The very first Rye’s Own was the November 1965 issue. It went on sale in Rye Newsagents on 20 October and was printed by Adams of Rye. Priced at Two Shillings, it was an immediate success and Rye people took it to their hearts. Rye became the first town with a population of less than 5,000 to have it’s own independent publication since the War.
With a print run of only 1,000, it defied all odds and became a viable proposition.
In those early days, when Rye had its own Borough Council and the town was run and cared for by local people, there was little requirement for the fledgeling publication to involve itself with local politics in a big way. It set out to entertain its readers and found that nostalgia was the biggest draw.
The Second World War was just 20 years back down the years and there were still plenty of Rye people that remembered the first great clash of arms so there was much coverage of those desperate times. Stories from the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression of 1929 and the fun times of the 1930’s were all covered and well received.
Kenneth Clarke produced many slices of Rye history in his articles taking readers back to the first recorded mention of the town in 1105. Under the name of ‘Rya’ he took us through the middle ages and into the twentieth century.
‘Jimper’ was also a contributor from the first few months of publication and now, 50 years and many millions of words later, he is still one of most important contributors to today’s “Ryes Own”.
All the stories from those early magazines are being slowly transcribed into these pages. They cover a large slice of Rye’s history and will be available completely free of charge for the benefit of all Ryers and lovers of the Ancient Town.
All we ask is for readers to continue supporting the magazine by purchasing Hard copies in local newsagents or by buying a 12 month postal or electronic subscription. This makes the production of this Web Site and our Facebook Pages and News Feeds possible.
All articles, photographs and drawings on this web site are World
Copyright Protected. No reproduction for publication without prior
arrangement.