30th. June 1910-10th April 2011
By Jack Hemmings
Rusty Ellis passed away in her sleep, in her own own home, during her 101st year following a short illness. She was born in Bedfordshire before the start of WW1. Rusty was born Bessy Keech in Cardington near Bedford on the day that Florence Nightingale died. Two of the songs of the day were “By the Light of the Silvery Moon” and The Ballad of Casey Jones. Continue reading Bessie Sylvia (Rusty) Ellis nee Keetch
From Rye’s Own April 2010
1925 – 2010
By Jim Hollands
It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Joan Camier. I spoke to her last outside Magdala House in 2008 before she moved to Nothiam to live with, and be looked after, by her son Michael and his wife Angela. Continue reading Joan Camier
John Ryan is with us no longer. Rye’s hero cartoonist, who created the famous Captain Pugwash and many other children’s cartoons has died aged eighty-eight. Continue reading John Ryan
How strange, that in the April edition of “Rye’s Own” there should be an article of the Rye Fire Brigade in 1952. This edition dropped on my doorstep in Bristol at the same time as I heard the news of the Death and Funeral of my brother in law Harry Martin., once a member of Rye Fire Brigade. Born in Scotland in 1917, Harry came from a family of fishermen. The family lived at Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre, he was the eldest of five having three brothers and a sister. Continue reading Ex-Rye Fireman Dies in New Zealand
Many older readers will remember Tom ‘Tommy’ Sinden who recently died
in Tasmania aged 83.
Tom Sinden, older brother of Francis Sinden of North Salts, was born
in Rye in 1922. He was educated in Rye and took up an apprenticeship
as a painter and decorator on leaving school at 14. The war came along
and prevented Tom from completing his apprenticeship. He joined the
Territorial Army as a bugler. In 1939, at the age of seventeen, he
was mobilised with many more local lads and went to war. He served
in many theatres of the war until demobilisation in 1946.
Tom did various jobs around Rye in the years after the war but decided
to emigrate on the Australian £10 scheme in 1955.
He lived and worked near Melbourne. On retiring he moved again, this
time to Tasmania, where he lived out his final years doing charity
work.
(1927-2004)
A Rye Character
by R Wylson
Irascible, intelligent, cantankerous, scurrilous, interesting, perverse, opinionated, cultured, argumentative, frugal, irreverent. These are all adjectives used to describe Ernie Apps, who, by universal agreement, was indeed a Rye character. Continue reading Ernest Charles Apps
Older readers will remember ‘Nellie’ Bailey who emigrated to Canada after the War.Ellen passed away on 17 January 2004 aged 89. She leaves a son and daughter grandchildren and great grandchildren. Continue reading In Memory of Nellie
From “Rye’s Own” November 2003
Hazel Duckworth, well known Rye antiques expert, familiar to all in
the trade who attended Rye Auction Galleries and numerous Antique Continue reading Hazel
English meat only reads the sign on the side of Neeves the Butcher’s van. Bert Neeves is seen here giving the Caister family’s dog Joe a bone on his regular delivery trip to Rye Harbour before WW2 Continue reading English Meat Only
“I don’t mind dying as long as I am not around when it happens.”
The words above were one of Spike Milligan’s ‘off the cuff ‘ answers. He also claimed he wanted to outlive Harry Secombe as he didn’t want him singing at his funeral. Continue reading Farewell Spike
