A pair of magnificent garden gates were recently presented to the Rye, Winchelsea & District Memorial Hospital in memory of a long-standing
patient, Arthur Woodgate, who died last year aged 101.
John Austin stepson of Arthur Woodgate with Sally Compton chairman Hospital Trust
Born in 1913, after having served a five year apprenticeship he became a renowned master bricklayer. He rose to become Chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Federation of Building Trades Operatives, and also served as a Magistrate on the Rye Bench. He had an amazing memory and told his fascinating life story to some of the students at Rye College, which resulted in the first ‘Rye Memory’ booklet being published. Continue reading Memorial Gates for Arthur
Arthur Woodgate, who died yesterday gave me this letter on 22 July 2009 and made me promise to publish it to thank everyone at Rye Memorial Care Centre for looking after him so well.
I know Arthur had many happy times at the hospital where he spent most of the the last 10 years of his life and recorded his lifetime experiences for all of us to enjoy. He was a very special man and the people that kept him going through that period are special people too – Rye is lucky to have them. Jim Hollands Continue reading Arthur’s Thank You
Arthur Woodgate has lived through two World Wars, and was a young
man of 17, just starting out as an apprentice bricklayer when The
Great Depression came along.
Originating in the U.S. after the fall in stock prices that began
around September 4, 1929, the problem became worldwide news with the
stock market crash of October 29, 1929.
Young Arthur witnessed the hardships and poverty it caused. It made
a great impression on him and he became a strong trade unionist and
throughout the years up to the outbreak of World War Two and beyond,
became a strong local leader in the Trade Union Movement. Continue reading England’s Senior Journalist
When Arthur Woodgate, who at 100 years of age is the magazine’s oldest contributor, mentioned an ‘unknown Rye hero’ in his War & Peace article back in April it was a long shot to expect that after 74 years the identity of the people involved would come to light. Continue reading Unknown Rye Hero
The phrase “all but the kitchen sink” did not hold out when the Germans smashed Havelock Villas on the Strand for, large as life, there was the kitchen sink sitting on the top of one of the houses of “T square”. As it and the other contents of Havelock were blasted out, my dad working in his work shop, heard and saw a piece of rock drop through his roof and finish by his foot. The whole roof had to be replaced after the War. Continue reading War and Peace
