Lynsted with Kingsdown Society
Society Events
We host a varied and regular flow of events throughout the year. These events are a mixture of evening presentations and social events, local outdoor projects, walks and visits further afield to places of interest. If you know of new topics or fresh approaches to events, visits and projects, the Committee would like to hear from you. Reports on those events can be found using this link.
2018 Season
29th September: Bus trip to Dungeness
Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th November - First World War Centenary Project
Report. On Sunday 11 November the centenary commemorations of the First World War came to an end and with it the culmination of the Lynsted with Kingsdown Society’s 8 year project.
We were overwhelmed by the response and attendance at our event in Lynsted Church on Saturday 10 November. The display and screening of short films attracted a lot of interest and we are grateful for all the warm words of thanks offered by the families of the casualties and the Parish. The films were made available to us though our partnership with the Imperial War Museum (IWM) Centenary Programme as part of their WOMENSWORK100 commemorations. Our free Great War recipes leaflet proved so popular we ran out. As promised the recipes are now available on the Society website. Donations for the First World War themed refreshments raised £62 for The Royal British Legion.
The Society’s book "They Shall Grow Not Old", telling the stories of the men of the Parish who gave their lives in the war, was published to coincide with the event. We are astonished to report it sold out on the day. We shall be going for a short reprint, so please do contact me if you would still like a copy (nigel@lynsted.com or 01795 522842).
Our aim was to ensure that the men of the Parish would not be forgotten—a permanent record of those we lost. To this end, as part of our Partnership with the IWM, donated copies will be held in the IWM archive and libraries. In addition, we have been able to donate a copy to Lynsted Church; Lynsted and Norton Primary School; the British Library; Kent History and Library Centre; our local libraries in Teynham, Faversham and Sittingbourne; the Faversham Society and the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne. We must thank the Swale Borough Council’s WW1 Centenary Grant Scheme that made this possible.
A précis of the biographies has been produced for use of visitors to Lynsted Church. Our research has also enabled us to produce a Book of Remembrance listing those from Lynsted with Kingsdown, Norton and Teynham who lost their lives in both world wars. This is now displayed in an oak cabinet donated by Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council in commemoration of the centenary.
The Society was pleased to hear that Lis Heriz-Smith who compiled the book and arranged the commemoration events, was invited to attend the National Service of Thanksgiving for the Centenary of the Armistice, in Westminster Abbey in the presence of the Her majesty the Queen, on the evening of Remembrance Sunday. This invitation was a result of IWM nomination in recognition of Lis’s work over the Centenary period. I was merely a "plus one". It was a fitting way for Lis to round off this project that has dominated her life over the last 8 years.
With the Society AGM being held the following day when my tenure as Chairman came to an end, both Lis and I both stood down from the Committee, the events of the weekend meant our 16 years came to a very memorable end.
Nigel Heriz-Smith
Monday, 12th November: 7.30: AGM; followed by expert Speaker, Alison Marsden, from Gardening by Design who will give a talk on "Gardening for wildlife and people too". Alison focuses on purposeful design in the choice and placement of planting to enhance enjoyment of a garden, whatever the size. Gardening is also recognised widely as being valuable to our sense of well-being - so this talk encompasses the importance of gardens to people and to our enjoyment of wildlife.
Wednesday, 19th December: Members Only Christmas Party. Invitations have gon eto our Members for this popular annual event.
2019