The Medway Towns in 1965

[@mikeholley1]

I was 19 in 1965, this brings back memories of a far better time... a time when people pulled together and you could actually speak to someone on the phone...

[@Sundae_Times]

Sounds like your rose-tinted specs need a polish, mate.

[@mikeholley1]

​@@Sundae_TimesVery true.

[@Oscuros]

This was what my Dad knew when he was 18 in 1965. He took us to all these towns in the 1980s.

[@peterapps9421]

This takes me back to the medway towns when it was a nice place to live

[@Ejhdbdosge]

I wish i got to see it like that but im growing up in it now and you aint wrong it is not nice to live there now ive been stabbed here and more

[@Sundae_Times]

Yawn

[@bcoffey]

Suddenly I remembered my mother going to Rochester Markets in the early 60's. Thanks for this.

[@chrismurphy8383]

Ha, the year I went to Sherwin Knight and used to to walk to Temple Manor as a school outing and there's the church I was Christened in -- I wonder if my brand new 2p piece is still hidden on that bridge And the traffic is going the wrong way in Rochester high street, oh, wait a sec. Those were the days when it was two-way which was fun when you were on a bus. Those shops and sooo many boats and ships ... Nice vid - thanks for those memories

[@TheMisterB2u]

Very interesting,so many High St names now disappeared and to see up and down traffic in Chatham High St.Thanks for posting.

[@1minigrem]

A better time for a proud Medway, brings back childhood memories, thank you for sharing.

[@niceypricey]

Thankyou for sharing.. really enjoyed this. A little bit before my time (I’m a 1972) but lovely to see how my parents would have experienced it. Thankyou again!

[@michaelcousins4783]

Greetings from Western Australia. I was born in Chatham 84 years ago and went to Sir Joseph Williamsons Mathematiclal School (The Math) when it was in Rochester High Street. It was great to see the original school and the view of pupils and masters on parade. Also it was fantastic to see some masters from when I was there including the chemistry master with whom I shared a mutual intense dislike lol. Great to see the whole interesting video. My regards to all.

[@avrilyaxley2084]

I used to go to Upnor sailing club with my friend and her posh parents who had a yacht there its brought back the memories of summer days.

[@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5]

I went to the 100 of Hoo school and we had a sailing club at Upnor. Yes lots of happy summer days memories

[@peterapps9421]

Fantastic film the good old days

[@alastairbarkley6572]

I worked in Rochester, lived in Gillingham 1990-97. Can't say the place had changed much from the 1960s. Interesting times, but I'd be in no hurry to move back.

[@spudspuddy]

completely changed, whole streets removed, awful flyover bulit, no shops left, chatham is unrecognizable today

[@michaelpaysden4614]

To judge from the films being shown at the cinemas, this footage must have been shot in 1965 (as mentioned elsewhere). I grew up here and would have been 12 that year. It tugs at my heart to see the place as I remember it and 5 years or so before the major "redevelopment" campaign began... Before the Medway Towns were hacked to pieces by a totally ruthless, and often downright stupid, rebuilding program (including, for instance, the demolition of the medieval Star Inn and the loss of the beautiful weather-boarded houses along New Road, to say nothing of the elegant, old town houses facing the castle). And they even demolished Dickens' childhood home in Ordnance Terrace, later renumbering the houses. This fact is often denied. Problem is, I watched them doing it in 1971-2...

[@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5]

Thanks for your comments. Likewise I was 12 that year too.

[@fionareed9884]

This is priceless! The old Odeon in Rochester was bull dozed as well to make way for retirement flats. My Grandmother was usherette & head cleaner there & my Sis & I would go with our Gran at the weekends to the cinema to help her & often find pennies that people had dropped in between the seats! We'd get in for free too if she was at the ticket kiosk!! Fond memories. Thanku.

[@paulhease1007]

I agree with you Michael and often miss the old town, but my mother would not agree. She often had to corral 2 small boys and a pram and shopping bags along Rochester High St, often merely FEET away from lorries etc spewing awful fumes, and it is a wonder we were not injured. So even though the vibrancy has gone and only a shell of a town is left, I understand why the planners did what they did once traffic density kept increasing.

[@spudspuddy]

Same, born and raised at least back 7 generations, my family all had Chatham pubs, my 3xgreat uncle had the Gibraltar house, grandad had the trumpet and the ship, whole town has been ruined by immigrants

[@IAMPLEDGE]

@@spudspuddy the whole town has been built on immigration. Whether it was from the west country or abroad, Chatham has always been a place to move to. That's what happens when a tiny village becomes the location for a naval dockyard.

[@peterapps9421]

Great nostalgia

[@mangaelk]

Wow! Fantastic, as I remember it…

[@deedeedodo8092]

Thank you, brings back childhood memories! Great footage!

[@melaniesingh7208]

I was six and recognized most of the places shown.

