Historical Publications

Bobbing – Two Thousand Years of Kentish History

An excellent historical timeline that clearly sets out the story of one of the lesser-known villages of the Swale Borough in the context of 2000 years of evolution and change has just been published.

Entitled ‘Bobbing – Two Thousand Years of History’ the book traces the story of the village back to before the Roman invasion in AD 43 when the area was already home to one of the early tribal settlements. The Romans built Watling Street and a farming infrastructure through and within the village. Invasion by the Jutes and Vikings came after the Romans left, with Bobbing and nearby Milton being sacked.

The most significant period in Bobbing’s history dates back from after the Norman invasion in 1066 and stretches through a key period of Royal patronage, fighting in the Crusades, a village manor house with barons and knights, high sheriffs and members of Parliament, as well as an infamous vicar. Religion and the church were at the core of the parish for over thirteen hundred years with a missionary foundation dating back to 670AD and with Bobbing Church built in the 13th century.

Farming was at the centre of Bobbing’s community for all of its 2000 year history. Fruit trees were introduced at the time of Henry VIII and the area was one of the most prosperous farming regions in the county for many years, despite the plague devastating much of the population.

Water, gas, electricity, the electric telegraph, railways, hospitals, fire and ambulance services, education, etc, all came in the 1800s and early 1900s. It was also a time when farming began to decline due to severe weather patterns, declining process, imported food and easier and better paid employment in the growing town of Sittingbourne.

Written by former Borden Grammar School pupil and Kent author, Michael Fairley, with additional material and illustrations from Dorothy Fairley and local historian Peter Judges, the book has been published by Mifair Publishing at a price of £9.95. It is available from Sittingbourne Library or from the Sittingbourne Heritage Museum.

Further information from Michael Fairley, Mifair Publishing, Maple House, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 5HR. Telephone: 01707 828679 or 07968 197215. E-mail: mfairley@labelling.fsnet.co.uk   Text and pictures can be e-mailed if requested.

Order now from Sittingbourne Library and Heritage
Museums, telephone 01795 423215

Born to Soldier
The Life and Adventures of Charles John Fairley
Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant
Royal Engineers

A 152-page autobiography originally drafted as handwritten notes by Charles John Fairley and subsequently added to by his grandson, Michael Fairley, so as to publish this fascinating book. It sets out the life - from earliest recollections to shortly before his death - of Charles John Fairley who was born in 1871 into a family in which his father, grandfather and great grandfather had all had distinguished army careers, between them totaling some 85 years of military service, with the earliest enlistment commencing in 1794.

His father served in the Royal Field Artillery in the Crimean and Maori Wars, while his grandfather had almost 40 years of army service, initially joining as a boy drummer at the age of nine and then, from the age of 18, service as a gunner in Gibraltar and Alderney. The great grandfather served for 40 years during the period of the Napoleonic Wars. It was therefore not unsurprising that Charles John enlisted in the army at the age of 17, joining the Royal Engineers in 1888 and undergoing initial training at the Royal School of Military Engineering at Brompton Barracks, Gillingham, Kent.

He was subsequently stationed with the Royal Engineers in Singapore and Gibraltar between 1890 and 1898 before seeing active service and harsh conditions in the South African War between 1899 and 1902. Back in civvy street, it was not long before he re-enlisted at the beginning of the First World War, only to find himself involved in supporting the fighting around Amiens and the Somme in France and then in building roads and gun-pits in Salonika, Greece. He completed his army service in 1919 with the rank of Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant. He subsequently worked until his retirement for Rochester Corporation in Kent. In World War II he helped to train the local Home Guard.

This book details his life and adventures, often in a humorous way, until shortly before he died in Kent in 1956.

Published by Mifair Publishing the book cost £11.95 (US$18.65).

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History of a Kentish Village

The story of Bobbing
By Dorothy and Michael Fairley

The "History of a Kentish Village" covers the history and evolution of Bobbing, a small village on the outskirts of Sittingbourne. Believed to be one of the earliest settlements of man in Celtic times, the village became important to the Romans during the building of Watling Street, the main Canterbury to London road – using local flints and gravel.

Following the ending of the Roman occupation, the area around Bobbing was frequently plundered by the Saxons and then later the Danes, and it was not until the post Norman conquest period that the village reached its key period of evolution, with the lands at Bobbing being owned by successive knights and barons that fought with English Kings, particularly in the Crusades and against the Scots. A handful of families then dominated village life for several hundred years.

Bobbing Church dates from the 11th Century and was at one time the first ministry of Titus Oates, famous – or infamous – for the 'Popish plot'.

In World War II the village saw action in the skies overhead during the Battle of Britain, with school life continuing in an air raid shelter.

Much of the material for this book was collected and compiled by Dorothy Fairley, who lived in the village for nearly 60 years, and has subsequently been added to by her son, Michael Fairley, who grew up in the village.

Expected publication date Spring 2008.

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Looking to the Sky

By Charles and Michael Fairley

"Looking to the sky" is based on the diaries of an air raid warden in Kent during the important part of the Battle of Britain in the early 1940's. It documents dates, times and places of air raids – particularly over Sheppey and Sittingbourne – attacks, dog fights, sirens, numbers of planes involved, hits and parachutes/planes coming down.

The book also records something of the life of an ARP warden trying to hold down a full time job while spending evenings, nights and weekends warning or advising people on precautions, looking at the enemy in the sky, travelling to crash sites and fitting in life with a wife – who in her turn took on the role of a wartime fire warden.

The Battle of Britain was a challenging time, not only for those in the armed forces, but also for those in civilian life who played an important role in protecting the population from an airborne – and sometimes unseen – enemy.

The diaries of Charles Fairley have been edited and added to by his son Michael – just starting school during the period of the book – to form this interesting account of just one part of the war with Germany.

Expected publication date 2008.

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Letters to a Soldier

Edited by Michael Fairley

"Letters to a Soldier" takes the selected and edited letters sent by a wife to her soldier husband in the UK and abroad during a period from 1942 until the end of World War II.

It highlights daily life and concerns for a wife and two young children left behind in a Kentish village while her husband went from new recruit, through training and billet life before finally being sent to Belgium in the later stages of the war.

The book provides an interesting documentary account of the war period, utilising family, social, village and childhood recollections and information to put the reader straight into the daily life and times of wartime England.

The letters have been selected and edited by the author's son to form this historical record and book.

Expected publication date 2008.

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