Another who slept through it! Got woken up in the morning by my mum with the news every 8 year old wants to hear, no school today! Remember looking out my bedroom window in Wilmington Way and seeing my old man's CB aerial which used to live on our garage roof, 4 doors down in a garden and ALL the fence panels blown down. Went off to Patcham Place to explore, great day!
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The Great Storm of 87
- Thread starter brixtonA23
- Start date
Lush
Mods' Pet
I was living in Manchester at the time but had come down to visit my mum in Goldstone Valley on the Thursday evening. I was waiting outside Hove Station for her to pick me up and you could feel that there was definitely "something in the air". Got woken up by the wind in the wee small hours - just assumed that I'd forgotten how windy the south coast can be. My mum used to leave her car on the drive, but got up and battled against the wind to put it in the garage in case a tile came off the roof and hit it. Minutes later, a whole load of tiles came off and crashed to the floor where her car had been. I remember still being awake at about 5am and trying to listen to BBC Radio Brighton and find out what was happening.
Remember the walk through Hove Park on the Saturday to go to the match too, as you had to walk round all the toppled trees. Surreal.
Remember the walk through Hove Park on the Saturday to go to the match too, as you had to walk round all the toppled trees. Surreal.
Mackenzie
Old Brightonian
Brilliant day. Got up and dressed for school, walked up to the college to be told it was closed.......so I went for a walk into Brighton. Garden furniture and roof tiles everywhere, I found a fiver in Bedford Street, the front of a house had fallen down at the bottom of Bedford street. The waves were crashing in on the beach.....fire brigade were sawing the fallen trees at the Steine.....we went to Gatwick later on that day to pick up an uncle, the trees had fallen like dominos all along the side of the M23 forestry.
Woke about 5am to the sound of our metal windows rattling and dustbins banging and crashing down the road. They'd just been emptied so I went to check ours and it was at the other end of the garden. I put it back and filled it with bricks. Meanwhile, I saw my neighbour's shed, with all its contents, lift up 6 feet from the ground and fly to the bottom end of her garden, stopped only by the 7ft high hedge. We were heartbroken to see all the enormous old trees which had fallen in Hove Park exposing their huge roots. So many roads were impassable because decades-old trees had fallen across them. Mr Hova had an exam that day, at the Cockcroft Building, but when I got there, another giant tree ensured no one could get in. I had no idea where Mr Hova was, but a mumble went round that they'd all gone to Lewes, and he duly turned up. So many bricks from so many gable ends littered gardens and even neighbours' attics, that it's amazing not more people were killed or seriously injured. People here have mentioned the gale a few years later, but I don't remember that one at all. (I've probably got a photo of you at Hove Park, Lush, I took so many there!)
Lush
Mods' Pet
Some great pics around on the net too HovaGirl. This is Hove Park:
Some great pics around on the net too HovaGirl. This is Hove Park:
Those are SMALL trees! I've got pix of whoppas!
Kumquat
New member
- Mar 2, 2009
- 4,459
I was at boarding school and needless to say as a kid absolutely loved it. We sneaked outside in the night and watched all the trees that had been in the school grounds for hundreds and hundreds of years all falling down. We thought it was hilarious. The next day some of the teachers were crying and all the kids were laughing. They said we didn't understand that hundreds of years of heritage had been lost and we just laughed even more.
All the electricity and lighting was down for two days and they still made us go to class and try and work. Shithole of a school that was.
All the electricity and lighting was down for two days and they still made us go to class and try and work. Shithole of a school that was.
Daffy Duck
Stop bloody moaning!
We were living up at Fiveways then and remember listening to the gravel off our flat roof getting blown around and pounding on the back windows. Could hear crashing sounds all through the night.
Woke up to get into work and Ditchling Road looked like a war zone and realised all the crashing sounds had been the trees getting blown over.
I worked over in Hove at the time and ended up walking, well climbing really, down Preston Drove where huge old trees had been flattened and had to climb over massive tree trunks that had been blown over.
Couldn't believe the devastation in Hove Park. It looked like the aftermath of a war. Got into work and had to take calls for our insurance department all day in our office.
Rang up Sun Life for a claim form on behalf of one of our customers and the dopey cow on the other end of the phone said "what storm is that then? We've not heard anything about that." (They were up north somewhere).
So I asked her what planet she came from but she wasn't amused.
When I eventually managed to get a bus into town on the Saturday, I couldn't believe what had happened at the Level. Don't think there was a single tree left standing.
I felt so sad at the destruction.
Hubby was a bus driver at the time and walked down Ditchling Road the morning after the storm and had some woman have a right go at him because there were no buses running!!!!!
Woke up to get into work and Ditchling Road looked like a war zone and realised all the crashing sounds had been the trees getting blown over.
I worked over in Hove at the time and ended up walking, well climbing really, down Preston Drove where huge old trees had been flattened and had to climb over massive tree trunks that had been blown over.
Couldn't believe the devastation in Hove Park. It looked like the aftermath of a war. Got into work and had to take calls for our insurance department all day in our office.
Rang up Sun Life for a claim form on behalf of one of our customers and the dopey cow on the other end of the phone said "what storm is that then? We've not heard anything about that." (They were up north somewhere).
So I asked her what planet she came from but she wasn't amused.
When I eventually managed to get a bus into town on the Saturday, I couldn't believe what had happened at the Level. Don't think there was a single tree left standing.
I felt so sad at the destruction.
Hubby was a bus driver at the time and walked down Ditchling Road the morning after the storm and had some woman have a right go at him because there were no buses running!!!!!
Kalimantan Gull
Well-known member
That will be these ones
loads more photos here http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/category_id__1033_path__0p116p183p.aspx
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
Most of the roof went, the fence, the shed and my brother's motorbike that was in it have never been seen again.
