Gillingham Park Fete – the real tragedy
On Thursday, 11th July, 1929, a well-rehearsed fire service demonstration at the Gillingham Park Fete went tragically wrong, and 15 people burned alive in front of a crowd of hundreds of spectators.
The real tragedy, however, is the state of the graves of those six men and nine boys who perished in the tragedy, epitomised in the image of the grave of Arthur John Tabrett.
A relative of one of the navy cadets who perished is trying to raise awareness of the tragedy, which has been sadly forgotten down the generations, and set up a Facebook group to remember it.
Through a third-party site (the Kent History Forum), I came across the details of this tragedy (though I had been aware of it for many years thanks to my grandparents) and, with permission from the relative, set up a petition to Medway Council on the subject.
Medway is rich in history, yet, sadly, much of it goes unrecognised – and, thus, forgotten. Remember Jezreel’s Tower? Maybe you only remember the road name!
The petition calls on Medway Council to repair the graves of those who tragically lost their lives – and to create a lasting memorial to the tragedy.
Please sign the petition and support this important cause before another moment in Medway’s history is lost forever.
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4 Comments
I am very pleased to see this situation receive the attention it deserves. This was such a terrible tragedy not only for the people that perished and their families (many who witnessed) but also for those that were in the audience. Thank you so much Alan.
I am pleased to see action taken to preserve the memory of All the victims of this tragedy. Although most times unpleasant, communities have an obligation to maintain such tragic sites, out of respect and decency and respect for those lost, and their decendents, as well as the families that had cause to witness such an event. Good work i say!
they did have a small memorial within gillingham park years ago. tucked away in the nelson/napier road side of the park.
I did ask paul harriott where it had gone when I saw him a few years ago, he said it was now inside the council offices grounds off oxford road I believe. but anyway he claimed it was still there. why have something like that swallowed up from the park by offices is not a good thing.
one of the boys who died in that fireman’s wedding tragedy was the one who took my father and uncle up to the park, he was a cadet but was not supposed to be involved in the display until another cadet had fallen ill, and he was asked to replace the sick boy.
my dad was only 6 years old at the time, my uncle was around 8 years old. not only did they see the horror, but there was no adult to look after them after.
my dad did get a leaflet out of the old twydall library that used to be by crispins that told the story and gave the victims names. he pointed out the name of the boy that took them up the park that day.
being 20 years ago I forgot the name. can’t remember if he was 12 or 13 either. only thing I know about the boy is he used to walk them to barnsole school every day as well, so as my dad and uncle lived in railway street it must have been a boy who lived at or very near that road.
anyway thanks for letting us know about this campaign. great to see that its not forgotten.
Keith, I wonder if that boy was Leslie George Neale. It was in the reports that he had attended the fete with six other boys from the County School for boys. His father reported that he didn’t need to be in the demonstration and had participated as a volunteer.
Detailed information aboutf this tragedy can be found at:
http://firemanswedding.weebly.com
The anniversary is this Sunday July 11th, BBC Radio Kent and Kent on Sunday are to feature this event.