Kilndown Education Trust

Kilndown Education Trust is a charity which was formed in 1994 after the closure of Kilndown Primary School. The Trust has funds available for young people up to the age of 25 living in the parish of Kilndown who might benefit from financial support for any aspect of their education. Grants are not means-tested. It continues to support the two local primary schools where Kilndown children are taught. In 2022, grants towards various educational extra-curricular activities, including university textbooks, music and swimming lessons were  made to 44 students.

The next round will be awarded in September 2023. Closing date for applications is September 1st, 2023.

Hilary Bird (Secretary)
Rogers Rough
Chicks Lane
Kilndown
Kent TN17 2RP
01892 890554

High Weald Ride featured in The Times ‘Summer Cycling Guide’

In its recent Summer Cycling Guide, The Times Weekend featured cycle route 18, which passes through Goudhurst, covering 41 miles between Tunbridge Wells and Ashford.

The article mentions Sustrans, which has further details:

For those who want to tackle the full 41-mile run, which forms part of the well signposted National Route 18, there are dedicated cycle lanes, running alongside main roads at both Tunbridge Wells and Ashford.
Other than this, the main traffic-free section is through Bedgebury Forest.
This route is an excellent way to take in Kent’s quintessential Garden of England scenery, complete with hops, apple orchards, oast houses and picture-postcard villages….

SUSTRANS

Battlefield Pilgimage

L to R: Peter Albertini, Tim Nicholson and Brian FerdinandoL to R: Peter Albertini, Tim Nicholson, Brian Ferdinando

At the centenary of the Armistice approaching, 35 Goudhurst & Kilndown parishioners undertook a pilgrimage to the Great War battlefields around Ypres to commemorate the 68 men and one woman from the parish who died in the First World War. All their names were specifically mentioned at some point along the route.

The group paused at the cemetery where George Chestney, once a gardener at Brandfold, lies buried; at other cemeteries, brief services were conducted by the Rev. Hugh Nelson at the graves of William Roff and George Luck, farmworkers before the war. Members of both these soldiers’ families, visiting for the first time, placed poppy wreaths on the graves.

The group heard commentaries from Royal British Legion branch chairman Tim Nicholson and local historian Roger Joye at some notable locations, including the scene of the crucial action led by The Buffs against the first ever gas attack by the Germans (April 1915), and the advance of the British army towards Passchendaele (July – November 1917).

The group later moved on to the Menin Gate memorial, where the names of six men from Goudhurst and Kilndown are carved among those of 55,000 British and Empire soldiers who died in the area and who have no known grave. The standard of the Goudhurst & Kilndown branch of the Royal British Legion, (handled by Mick Harris) was on parade at the Last Post ceremony, and a wreath was formally laid.

Organised by Tim Nicholson, Peter Rolington and Roger Joye, the pilgrimage raised over £400 for RBL branch funds.

Lost, found and mis-spelling on The Somme

War Graves at The Somme

Luck, coincidence and diligent research combined to replace the headstone on the war grave of a Goudhurst man, George Baker, one hundred years after he died during the Battle of the Somme.

In 2007, the late Bob Brown, then chairman of Goudhurst’s Local History Society, discovered that George Baker’s headstone showed his name as Barer. At his instigation, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) re-engraved the name, but the result was far from satisfactory, with a K being imposed over the R.

On a visit to the Somme last September, local historian Roger Joye was surprised to find a wreath of poppies on the grave even though he and his wife, fellow historian Gill Joye, had found no direct descendants, despite extensive searching.
A few days later, the exact centenary of George Baker’s death was commemorated at the war memorial in Goudhurst. It was attended by George Jessel DL, High Sheriff of Kent. When told of the mystery and the state of the headstone, he offered to contact the CWGC to see what could be done to improve the engraving.

On that same centenary day, 28th September 2016, members of George Baker’s family made an unrelated visit to the grave at Méaulte, France. They planted a wooden cross bearing just their Christian names. In October, the CWGC wrote to George Jessel to say they had installed a brand new headstone and enclosed a photograph. By coincidence, the family’s cross was included, with legible names.

Gill set about tracing the names, constructing a family tree descending from George’s sister, Mary. Contact was then made with the family. It was then learned that the wreath Roger had seen had been laid by George Baker’s 14 year-old great-great-niece, Miriam Small, during a school visit in July 2016.

In March this year, to commemorate the renewal of George Baker’s headstone, Goudhurst & Kilndown Local History Society, the Goudhurst branch of the Royal British Legion and Great War Battlefields of Goudhurst arranged for a group of local people to attend a ceremony at the Cemetery at Méaulte.
Poppy wreaths were laid on George’s grave (pictured) and the Last Post was sounded.

Related Topics
British Legion Goudhurst

Goudhurst at the BBC

Goudhurst at the BBCSir Roy Strong, historian and former Director of the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A, accompanied BBC Radio Four’s Justin Webb to record a radio interview in Goudhurst.
Sir Roy chose Goudhurst to represent the heart of the English countryside in his book published on national identity, titled Visions Of England. The BBC produced an audio slideshow of the interview, which is sadly no longer available. It was produced in a format no longer in use.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-14039199

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