A series of ‘blue plaques’ has been displayed to recognise the wide range of people who have contributed to the development of the Marshlink rail route.
Each of the 10 plaques summarises the historic links to the line between Hastings and Ashford International.
The list of names was revealed on Tuesday (1 July) by Marshlink community rail partnership to mark the 118th anniversary of the opening of Three Oaks and Doleham stations. The first trains to stop at the two locations were on 1 July 1907.
The partnership worked with researchers, historians, rail enthusiasts, archivists and community representatives to find people from all walks of life suitable for a ‘blue plaque’.
Marshlink community rail partnership line chair Kevin Boorman said: “We wanted to acknowledge the contribution made by the community to their railways. We have unearthed some wonderful stories of people who have helped to develop railways not just locally but globally.
“It is great that the hidden histories and unsung heroes and heroines are now being revealed alongside some of the better-known people with links to the Marshlink line.”
The 10 plaques recognise:
:: Sarah Ashenden, level crossing gatekeeper at Rye station in the 1910s and 1920s
:: George and George Austin, father and son from Ore who helped build the railways as labourers in the 1850s
:: Maud Bassington, an artist and floral painter who put her drawing skills to technical use as a tracer at the South Eastern and Chatham Railway (SE&CR) Loco drawing office at Ashford in the 1910s and 1920s
:: Robin Gibb, the Bee Gees singer who was on board the Hastings to London train with his girlfriend when it derailed at Hither Green in 1967
:: Verena Holmes, the pioneering railway engineer from Ashford who was the first female member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Locomotion Engineers in 1944
:: John Impett, Southeastern Railway engineer from Ashford who built railways in the difficult terrain of Brazil and Peru in the 1880s and 1890s
:: Suzy Eddie Izzard, the comedian and actor whose family’s model railway is on display at Bexhill Museum
:: Lynda and Elsie King, sisters who took the train from Rye to the railway works in Ashford in the 1920s where they were both shorthand typists for South Eastern and Chatham Railway
:: Marianne North, Victorian botanical artist from Hastings whose drawings are on display at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew
:: Googie Withers, film star and actress who fell in love on a film set at Lydd Town railway station in 1947
A banner with the 10 ‘blue plaques’ was unveiled at Three Oaks village hall following a well-attended talk by author Keith Swallow. His book ‘A Different Kind of Brotherhood: Guesting and Three Oaks, Then and Now’ includes a chapter on the coming of the railways and the impact of transport on the area.
Kevin Boorman commented: “It is an important role of the community rail partnership to host talks and events of this kind to acknowledge how railways affected communities. We were delighted to arrange and organise this fascinating and detailed look at the development of the small but important Three Oaks and Doleham stations.”
The ‘blue plaque’ project by Southeast Communities Rail Partnership (SCRP) is part of the Railway 200 celebrations to mark 200 years of the modern railways since the Stockton & Darlington Railway opened in 1825.
In total, SCRP will unveil 200 ‘blue plaques’ this year: 100 for people with historic links to the railways and 100 detailing modern jobs on the railways to encourage people to consider future careers.
