Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
KNOWN HIM SOME YEARS BRIAN
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
yep i have.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
i'v known him
you silly sausage brian lol
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
no silly sausage brian lol
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i would imagine that anyone who lived in dover that day would remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the news.
in a wider context everyone seems to remember where they were when john f kennedy was assasinated.
Terry Nunn
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,316
I remember getting an early call for my wife to go and man the phones to deal with all the enquiries from worried relatives. Some of the calls were very traumatic in themselves.
Terry
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Guest 665- Registered: 24 Mar 2008
- Posts: 345
# She certainly is Colette.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
I remember my husband was on leave when I first heard there was a ferry in trouble and breathing a sigh of relief.
A few years later I also knew how the families felt when I heard on the news that my husband's ship was on fire, no communication at all from Stena, I did not find out how my husband was until he walked through the door the following day. He never fully recovered mentally from having to treat a colleague who was very badly burnt. I hated Stena and their management at Southern House with a passion from that night.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,025
Yes I can recall the night of the 6th I went next door to see if my neighbour was ok as he worked on the boats.He was not on duty .There were many in River who lost loved ones.
I recall when JFK was assasinated .It was the night before a friends wedding . and the year I was married .
Guest 682- Registered: 19 Jan 2009
- Posts: 146
We will never forget that day.
I was in Sydney and first heard on the television news.
In those days it was difficult to telephone home so there was a hunt for change to feed the local call box in Coogie Bay.
There followed numerous calls to parents back home checking whether there was any news of family and friends.
The next day I went, as I had done daily, to the newsagents and brought a paper showing some of the awful photographs.
I was oblivious to the surroundings when the newsagent tapped me on the arm and said 'Dollar, Mate' - he added that it what had happened back in my country was dreadful - I added that I'd never told him which part of that Country I came from and when I said Dover he was taken back. Every day after that he asked me whether I needed change for the telephone and whether I had news from home.
Fortunately none of the family was on board the Herald that night but when we returned we started learning about acquaintances and old school chums who had not survived who the parents didn't know.
The whole town was in mourning and there were weeks of funerals - a very sad time for the town and surrounding areas.
I have only missed one memorial service and will definitely be attending this year on 6th March (I don't even have to look that date up - 6th March 1987 is etched on many Dover brains).
The garden is an excellent idea and it has been a pleasure for me to work with our officers at Dover District Council in getting the arrangements in place in what has been quite short notice.
Sue - as Chairman of the District Council have you been approached to officially hand over the plot on our behalf?
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,025
The answer to your question Nigel is No .I would be honoured to oficially hand over the plot on behalf of DDC.I admired Amelia the Chairman at the time as she attened many funerals .
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Looks like they are making a start on this already..that was fast...the scene a few moments ago..
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
i see 1 person working while the other supervising.
time for a caption,...."put your back in it lad,my granny can work faster than that."
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
he is exercising managerial skills whilst interfacing with the employee brian.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
I may have been premature here..the guys left later having re-done the blocks as shown in picture above...but no movement as such on the actual garden.
Meant to say earlier.. poignant story there Nigel, many thanks for that. This all happened before my time here but I can understand how awful it must have been for the town...as it would be today. Let us hope something like this never happens again. Many more safety measures are in place now.
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
They are indeed Paul and a good job that they are, but why were so many bad practices allowed to carry on for so long, at least until this great loss of life happened.
Do we think that if this had not happened, ferries would still be sailing with the bow doors open and lack of on-board discipline as has been described on here a number of times.
It should never take a disaster like this before practices are improved, but as in so many cases, that is exactly what happens.
Roger
email: dover7@msn.com