[@Seansaighdeoir]

Quite amazing footage and just a glimpse of what the river would have been like in its heyday. The very hub of the towns most and industry deriving from it. Incredible and poignant at the same time and an era lost and a way of life destroyed.

[@jameswatters9592]

boy they were exciting times in the towns in the 60's

[@janeschulz52]

Wow! Thanks for sharing. Absolutely fascinating

[@kevinsenior8155]

Looks like the Math School Founders Day. We hated it... it was the only Saturday of the year we were required to go to school. I still live nearby, and without wishing to be controversial, it bears no resemblance to how it was back in my days (the 70s).

[@spudspuddy]

my dad went to the maths school, i went to fort pitt, upsets me to see my home town full of foreigners now, the high street is destroyed

[@Leon_Edwards.]

The hell, blatant racism. The high street has changed not because of foreigners you dumb muppet, it’s because the world has.

[@jonopearce5934]

shame no footage of Gillingham, but loved it.

[@byronthomas8230]

4.00 - 4.26 Sir Joseph Williamsons Maths school. the building was demolished in the late 1960's the site is now Blue Boar car park in Rochester.

[@spudspuddy]

my dad went to the maths school

[@paulhease1007]

I went to Maths at the new campus and even in 1976 we still had to walk down Rochester-Maidstone Rd to the church every year!!! What were the prefects wearing on their heads that look like yamulkes?? I wish we were able to focus on the teachers more it was very hard for me to recognize any. Surely Mr Purle, Stan Braxton, Jardin and others were there???

[@draftsmann]

I was at the Math from ‘77 and I must admit I also examined that section looking for familiar faces.

[@lars5428]

I’ve been searching for a long time for an old picture of the building at 6:52, I always thought the artists who’d painted two windows were just being lazy! Today there’s 5 on each side

[@theram4320]

Yes, no newly arrived Deliveroo riders from East Africa then.

[@Sundae_Times]

Reported for racism

[@LightningNation]

RIP

[@peterapps9421]

Greasy spoon opposite good memories

[@cherryallamanda9463]

Hi Ron, I am in the process of editing a video set to a reimagining of Emmylou Harris' Red Dirt Girl (a country song which is about a working class girl born in the Southern town of Meridian on the border of Alabama and Mississippi). I have changed the lyrics to make it the story of a girl born in Medway. I would like to use some clips of the above footage in the accompanying video if I am able to obtain permission to do so. Would that be OK, please? Many thanks, Heather

[@WasdOrgUkNetwork]

Hi Cherry,. Im Mervyn, Ron was my Father who is no longer with us so I look after all the videos. Your proposal interested me and I would like to get involved with your project. Could you email me on [e-mail] and we can take it from there. Regards Mervyn

[@patricklennon8345]

was there no audio for it brill footage of Medway

[@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5]

Im afraid not, Noy very much 8mm film have sound in those days

[@patricklennon8345]

@@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5 thats a shame

[@LiveStreamTheatre]

Amazing footage. Could I speak to you about using some clips of yours in a documentary I'm making about Medway? It's a passion project and I would of course say the clips are yours etc :) I will send you an email, thank you.

[@LiveStreamTheatre]

I tried to email you but it failed. My email is: [e-mail]. I hope to hear from you :)

[@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5]

You can call me on 07778257270 at anytime or email me on [e-mail] Regards Mervyn

[@LiveStreamTheatre]

@@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5 thanks so much, it's a bit late so I've just emailed you. Thanks again and speak soon.

[@LiveStreamTheatre]

@@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5 I Ron, I've sent you an email, please let me know if you have received it or not. I look forward to hearing from you, thanks

[@paulhayward4383]

Snooty shop keepers in Rochester high st got rid of our market

[@jean-paul7251]

Needs information on what we are looking at, exposure totally off. Cheap cine camera?

[@creationbeatsuk]

Yeh its a shambles isn't it mate, you would of thought all amateur video from 1965 would be perfect! Do you know what really grinds my beans? When you see caveman paintings and the yak has got 1 leg slightly bigger than the other! Fuck the history behind it and the opportunity to see a representation of something we couldn't witness first hand, sort your craft out you noob 🙄

[@saxoncrow2500]

As someone who lives in medway it's plain to see that the place has always been a sh#t hole! Quite comforting really 😂

[@standeasy6571]

I joined the Royal Marines in Jan 67, couldn't wait to get away😊

[@alicewestlake2003]

My nan is in this how strange!

[@ronclingan-8mmfilmmaker5]

Interesting, Which part is she in?

[@TeamTheme]

Wow Medway has fallen off since then

[@teddybear9029]

No chavs no migrants!

[@Sundae_Times]

Incorrect but don't let the facts stand in the way of a good old racist rant (that I've just reported).

[@ColonelBandit]

Lovely piece of amateur film making