Kemsing under fire

2nd. November 2017.

A new booklet entitled "Kemsing under fire" has been produced by the Kemsing Heritage Centre, which is worth reading.

    In my account of WW2 memories I refer to a soldier being killed whilst he was trying to defuse an unexploded bomb that had landed in the garden of a large property called "Flaneswood" on Seal Chart (not Kemsing), near Stone Street.  From information provided by one Doug Parry, this tragic event did indeed happen (on the 22nd. October 1940), and after some research a name can be put to that Brave British Officer, he was 51 year old 2nd. Lieutenant Frank Martin, of the Royal Engineers, (already recipient of the George Cross for bravery).

     All of which confirms that my memory was correct, but it also tells me that I was 6 years old at that time.

     Another thought:  from Childsbridge Lane, Kemsing; it is a long walk to 'Flaneswood' for a 6 year old (and back home again).

     

     

    

         Ted Prangnell

I have some feedback from a lady who claims that her dad was stationed at one of the Balloon Sites I had mentioned in my blog.  This prompted me to look on the internet for more information on Barrage Balloons, and there  is plenty to find there. 
   Just by chance I found some old photographs and in among them was a picture of a Barrage-balloon winching vehicle.

That winch vehicle looks very much like "ours", but I can't remember where I took this picture, obviously in a museum somewhere.