Waterside Heritage, Hythe

30/09/2026

Reminder about Hythe Historians tomorrow night. Guest talk on a local WW2 airfield, details below.

21/09/2026

The next local history talk at Hythe Historians is detailed below. Thursday October 1st. Marc Heighway presents RAF Needs Oar Point: A Story Rarely Told.... For three short, yet eventful months in WW2, the peace of farmer’s fields south of Buckler’s Hard was shattered by the arrival of four squadrons of Typhoon fighter bombers and lorries full of men. Some have said that this was the busiest airfield on D-Day. But just how true is this? This talk investigates the stories of Needs Oar Point and shows how agricultural land near Park Farm and St Leonards was converted into a wartime airfield. The story of RAF Needs Oar Point is one that has rarely been told despite the role it played in wartime. The talk includes never before seen photography and film, tales of bravery, inspiring stories, and how tragedy and high casualty rates struck the young men who flew from these fields of green.

15/08/2026

We're very sad to announce that our Vice-Chairman, Gordon Chambers died on 10th August after a long illness, stoically endured.

Gordon was a local lad and a keen supporter of The Saints. He was born and brought up in Dibden Purlieu, attended Dibden Primary School and then Noadswood Secondary School. After leaving school he joined Hovercraft and worked there from 1964 to 1990. He then worked for British Gas and Cromwell Tools.

After retiring, he was a tireless Vice-Chairman of Waterside Heritage. His major work for the last three years was completing the book on the history of Dibden Purlieu started by our late Chairman, Graham Parkes. He was enthusiastic about the work and wanted an index, more pictures and fewer words than our previous two publications. He had reached the stage of selecting photographs to include when he went into hospital.

In addition, Gordon was Chairman of Hythe Historians which met every month in the Hythe and Dibden Community Centre. To both these roles he brought immense local knowledge and common sense enlivened with a puckish sense of humour. He was also in demand as a speaker on various aspects of local history. We at Waterside Heritage will miss him and our condolences, sympathy and best wishes go to his long term partner, Shirley.

This leaves Waterside Heritage with a number of new challenges. First we need a new Vice-Chairman. Any volunteers would be welcome. Then, we need to complete the work on the book as part of his, and Graham’s, legacy – it was expected later this year but will now probably appear next year.

25/06/2026

Don't forget our open day, this Saturday - part of Hythe's heritage celebrations!

📅 HERITAGE DAY 2026 📅

Join in on celebrating the history of our wonderful Waterside!

Working together with Waterside Heritage, Hythe Hythe Pier Heritage Association Waterside Arts Festival Hythe Alive Hythe Pier we will be bringing you all sorts of fun activities between 10am-4pm on the 27th June.

Keep an eye out for even more information coming soon.

21/04/2026

Don't forget, this coming Thursday, April 23rd 2026
We will be holding our Annual General Meeting, at 7.30 p.m. in Hythe Community Centre (Brinton Lane, Hythe, SO45 6DU).
After a short AGM, there will be an illustrated talk by Colin Williams, on the history of the Williams Shipping Company, founded at Ashlett Creek - a fascinating talk.
Entry (for non-members) £3 on the door - or join on the night and get in free!