David Burton

The Medway towns local history talks 2020

• Gillingham in old images (slideshow of Gillingham up to 1960)
• Chatham in old images (slideshow of Chatham up to 1960)
• Chatham Dockyard in old images (slideshow of working dockyard)
• Rochester in old images (slideshow of Rochester up to 1960)
• Rainham in old images (slideshow of Rainham up to 1960)
• Strood in old images (slideshow of Strood up to 1960)
• Brompton in old images (slideshow of Brompton up to 1960)
• The Isle of Grain in old images (slideshow of The Isle of Grain up to 1975)
• The history of the manor of Twydall (the story of Twydall up to the 1970s)
• The history of the manor of Grange (the history of Grange including Cinque ports)
• Tales of the riverbank (Medway industry along the riverbank)
• Tales of the river (barges, boats and fisheries)
• Medway forts (the dockyard’s defensive ring of forts)
• Louis Brennan (inventor, extraordinaire, my hero!)
• Aveling and Porter (steam vehicle production in Strood)
• Short brothers in Kent (flying boats and much more)
• Medway’s lost pubs (a slideshow of local pubs)
• Medway breweries (the story of the local brewing industry)
• The local brickmaking industry (The North Kent brickmaking industry)
• Frozen Medway (the winters of 1895, 1947 and 1963)
• The history of Walderslade (a potted history of the area)
• Medway towns trams (a trip around the towns by tram 1902 to 1930)
• The Rainham air crash (the first Paris to London passenger flight)
• Charles Arkoll (brewer of Chatham, his life and times)
• The Great Lines (from war games to horse racing)
• Will Adams ‘from Gillingham to Japan’
• Upnor, much more than just a Castle
• Prison hulks and Deadmans Island (a sad legacy)
• Smuggling in North Kent (smuggling on the Isle of Grain and more)
• London, Chatham and Dover railway (steam trains in Kent)

Also available

• Local history quiz on the Medway Towns, question and answer sheets supplied as required
• Local history display to complement events, 100s of items and pictures are available to display, from a beer bottle to a steam engine model

All talks are illustrated with a digital slideshow. Printed images are also available. 

Duration: Talks last between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. 

Requirements: All talks require a projector screen or plain wall to project onto.

Computer, projectors and screens, and notes from talks are available as required.

01634 379 235

djburton@live.co.uk