Toc H in Hythe

Hi David. We have put out your question to the group and have had a couple of replies:

Hythe Toc H was founded at the suggestion of the then vicar of Hythe, the Rev’d Charles Chastel de Boinville in August 1929. Its first chairman was Sydney R Sparling, a thirty-five-year-old journalist who had fought in the Great War and the secretary L.W. Gordon Young. The new Group chose as their HQ an attic room in Church House and started clearing and renovating it. A visiting Toc H padre was unimpressed at having to be pushed up into the room via a loft hatch.

While work was underway, the Group met in St Michael’s church, but by September their new accommodation was ready, with white-painted walls, stained beams and linoleum on the floor. Their first AGM was held there shortly afterwards, when it was reported that Lord Wakefield had donated £25 and that work had been carried out visiting the sick, aged and blind and helping with youth football clubs.

By mid-1939, the Groups membership was large enough for it to consider applying for Branch status, but Hitler had other ideas and all activity ceased a few weeks later. The Group re-convened in 1945, again at Church House. Over the next fifty years or so, their activities were mostly unreported in the local press, although they raised the staggering sum of £25,500 in 1990 to be used by welfare groups such as Age UK.

and

I have no information on the Hythe TocH, but for what it is worth, No 16 Twiss Road is located at the north end of Twiss Road (so not on the sea front) near the junction with Earlsfield Road.  Historically, it is shown on early OS maps on the site of the Hythe Blacksmith/Forge which later became I think part of Worthingtons who built some cars/motor cycles.   The first house in the new block north is called anvil Cottage!!  Of course, house numbers may have been changed over the years by the Post Office.

I hope this is of some help.

Regards

Ron

Hi - thanks for your query. This will go to the History Group who will reply.