the History Society organised what will probably be its most successful evening at least for a decade in the Commemoration Hall. Encouraged by the Parish Council, we assembled a host of recollections from those who there on the day - school children, young adults, firemen, builders - some on stage either being interviewed by Heather Woodward or just having a chat as Vera Lawson and Joy Creasy did; others gave their memories broadcast from interviews carried out earlier.

Ian Adam-Smith had done a lot of research on the Meteor night fighter and on the accident itself; unfortunately he could not present these himself as he was 'down under'. A Pathé News clip started the show with atmospheric music and the typical commentator' voice, which sent many of the audience straight back to the 1950s; ITN and BBC archives also produced video footage and we had the benefit of a little amateur ciné film from Joy Creasy.

The multi-media show was pulled together by your chairman, who managed his way through the technology without too many problems either from the software or the hardware. Once again our own projection screen proved its worth, enabling even those at the back of the hall to see the images being projected. These included a wide range of photographic material - from newspapers of the time, from Frank Boorman's amazing collection of local photos, now held at the Record Office in Lewes, and from the RAF Museum at Hendon.

The redevelopment of the High Street after the crash was a major feature of the evening; largely researched by Rachel Ring, we gained an understanding of why we have such a depressing shopping parade to replace the much loved Queen's Head, the Old Oak House where Hines the greengrocers did business, and the International Stores on the corner of Washwell Lane. Neither the Parish Council nor Uckfield Rural District Council came out of this smelling of roses!

All round the hall were large photocopies of newspapers of the day and other material for browsing. But such was the crowd that not much advantage could be taken of that! Doors did not open - in theory - until 19:30 but the first visitors arrived at 18:45 from Paddock Wood, lured in by an early morning interview with your chairman on Southern Counties Radio. Others heard that the event was taking place from BBC and Meridian news bulletins during the day; the Courier also gave us coverage. By 19:30 virtually all the seats were taken and the queue for entry stretched towards the White Hart; by 20:00 there was barely standing room anywhere and several people had decided to go home rather than face a couple of hours on their feet - we can only apologise to them for our unforeseen success.

The Committee had decided that the takings on the door should be used for the benefit of the wider community: we have therefore sent a cheque for £670 to the Hall & Institute for some specific improvement needed in the Hall [the amount suggests that at least 335 people attended the vent - we lost count well before that although tickets were issued as people came through the door.]

The bar did good business and those who stayed on afterwards enjoyed tea, coffee and cakes as guests of the Society: this was organised by Rachel Ring with her usual flair .
The event did much to remind those who lived in Wadhurst at the time of what had happened and educated those who have come here later of a vital bit of our history; it also produced many sources of fresh information. As a result, the History Society will be publishing a comprehensive book of the event, covering life in England and Wadhurst before the crash, the day of the crash itself and its immediate aftermath, and the redevelopment of the High Street. By the time you read this newsletter, the book - written by Michael Harte, Rachel Ring and Heather Woodward, should be on its way to the printers for release to members of the Society at the May meeting.; it will not be free as we have to recover the quite substantial costs we incurred in putting on the public meeting on 20 Jan 2006.

We are also looking at the possibility of a DVD of the event to complete the record of this part of Wadhurst's history.