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Remembering the great snow storm of 1987

By: KentOnline reporter multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 21:36, 03 February 2009

Bridget Sawyers in the snow off Chequers Road, Minster, in 1987
Broadway, Minster, was snowed under with cars going no where fast
David Jones, digs his way out of the snow in Minster Road. He was stranded on the Island for three days
Former Times Guardian photographer Barry Hollis' daughter Joanna Hollis looking down the Broadway towards the beach.
Looks like the Antarctic but this was the scene along the Halfway Road A250 towards Sheerness near what is now Stones Nursery to the right
Numbers 10 and 11 Windmill Rise, Minster, in 1987
People walk along the Broadway Minster towards The Harps.
Queenborough Drive at the junction of Waverley Avenue, Minster, children make the most of the snow
Reporters at the time for the Kent Messenger Group, John Nurden and John Hammond covering the story
The freeze set in causing damage to people's property with large icicles forming from the gutters
The scene in Chequers Road, Minster, 1987
The scene outside Cheesebrough central market, Minster
These boys celecbrate as they make their way home with a bottle of milk from the local store

It was the snow storm of the century with the Island largely cut off as massive snow drifts blew in.

The white stuff was measured in feet not centimetres and children had the times of their lives.

Reader Ron Sawyers was mildly amused by the panic which gripped the nation this week as services ground to a halt because of snow.

For 76-year-old Ron and wife Bridget, of Nore Close, Sheerness, Monday’s fall was a mere sprinkle when compared to one particular previous storm.

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They recall the winter of 1987 when they were all but cut off by drifts surrounding their former home in Windmill Rise, Minster.

Bridget, now 72, is pictured in a snug snow outfit enjoying the a walk near Chequers Hill, Minster.

Ron said: “We both were unable to get to work because of the depth of the snow and I took the pictures when we decided to walk into the village to try and get bread and milk.

“It was very deep and buses were unable to get up Minster Hill, so the only way into Sheerness was to walk. We got by though, and certainly made the best of it.”

The couple recall the snow was up to 18in deep in some places.

Kent Messenger Group picture services editor Barry Hollis remembers the storm vividly.

He has dug out images from his personal collection, showing scenes that look more like the Arctic than the Island.

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