Catch up on all the latest history news from across Kent with Finn Macdiarmid.
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00:00First up on today's history roundup, yesterday marked 184 years since the Royal Botanical
00:24Gardens at Kew were opened to the public.
00:28Since the 16th century, private gardens were tended at Kew.
00:34They grew in fame when British explorer Sir Joseph Banks was manager.
00:39The gardens' collections grew with specimens from all over the world.
00:43Kew Gardens contains around 28,680 taxa of living plants with anything from Australian
00:52to tropical orchids and ferns.
00:54In 1974, the Kew Garden Seed Bank was established and now holds around 2.4 billion seeds from
01:02many different countries.
01:04Next, today would have been Danish author Hans Christian Andersen's birthday.
01:12Born April 2nd, 1805, Andersen's collection of fairy tales have become incredibly iconic.
01:20His fairy tales are some of the most frequently translated works in all of history.
01:26Some of his tales showed the triumph of goodness, whereas others had deeply unhappy endings.
01:33Some of his well-known works include The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, Princess and the Pea
01:39and The Ugly Duckling.
01:42He was quoted to say, life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.
01:47Finally, on the 3rd of April, 1043, Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England.
01:54Not only was he a king, but he was also a saint.
01:58The reason he's often referred to as Edward the Confessor is due to his deeply religious
02:03life.
02:04This is what also led him to become a saint, which was canonised in 1611 by Pope Alexander
02:10III.
02:11That's it on this week's History Roundup.
02:15Now it was April Fool's Day yesterday, so let's take a look back at some of Kent's
02:18biggest and best April Fool's pranks over the years.
02:21Rochester Cathedral claimed that they found an ancient manuscript at the site that proved
02:25table tennis was in fact a Kent invention, several centuries earlier than it was previously
02:30thought.
02:31Folkestone's harbour arm had a mock-up done that showed five extra arms coming off the
02:35end, nicknamed the Folkestone Harbour Palm.
02:38And in Favisham, the council announced they'd be planting palm trees along Court Street
02:42and Market Place to make it the Mediterranean of the South East.
02:47And a historic former hotel in Folkestone caught fire earlier this week.
02:53You can see there, luckily, the huge flames you can see there.
02:56They were extinguished before the site could burn down completely.
02:59The Grade II listed Rhodesia Hotel was built in 1860, but was converted into a hotel in
03:05the early 20th century and sold in 1948.
03:08It was once owned by the founder of Saga, Sidney de Haan, who you just saw there, and
03:12marketed as the ideal location for over-60s.
03:15Firefighters were called to the derelict hotel in Clifton after two in the morning, and at
03:19one point, seven fire engines were in attendance.
03:22Now around 100 people in Dettling opted for a night under the stars in a World War trench
03:27last week to fundraise for the Royal British Legion.
03:30The charity looks after veterans here in Kent, offering affordable housing and support after
03:34service at the RBLI village in Aylesford too.
03:37But this event was all about highlighting some of the realities of homelessness.
03:41I went down as well to sleep out under the stars.
03:46Now plenty of time has passed since the First World War, but our soldiers still suffer,
03:50with veterans being susceptible to ending up without a roof over their heads.
03:54The Great Tommy Sleepout was started with 10 members of the Royal British Legion Industries
03:59sleeping in their gardens during the pandemic, all to raise money for homeless veterans.
04:04Now it's five years on, and they've upgraded to having 80 people at the recreated First
04:09World War trenches at the Kent showground in Dettling near Maidstone, and hoping to
04:13beat the previous year's number of 1.2 million pounds.
04:16We've got 80 people sleeping out this year, but I'd say also the national event where
04:22we've now got, this year we've got some 12,000 people registered.
04:26So it's grown from the germ of an idea in 2020, bringing in about 10,000 in donations
04:34to where we are today with 12,000 plus people.
04:38Last year we managed to raise 1.2 million in donations, so that is our minimum target
04:46for this year and I'm fairly optimistic we'll beat that.
04:51The money raised goes towards providing homes, jobs and welfare support to veterans, and
04:55while some who attended have served their country, those who haven't are still invited
04:59to join.
05:00I'm looking forward to being, or getting comfortable being uncomfortable if you like,
05:06so it's a great opportunity to connect with what our veterans are going through.
05:11Obviously it's a penny and a pound to what they're experiencing, but it's just nice to
05:15connect a little bit, and it really resonates with me what they're going through, so it'll
05:19be great.
