Where were you for the storm of '87?

[Daddies_Sauce]

We had a house up around Queens Park area, all the roofs were being ripped off the houses around ours, so we grabbed our daughter who was only a few months old at the time from her bedroom and we camped in the kitchen. Luckily we had batteries for a radio so we could listen to the news and a gas cooker so we could make drinks etc. I went outside in our small back garden to see what damaged was being caused, to be greeted by a neighbours lean-to plastic conservatory thing, flying past after it had been ripped from the wall. Also remember walking to work to see loads of trees down, crushed cars and roof tiles everywhere. Remember standing in the Level and being able to see the General Hospital on the top of the Hill which had previously been screened by all the large trees, which had been flattened and were a tangled mess blocking Lewes road.

How many people have battery powered radios now, and the batteries for them?

 

[Seagull]

Was at Uni in Manchester where there was barely a breeze. Learned how to use a chainsaw in those Christmas holidays as there was plenty of work cutting up all the fallen trees! A massive trunk that fell horizontal that night is still growing (at 90 degrees to its original direction) in the woods on Ashdown Forest - awesome sight.

 

[m20gull]

Living in Gidea Park. Slept through it, drove to work in Southend. There were quite a few trees down, actually loads. Got to the office which was fully open plan on the seventh floor. Someone had left a window open, and it looked like someone had picked up all the paper in the office and thrown it around. The three of us that had made it to the office (or bothered to try) spent all day tidying up.

 

[brakespear]

Asleep in Seven Dials. Woke up the next day and had a careers interview which I was hoping would be cancelled but no

 

[Miami Seagull]

Saw some amazing things that night. A 32 foot cabin boat lifted from the back garden of one house to be deposited in a garden 8 houses away, and all the fences in between were intact. Also saw a flat roof on littlehampton sea front lift off, start spinning and head out to sea. It was all like something out of a sci-fi movie. I have since endured cat 5 (155mph ) hurricanes in the caribbean but have still never witnessed anything like that night in 87...

 

[KJP]

I remember going to school the day of or day before the massive damage and one of the teachers opened a door and almost flew out of it, we all got sent home at lunchtime, the morning after we went for a walk to the beach and down ilex way to view the damage. I was only 5

 

[Nibble]

I was 10 and slept through it. Was living in Yateley and remember walking to school the next day and seeing the rough boys from the village making ramps over the fallen trees and riding their motorbikes over them.

 

[portslade seagull]

Remember trying to get to my doctors surgery in Queens road the next day and The Level along with the Steine looked like Armageddon. Made it after about an Hour only to find it closed due to the bad weather

 

[Nibble]

I'm a bit concerned about this one as my bedroom has floor to ceiling glass doors out to the balcony opposite a green with lots of trees. I've cross taped it anyway. I've said goodbye to the utility room roof, no way that is gonna stay on if it gets as bad as they reckon.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

I was at home listening to my sister's Johnny Hates Jazz album, thinking how sophisticated they were.

 

[topbanana36]

Slept through it all, didn't realise it had happened until I went to Littlehampton seafront later that day.

 

[glasfryn]

living in Gladstone Terrace, Lewes Road, I walked to work that morning clambering over fallen tree's in the Level only to be sent home for a few days, so I took the dog for a walk up to Stanmer woods it was carnage.
that night we had a visitor Fred the cat who must have been frightened by the storm we spent weeks trying to find an owner but eventually were told that some swatters left a house not far away and had left a cat and a dog the dog was re-homed with a neighbour and they never found the cat and we assumed it was Fred.
she stayed with us for years and was fairly happy even with our Jack Russel dog.

 

[somerset]

Lived in Goldstone Road, worked at the A&L next to Hove park....seeing the rows of trees uprooted in the park was jaw dropping....it was carnage.

 

[Gangsta]

I was only small. Remember going out the next day and there was chaos everywhere - due to ill-preparation and a big tree had come down in the playground. They never removed it, and years later it was a log that everyone sat on/walked along. Such good fun.
I don't have any memory of the storm itself as I slept through it.

Seaford. Slept through it. Crawled over 5 or 6 trees to get to sixth form, only to find it closed. The local denizens were most upset that their boring world had been suspended for a while. I distinctly remember many drains/hydrant thingys bust with water streaming out from underground all over the place. It wasn't a patch on Seaford losing its river to Newhaven, now that was a storm (16th c. I think). The theiving b@stards are still unwelcome in the town today.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Seaford. Slept through it. Crawled over 5 or 6 trees to get to sixth form, only to find it closed. The local denizens were most upset that their boring world had been suspended for a while. I distinctly remember many drains/hydrant thingys bust with water streaming out from underground all over the place. It wasn't a patch on Seaford losing its river to Newhaven, now that was a storm (16th c. I think). The theiving b@stards are still unwelcome in the town today.

 

[janee]

I lived in the top floor flat above Jones Boot makers in East Street. The hatch blew off and bleary eyed I got up on the flat roof to find it.

Bloody got back down again fast though once I realised.....

Spent the next day with a rich boyfriend in his 4 x 4 driving around over fallen trees

 

[pasty]

Was living in Bear Road at the time, but slept right through the storm. First I knew of it was when my (now ex) wife woke me up to say there was no electricity on in the house.

 

[shaun_rc]

I was playing in a band at the time, and we played a gig in the old Tricorn Centre, Portsmouth, that night. You could see the power cables flashing in the distance from the car park on the roof of the Centre.

We drove back from there to my folks house in Storrington at 2 - 3am, right through the middle of it. Had to turn back the first two routes (e.g. via Amberley) because of trees, but eventually made it via the Worthing A24. Even then we had to drive off the road a few times, to get round trees, and the power was out when we arrived. In the morning, there was a tree held up by a fence hanging over the van!

That night, we had another gig in London, so drove through the devastation up to the smoke. Certainly memorable - I particularly remember that Chanctonbury Ring had more or less disappeared.

 

[Nibble]

I went to boarding school the year after and even after about 5 years there we were still chopping up wood from fallen trees. There was a sizeable woods on the grounds, all the teachers or Masters as they were known lived on the grounds and all had wood burning fires. They actually created an extra curricular activity and called it "Forestry Club". Essentially they got us lads into the woods with saws and chainsaws and got us to cut up all their firewood and carry it to their houses for about 5 years running. Cute.

 

[16 bit 44.1]

I was living in Mayo Court at the top pf Richmond Road. Woke a couple of times in the night and thought it was just a bad storm. In the morning i remember walking to work down Richmond Road with my gf and one of us commented about the view across towards the town looking different. As soon as we got to the level it was clear why. It seemed like almost every tree was down and the view had been different because St PetersChurch was no longer obscured by trees.

Oh and as we left the flats there was a woman in her night dress looking for her bin and i can't understand why I didnt think that was a bit strange.