Jam The Man
Well-known member
I was only 12 but I remember it very clearly..The day before we’d had a school charity event raising money by running laps round the school field. We got to meet swimmer Sharron Davies before for a photo shoot. I was lucky enough to have a chat with her (about toast) as the photographer had to change his film before proceeding with my photo. Rock & Roll.
My Dad woke us all up saying "there's a hurricane outside!"… half asleep I looked out the window watching the bizarre sight of sixty feet tall, hundred year old*trees thrashing back and forth at impossible angles, all being lit up in the middle of the night by*what seemed like constant lightning.
*
Having got downstairs there was this huge crashing noise over and over again! It was the roof literally being lifted off its weakened supports and crashing back down to somewhere near to where it was propped before.*Where we lived*was at the time one of the highest locations on Foredown Hill in*Portslade, so*we were obviously a bit exposed to potentially damaging gusts.
My Dad decided to evacuate to my grandparents half a mile away and subsequnetly we had to clamber over trees that were 4 or 5 feet wide om the way. I remember the noise of the wind being immense and there not being much rain until later in the night / morning.
The next morning we walked back home at about 0830 and saw literally dozens of cars crushed by trees and hundreds of trees down in easthill park.
Our roof was still half on back at home, but had a tree on it for good measure.
Oh and we got two weeks off school!
BOF is right about the other storm a couple of years after - I believe it was in Jan 1990 but largely occured during the day time. I don't recall it being worse though...
My Dad woke us all up saying "there's a hurricane outside!"… half asleep I looked out the window watching the bizarre sight of sixty feet tall, hundred year old*trees thrashing back and forth at impossible angles, all being lit up in the middle of the night by*what seemed like constant lightning.
*
Having got downstairs there was this huge crashing noise over and over again! It was the roof literally being lifted off its weakened supports and crashing back down to somewhere near to where it was propped before.*Where we lived*was at the time one of the highest locations on Foredown Hill in*Portslade, so*we were obviously a bit exposed to potentially damaging gusts.
My Dad decided to evacuate to my grandparents half a mile away and subsequnetly we had to clamber over trees that were 4 or 5 feet wide om the way. I remember the noise of the wind being immense and there not being much rain until later in the night / morning.
The next morning we walked back home at about 0830 and saw literally dozens of cars crushed by trees and hundreds of trees down in easthill park.
Our roof was still half on back at home, but had a tree on it for good measure.
Oh and we got two weeks off school!
BOF is right about the other storm a couple of years after - I believe it was in Jan 1990 but largely occured during the day time. I don't recall it being worse though...
Staying in a caravan park in Dorset on a school field trip. We were evacuated and had to wait in the minibuses until they could sort out some accommodation, in the mean time one of the minibuses got hit by a large chunk of corrugated iron. Ended up in a day centre in the middle of Swanage.
Went back in the morning, to find a number of caravans on their roofs, and a couple had smashed open.
Our trip was actually featured in a documentary on the 20th anniversary, they spoke to a couple of teachers and a couple of the schoolkids, who made it sound far more serious and dramatic than I remembered; me and my mates just thought it was an absolute giggle.
Went back in the morning, to find a number of caravans on their roofs, and a couple had smashed open.
Our trip was actually featured in a documentary on the 20th anniversary, they spoke to a couple of teachers and a couple of the schoolkids, who made it sound far more serious and dramatic than I remembered; me and my mates just thought it was an absolute giggle.
??
SpidersLegs
Member
Was due to do a tandem parachute jump that day!
Was stuck at gatwick Airport overnight. no idea that anything had happened.
Went outside and immediately fell over a bus shelter that had been blown from the coach set down point into the train station platforms.
Took eight hours to get from Gatwick to Hassocks
Went outside and immediately fell over a bus shelter that had been blown from the coach set down point into the train station platforms.
Took eight hours to get from Gatwick to Hassocks
I slept through it as well - woke up to find no power and telephone cables broken and swinging from their poles. I needed some money, so tried to get some out of a cashpoint - I had assumed that the powercut was just my house. Then drove to work, at Brighton General. My office was an old 60's prefab. All the windows were blown and paper and stuff all over the place. Plus a crack that went from the roof to the ground. We were told to go home until the building was confirmed safe. That made my day.
Then drove to my then girlfriends in Portslade, during which the heavens literally opened. Never seen rain like it.
Then drove to my then girlfriends in Portslade, during which the heavens literally opened. Never seen rain like it.
I slept through it until (at about 4am) my sisters shone a torch into my face and asked me if I was awake...
My dad went out in it and had to use his chainsaw to get back after a tree came down in the road right behind him. We had a generator, so were the only family in the area to still have a working fridge, freezer & TV for a day or so. I remember watching 'My Family & Other Animals" on the beeb and thinking how lucky we were!
We had a handful of chickens - most of which were either blown away, or crushed when the coup blew over and collapsed
My dad went out in it and had to use his chainsaw to get back after a tree came down in the road right behind him. We had a generator, so were the only family in the area to still have a working fridge, freezer & TV for a day or so. I remember watching 'My Family & Other Animals" on the beeb and thinking how lucky we were!
We had a handful of chickens - most of which were either blown away, or crushed when the coup blew over and collapsed
scooter1
How soon is now?
Slept through it. Woke up to find no electricity so switched on the battery radio and heard of the storms. School was closed so me and two mates went to Gamleys in Church Road where the window had been blown in, helped ourselves to Monoply and spent the day playing that
brakespear
Doctor Worm
Slept through it and woke up to trees all over the place by Montpelier Terrace and no TV.