05:20But this isn't just a Kent event, with people across the country camping out wherever they
05:25live.
05:26I've come along to join them in sleeping under the stars, but little did I know I would get
05:30an upgrade from a corrugated iron roof to a small bunker in the trench itself.
05:35After I got settled in, we had a sandbag making competition which I threw myself into, quite
05:40literally.
05:41After that it was dinner and warming myself up by the fire, which wouldn't last long as
05:45I tucked myself into my bed for my night in the Ritz.
05:48It's not as good as the actual Ritz, but it's much better than what I was in before, definitely
05:53an upgrade.
05:54I had to sleep in relative discomfort for a night, but it was part of raising nearly
05:58£700,000 to provide homes for those who fought for their country, but would have to
06:02sleep in the cold without any other choice.
06:05Finn McDermid for KMTV in Detling.
06:08Now it's been five years since the start of the UK's first Covid lockdown, and during
06:12that time as Kent's dedicated local TV channel, we stayed on the air to bring the latest public
06:16health warnings and lockdown guidelines, as well as telling the local stories that would
06:20have gone unheard otherwise.
06:21Bartholomew Hall has been speaking with those reporters and editors who were here at the
06:25time to find out what it was like to keep KMTV broadcasting during an unprecedented
06:29time.
06:31During the pandemic, nearly all of us increased the amount of time we found ourselves in front
06:35of a screen.
06:36Here at KMTV, making sure the screens stayed on when everyone was forced to go home was
06:41vital.
06:42I think like everybody, we were trying to react to what the government was saying, but
06:51we very quickly adapted and ended up having a remote gallery, and we ended up winning
06:57awards for our innovation.
06:59Thanks to some technical handiwork, the KMTV channel stayed on air with the usual gallery
07:04left empty.
07:05Reporters, interviewees and presenters all able to continue broadcasting from the safety
07:10of their homes.
07:11Hello, and welcome to Kentonite, live on KMTV on Monday, the 23rd of March.
07:21I'm Louisa Britton.
07:22As you might have noticed, I'm not in the KMTV studios, I'm at home.
07:26We said goodbye in the office, and we just didn't really know when we were next going
07:29to see each other.
07:30And yeah, and then we went completely remotely for the foreseeable.
07:34I remember just hoping that my neighbours wouldn't pop their heads over the hedge or
07:40that my dog wasn't going to get interrupted with the broadcast as well, because she was
07:43in the garden.
07:44I didn't realise until afterwards that she was just sat there looking at me.
07:47But first this evening, we're being warned to be extra vigilant as criminals in Kent
07:52are using the coronavirus crisis to scam people out of hundreds of pounds.
07:57As lockdown went on, viewing figures showed adults spent an average of 45 hours a week
08:01watching TV and online video content, demonstrating just how vital a role public service broadcasters
08:08played in keeping people informed.
08:10Social distancing is something you will have heard a lot recently.
08:13At a really difficult time for everyone, to find ways of creating content and educating
08:20people about all of those ongoing changes and answering those questions, those really
08:27burning questions that people had, and to do that creatively was quite exciting really.
08:33And you know, there's no excuse for not putting content out and putting good quality content
08:38out.
08:39You can still do that remotely.
08:41You can use those resources at your disposal.
08:43It's a lot more egalitarian now.
08:47With almost every school, university or office turning to video calls to host their meetings
08:52and lessons, talking heads like these became a lot more popular on TV too, with technology
08:58quickly developing to allow contributors to log on from their own devices in the comfort
09:03of their own home.
09:05I think you're on mute.
09:06Ten years ago, when we first were setting up KMTV, trying to get a video call system
09:13into our gallery was tens of thousands of pounds.
09:17Now it's available to us within seconds.
09:19To this day, our viewing figures around that first lockdown, certainly in that first week
09:25of the lockdown, are the highest viewing figures that we've ever had.
09:28I think that re-engaged the public as well, with them understanding how important it is
09:34to have free-to-air content for them to access.
09:38Five years later, that resilience has shaped the way we continue to communicate as a channel,
09:42keeping Kent's stories alive however they're told.
09:46Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
09:50Now it's time for a history question to test your knowledge that I like to call trivia
09:53through time.
09:59When in Hollingbourne, Nicholas Wood, known as a famous eater in the 1600s, won't eat
10:04enough dinner for how many men to win a bet against Sir Warrer of Leeds Castle?
