The hurricane force winds, which tore through Southern England in the early hours of Friday October 16th 1987, will be etched in the memories of people who lived through it forever.
This Section is devoted to those memories, as recalled by the residents of Merstham.
Pictures
of the Aftermath of the Storm
(click on the thumbnail below for the larger image)
Battlebridge Lane |
Battlebridge Lane |
Worsted Green |
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Photo: James Bloomfield |
Photo: James Bloomfield |
Photo: James Bloomfield |
Memories of the Storm
I was on night duty in Crawley when the storm hit. I have one vivid memory of the roof of Boots warehouse lifting up and down, making a terrifically loud banging noise. It was at that point that I ran for cover! When I got home, our property was completely untouched! I still think to this day, that the bus parked in the front garden, protected us from the worst of the winds! The roads were in chaos and the really sad bit for me was the aftermath of seeing hundreds of really old trees completely wiped out. - Brian Soper
As a 19 year-old, I recall waking up on the morning in question and looking into my back garden and seeing the wall at the bottom of the garden reduced to a pile of rubble, which would have killed anyone had it fallen the other way. In almost a sense of excitement, like a heavy snowfall, I dressed and went out to look at the damage. Tiles were missing from the roofs of all the houses I could see, and rubbish was strewn everywhere. I went into the attic bedroom, opened the window and crawled out on to the roof of the house. It was still fairly breezy so I was careful about my footing. I made my way to the top of the roof. Once there I straddled the ridge and put the ridge tiles back into place and it was there that I noticed the number of people on the roofs, it was like a party. - Nick Rolfe
If you have any recollections or pictures we
could use in the section please Email storm@merstham.co.uk
Please indicate whether we can use your name.
