The Great Storm of 87

[chimneys]

A women in St Keyna Ave in Hove was killed by a falling tree.

Wrong! She was in bed and her chimney crashed through her ceiling and killed her. Chris Aga RIP!

 

[Surrey Seagull]

I was living in Wimbledon on a small street full of terraced houses during the '87 hurricane. The storm set off all of the fire alarms on 1 side of the street, so we had to go stand outside until the fire brigade could arrive to turn them off. Despite the fact we lived just around the corner (our gardens backed onto the rear of the fire station), I guess they must of been really busy as it seemed to take tham an age to get to our street.

 

[Hove Seagull]

Wife woke me up with the understatement "It's a bit windy out" !

 

[whitelion]

I was living in Painter's Corner at the time and left Hove to drive to a farmhouse near Cooksbridge to play a pyramid-type game called Airline - the chance to turn £200 into £1600. Drove over Ditchling Beacon about 7pm literally floating down on a sea of leaves and water. That wasn't gonna put me off though. The evening didn't go well and cost me the £200 and the place was in candlelight as the power went. Drove back to Hove through tree-lined lanes where the trees were bending right over and toching those on the other side of the road. Got home at around 1am and my wife and 18month old son were wide awake and sitting down in the lounge as the roof sounded as if were going to come off.

Most amazing bit was around 6am when I drove down Sackville Road and alond Blatchington Road - the area looked like a war zone - the emengency services were out and lots of the shop fronts were smashed in - I recall Woolworths looking badly damaged. I went round to my dad'd in the Drive to see if he was ok. When I knocked at his window he came all bleary-eyed to the window wondering what was going on. He had slept through the whole thing as he was on the east side of the building and the west was badly hit.

Never forget all the trees in Hove Park down.

 

[ExmouthExile]

I was living in a ground floor bedsit and I can remember the wall between my room and the back garden was actually moving with each gust. Talking to my girlfriend on the CB radio and trying to calm her down (she was living on her own and bricking it) Then walking to work the next day through what looked like a warzone, Worthing pier was almost submerged under the waves

 

[countrygull]

Woke up to see our front window frame literally bowing inwards: closed the curtains and left the room quick. Looked out in time to see a neighbour's entire garden wall blown over in one. A tree fell on my car with me in it, that was a lucky escape. And I remember hundreds of dead starlings on the pavement along New Road

 

[Shirty]

I remember going out earlier in the evening and thinking how warm it was, and then being woken up at around 2.00am by the letterbox constantly slamming. Got up and watched out the window for a while, and then our next-door neighbour appeared in his PJ's trying to chop down a tree in his garden before the wind blew it onto his house ! (The tree is still there as far as I know, as is the house.)

My dad worked in offices directly above Churchill Sq at the time and their windows were smashed to bits, but a day or two later we went up there to try and help tidy the place up and it looked like someone had found every single piece of paper in the office and thrown it on the floor.

 

[Mr Burns]

It was so windy where I was, I f***ing ended up in OZ

 

[Biscuit]

My nan was walking me down the road in Saltdean to the nursey I went too. A huge gust of wind lifted us up in the air and landed us by a car. A shopkeeper came outside and picked us up, took me to nursery and drove my nan home.

My nan died in Janurary this year.

 

[kip]

Before

After

 

[The Sock of Poskett]

We were living in Sevenoaks - later to be wittily renamed Oneoak (oh how we laughed) - living about 100 yards from the Vine cricket ground, home of the seven oaks.

Slept peacefully, threw open the curtains in the morning and remarked that it must have been a bit breezy as the dustbin lid had blown off. Attempting to walk to work not long afterwards revealed a rather different story. Extraordinary few weeks after that ...

 

[HoveHorace]

Yes. It blew my garden wall down.

 

[nevergoagain]

Quiet leafy Scaynes Hill was without electric for nearly 2 weeks if I remember correctly, phones were back after a week or so. Never had so many consecutive chippy take aways.

 

[Dorset Seagull]

Came home from a holiday in Lanzarote to find my garden wall on top of my car.....luckily it was a company car

 

[Lush]

I remember going out earlier in the evening and thinking how warm it was ...

Me too! There was definitely something about to happen, in retrospect...

 

[robinsonsgrin]

Surely it would have been cheaper just to set your alarm ?

much laughter here!

 

[GT49er]

I missed it. Was still out of it after an eight hour operation. About three or four days later I asked someone, "What storm?"

 

[perseus]

Took out my house insurance at four o'clock the previous afternoon and made the claim call at ten o'clock the following morning, when I found out about the Storm.

 

[Bisto]

I drove along the coast road on the evening before the storm and the pitch 'n' putt courses were white with seagulls.
Woke up in the morning and phoned SEEBOARD to advise them that the electricity had failed and the lady on the phone informed me "That they were aware of a slight disruption to the supply in my area and all will be restored as soon as possible"
When I left at 6 am to go to work I could only pick up Radio Hampshire and they were declearing a state of emergnecy!! I though the Ruskies had dropped the bomb!! LOL

 

[Emily's Mum]

I lived in Saltdean at the time, although we had exchanged contracts on the sale of our house on the Thursday as the storm hit overnight. I lost the chimney pot, half the roof and a window frame, but because we had cleaned out the garage, my mini was in the garage. I was in the house on my own, as were my neighbours and a new-born baby. We lost electricity, telephone, the lot. We managed to heat babies bottles on the gas cooker, but that was it. We couldn't see out of the remaining windows as they were covered in salt blown in on the wind.
Once I got hold of our solicitor, he just said that we should secure our house to the best of our ability & move out. The purchasers were responsible for the insurance from exchange of contracts, so we were just told to move!

I moved away from Brighton that weekend and even today as I drive down Ditchling Road I cannot believe that all the trees that I remember from childhood are not there.