Herald - Issue 414

Page 14 • The HERALD • 28th October 2021 v READ THE HERALD ONLINE: www.herald-publishing.co.uk v The Square, Fawley, Southampton SO45 1DD T: 023 8112 3112 E: office@zebra-ltd.co.uk All Plumbing Works Undertaken Full Bathroom Installation Toilet Fix from £75 Fully Insured Free Quotes No Job Too Big or Too Small PLUMBING & BATHROOMS DECORATING Interior and Exterior Established 1985 07867 528307 mark.blake.decorating@gmail.com Ogilvy Property Services • Painting & Decorating • Kitchens & Bathrooms Supplied and Fitted • Tiling Walls/Floors • Plumbing • General Property Maintenance • Prompt & Free Quotes • No Job Too Small Tel: 023 8087 1187 Mobile: 07786 960101 www.ogilvypropertyservices.co.uk EXPERT DOMESTICS APPLIANCE SERVICES S ales and R epairs to A ll M akes and M odels 169-171 LONG LANE, HOLBURY • TEL (023) 8089 0054 POSSIBLY THE ONLY INDEPENDENT MAIN DEALER IN THE NEW FOREST For Bosch, Belling, Britannia, Candy, Ebac, Hotpoint, Hoover, Indesit, Ice King, LG, LEC, Liebherr, Miele, Neff, Sebo, Siemens, Stoves, Whirlpool, Zanussi and more... Free Standing & Built In Sales Centre Over 300 appliances in stock www.expertdomestics.co.uk AUSTIN WINDOW CLEANING Professional Window Cleaning Service established 25 years £15 per house Tel: 07733 205341 www.austinwindowcleaning.co.uk Send your local news to The Editor, The Herald, 2 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH THE DAY THE HINDENBURG FLEW PAST HYTHE & CALSHOT by local history enthusiast, Marc Heighway Standing on the water’s edge of Hythe, the biggest thing you can expect to see is a modern cruise ship. However, if you’d been near Hythe shore or Calshot on the 5th of July 1936, you would have seen something very di erent. Coming down the Solent at an estimated 300 feet up in the sky was the Hindenburg, the hulking German airship. Not only was it a triumph of German engineering; it was huge. In fact, it was the largest aircra ever built at the time at 800 feet - almost as long as the Titanic. e Hindenburg was undoubtedly an awe-inspiring sight for anybody onboard taking photos. e accompanying photo is rare as there are only few images known to exist showing the incident locally. It was taken by a young Hythe boy who happened to have a camera with him in Ewart Recreation Ground on Jones Lane. e camera was put in the attic and forgotten about. It was found over 50 years later, and the lm developed. A er passing over Southampton docks she travelled down Southampton Water in full view of Hythe and Fawley, swastikas and all. She was then seen passing close to the RAF ying-boat base at Calshot before turning towards Portsmouth. She was later seen veering o into the clouds on her way home to Germany. It wasn’t long before the inquest started into the unexpected y past - it was suggested it could have been a spying mission. Questions were asked in the House of Commons about why it happened, and what steps could be taken to stop similar future ights. Regardless, she would never been seen from the Waterside again. In May 1937, the huge airship was destroyed in a reball whilst attempting to dock in New Jersey. But for those who witnessed it from Hythe, Calshot, and the Waterside, they’d never forget the day the Hindenburg ew over Southampton and the Solent. I am not a professional historian. I am not an archaeologist. I am not a metal detectorist, and I don’t dig holes. I am simply passionate about our local history so you can learn and enjoy from what we find too. Did your relations witness the event, or do you have any photos? You can contact me on: mheighway@ hotmail.com residents to come out of their houses. is included bemused locals of Hythe and Waterside who would never have seen anything like this. News reports from the time reported how the Hindenburg ew so low, the name printed on the side was clearly observed. It was also noted how swastika symbols on the ns were clearly visible. Some people even said they could see faces of wealthy passenger’s lucky enough to see it... and many Waterside people would have been witnesses. Some background rst though: e Hindenburg was nanced by the Nazi party. Whilst she was designed for transatlantic passenger trips, they saw the potential of large airships as symbols of German strength and technology. e Hindenburg would even carry large swastika symbols on the ns. It was on a return ight from the US that the Hindenburg would be seen over the Solent. She le New Jersey on 4th July, crossed the Atlantic, reaching England on 5th July 1936. She was travelling at speeds of up 84 mph. At 7.30pm the Hindenburg was seen over Fordingbridge in the New Forest travelling in an easterly direction, shortly a er she would pass over Southampton docks. Work was brought to a standstill as workers downed tools, looking up in wonder at this incredible sight. e noise of the engines caused many Southampton The Hindenburg as seen from Ewart Recreation Ground. (Photo courtesy of Waterside Heritage from the book “Hythe a Waterside Village” by Graham Parkes)