Harvest Festival 1959 Style

Harvest Festival 1959 Style

We plough the fields with tractors
With drills we sow the land
But growth is still a wondrous gift
Of God’s almighty hand.

So read the Harvest Festival hymn at St Mary’s in 1959.  The full text is available and perhaps we should use it again?  The service sheet, together with a mass of other village material was sent to the Historical Society by 88 year old Keith Davidson.  Keith only lived in Leigh with his parents at Ardullie from  autumn 1957 to 1963 – when he was in his twenties – but he loved Leigh and was very involved with the Church and the Youth Club, as well as the Conservative Association.  He was a lay reader licenced by the Bishop of Rochester and we have the sermon that he gave when he was leaving the village.  The copies of the Parish Magazines he has given us will bring back memories to older people here.  Lord and Lady Hollenden feature prominently – they judged a children’s fancy dress – and Lady Kindersley from Ramhurst seems to have been keen to support flower arranging.  It seems that for many years St Mary’s had been helping support a new Church in Cray which was finished in September 1963.  However, nearer to home, St Mary’s staircase in the tower was completed in July that year.  We also hear about the Journey of a lifetime to Jerusalem by Rev. John and Mary Bounds – the kindly and committed Vicar from 1957 to 1980.  Charlie and Ethel Ingram – from Oak Cottage – celebrated their Golden Wedding.  There is a lot of news about Church, the choir, hop picking and WI meetings.

If anyone wishes to browse these and other old Parish Magazines, the Historical Society has many of the magazines back to when they started in 1957, although there are gaps between 1965 and 1979.

Our thanks to Keith for his reminiscences, which will in due course be put on our website or even into a parish magazine article, in due course.  If anyone wishes to be in touch, do let me know.

Chris Rowley (Sept 2020)