10:09That's your question.
10:10Bonus point there if you can manage to guess the song.
10:16Well the clock has hit its halfway mark, but there's still more history to be uncovered.
10:20Join us after this short break where we'll speak to locals in Bexley and Bromley, 60
10:25years ago when they were taken into Lunders Boroughs from Kent about whether they think
10:28they are Kentish.
10:29All that and more after the break.
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15:11I'm part of London as well so. I think we're part of Kent. Not to say London is unfriendly but people
15:17around here from what I've noticed are a lot friendlier as to what happens inside London and
15:21it's not it's not the same vibe. The Londoner to me is more someone who's closer into London
15:28in the inner boroughs rather than the outer boroughs yeah. Because that's literally where I
15:32live that's that's that's where the as the as a start stops and VA starts in my address really
15:39so I'm part of London myself. On the map it's London but the postcode does signify Kent but
15:48I say London. Both really I like Kent and I like well I don't go into central London but I like
15:54the outer London area. But you still say Kent because so much of this area is a Kent postcode?
16:00Yeah that's what I thought yeah. Because Kent's nicer. Okay. Now don't forget you can keep up
16:07to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging on to our website kmtv.co.uk. But
16:12instead of the latest stories I'd like to take some time to visit some stories we've done around
16:16this time in previous years like this one all about the 40-year anniversary of the British
16:21coal miners strike with miners from the Snowdown Colliery in Aylsham. Benjamin Jesse had the story.
16:272024 is the 40-year anniversary of the 1984 to 85 British coal miners strike. Beginning in
16:34Yorkshire the strike, coordinated by the National Union of Mine Workers, spread to other collieries
16:40through the north, Midlands, Wales and Kent including Aylsham's own Snowdown Colliery. I was
16:46picked in during the strike at Snowdown Colliery and sometimes we went to Tillamastee and for a
16:53little while we was picked in at the power station in Thurrock. The strike was an attempt to prevent
16:58the further closures of collieries across the nation and protect miners' livelihoods. While
17:03striking the Aylsham mining community faced financial hardship, outbreaks of violence and a
17:08prolonged police presence in their community. We had a strike for the last of the year and a week
17:16and we went back after that without any of our what we went out on strike for in the first place
17:21met and then three years after that the pit closed. So the word celebration didn't come
17:27into the actual event although there is a lot that we can celebrate. The result of the strike
17:33in favour of the government marked a major decline for British coal production and union
17:38influence in British politics making it one of the defining events of Thatcherite Britain.
17:43During the year-long strike the community relied on its internal strength in the face of financial
17:48hardship. Almost everyone in the area knows someone who was in some fashion involved or
17:53affected by the strike. To commemorate the strike the Kent Strike Commemoration Group based out of
17:58Aylsham Heritage Centre will be holding an event on the 11th of May. There will be an opportunity
18:03for the community to hear speeches, local music and view exhibitions detailing the area's storied
18:08mining history and the lasting impact of the strikes. I just think that a history of any place
18:15is important and the history of Aylsham is quite unique. It still is a mining community yeah
18:23they haven't got many clubs left but they've got the rattling. We've still got that
18:28community atmosphere I think. So we've got several people lined up, local people mainly, that can
18:34sing one or two songs mainly with a mining theme or a leftist sort of theme to the songs.
18:41It's not going to be the only event this year, there's going to be other events being held
18:47throughout the year as a commemoration. Events such as these help to educate new residents about
18:52Aylsham's proud mining heritage and ensures that the memory of the strike endures. Benjamin Jesse
18:58for KMTV in Aylsham. That piece was from 2023. Now there's growing fears that Canterbury's
19:05poppy appeal ahead of this year's remembrance events may have to be cancelled as the city's
19:09Royal British Legion's branch says it's struggling to find a space to keep it stock of poppies. It
19:15comes as the branch is also calling for more volunteers to sell the poppies with fears over
19:19the next generation taking over the baton. Well Johanna Edis from Canterbury Royal British Legion
19:25joined us on the morning show earlier. Well for many years we've been in the Oddfellows Hall
19:31which has been ideal for us because we have about 50 weeds that are just to the members of the
19:38public who want to lay them in the bus market and of course all the poppies that go out to the
19:46shops, the supermarkets, the pubs, the hotels, everywhere who collect for us. And unfortunately
19:54it went to auction last week and was sold to another buyer so we now have no premises. We've
20:01done the rounds of the pubs, the church halls, the village halls, everywhere we possibly can.
