The Great Hurricane - Commemorative Church Kneelers Cushion in England

by George
(London)

The Great Hurricane - Commemorative Church Kneelers Cushion
The Great Storm - 16 October 1987 - United Kingdom
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I was visiting St John's Church, Milford, Surrey, United Kingdom, when I noticed a kneeler commemorating the Great Hurricane on the 16 October 1987.

I remember that day as though it was yesterday.

I woke up at my normal time of 6am to get ready and go to work. I slept well and was still a bit sleepy. In those days, it was a quick shower, put my suit on, no breakfast, and head to the office in my car, listening to music to energize me for the day.

As I got into my car, I half noticed that it was much quieter than usual, very few people about. I started my drive, and the roads were deserted, but I continued my journey. My route took me through some narrow tree lined roads. Once I got to this point, I noticed vegetation and twigs and tree debris on the road.

I didn't think too much of it, planning my day in my head. Suddenly I got to a stretch of road were several trees had come down, completely blocking the road. My focus at this point was getting to the office as I had a busy day ahead.

So I turned around, and found an alternate route, after about 10 minutes, more fallen trees. I switched on the radio to see if I could find out what was happening. I discovered that through the early hours of the morning, the South East of the UK had endured it's worst hurricane since the 1700's. I had slept though it!

I decided to head back home. On arrival, I checked the house! One half of one side of the roof was missing, so spent the morning trying to find a roofer that was free to fix the damage.

It was nice to see that someone had embroidered a church kneeler cushion to commemorate that!

By way of background, the UK is not prone to hurricane's or extreme weather.

The event became known as the great storm of 1987 . Gusts of wind reaching 81mph hit the South of England continuing for three to four hours, before increasing to 120mph, causing devastation. Apparently an estimated 15 million trees fell during the storm. As a heavy sleeper, I missed it all. but the church kneeler brought back those memories so clearly. You never know what you discover.