20:12We've been to the supermarkets, car dealerships, anybody who can give us a room. The problem is
20:19that we need for five weeks, Monday to Saturday, 8 o'clock to 2 p.m. And of course village halls
20:26have got other things going on through the week. Jan, just give us a bit of an idea of how much
20:32you need to be storing in these spaces as well because I know you say sort of a village hall
20:37would be ideal but as you say many of them are being used throughout the week. How big of a
20:42space do you need? How much stock do you tend to keep? Well we roughly need 24 feet long by about
20:5016 feet wide. The problem is that we need it every day for five weeks.
20:58And what is it you're doing in this room for those five weeks? What will it be you'll be
21:01doing in this room? What will you be using that for? We store the poppies, we make up the poppy
21:08boxes and they're then delivered out by the team to the various outlets. We're restocking, we're
21:16giving out the wreaths to people who've ordered them, we're counting the money and then we're
21:22going to the bank with it. So we go to the bank roughly five times a day. So this is incredibly
21:29crucial and we all know about the poppy appeal. If you can't find a new venue by September,
21:36October, what's going to happen for Canterbury this year? Well in Canterbury it'll just be the
21:42supermarkets that will have stock because we can give it to them at the beginning of the five weeks
21:49and nobody else will get any poppies. And of course I mean as we say it's such a cherished
21:57tradition in Canterbury. What does it mean to you to have gone so many years with you know that
22:04cherished site on the street, in the high street, many veterans, many volunteers selling poppies?
22:10If that wasn't to happen I mean that that must be heartbreaking.
22:15It is heartbreaking. Last year we collected £57,000 and the thought that we won't have that
22:21this year is just devastating. Now yesterday was the first of April, the day to play tricks and
22:30jokes. But just how did all these traditions start? Well did you know there might just be a
22:34link between April foolishness and Kent? I'm joined by Ettalee Reynolds to find out more about the
22:39origins of this mischievous holiday. So Ettalee what are the April Fool's links to Kent? So there
22:46is a theory that in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is the first time April Fool's was ever referred to
22:52in English literature. So the tale goes in the poem The Nun's Priest's Tale there is a vain
22:58rooster who is tricked by what is described as a sly fox and this is all said to happen on March
23:0532. March 30 days and two which would in modern day translate to April 1st. But there is a theory
23:13that these 32 days may have actually been a printing error. Some believe that the poem is
23:19actually set in May. Why? Lines of the poem refer to everything happened during the tourist
23:26sorry like the star sign constellation and tourists would not have been that constellation
23:31would have not been able to be seen on April 1st as this kind of happens more towards April 20th
23:37and May 21st. So there's a much debate amongst historians whether this is actually true or not.
23:43It's said that Chaucer also preferred tourist season as well so it is believed that yeah this
23:50might have been a printing error but some people do believe that this is the first time it was ever
23:55referred to in literature so yeah. Right and is there any evidence any hard fact to kind of back
24:00up this theory? How do we know it's true? Well that's the thing we don't. That is the thing
24:06amongst people and it is a fun little thing to think that our small it's not really a small
24:11county but our county here may have been the origin to this big worldwide festival. So yeah
24:16there isn't actually any solid evidence but people like to think it's true yeah. Right and are there
24:21any other theories about the origins of April Fools or is it kind of this is the only one? So
24:26one that I think this one might be the most historically solid one. So there was a Flemish
24:32writer and I do apologize for my pronunciation of his name Edouard D. Dane and he wrote a comical
24:41poem about a nobleman who was sent to send his servant to run many absurd errands on April 1st.
24:48Further evidence of this is that in at the end of each stanza the servant is said to say
24:54I'm afraid you are trying to make me run fool's errands. So this is the I think strongest evidence
25:01of like the first time April Fools is ever referred to in English literature and given
25:06kind of the end of the stanza and what the poem is about you know these absurd errands. Yeah I
25:12think that one's pretty solid but there's also a theory that in France in 1564. Sorry I'm going
25:18to have to cut you off. I have to apologize. No it's quite right I'm afraid that's all we have
25:22time for. Thank you so much for joining us here on Kent Chronicles. Thanks for watching and we'll
25:28see you soon.