Launched 09/04/2011
Latest update
Elham beat off stiff competition for the title of Kent Village of the year 2011 organised by Action with Communities in Rural Kent.
Censuses for outlying communities in the parish will be rolled out gradually. Check out the stats page for interesting facts and
trivia about the village. We still need your help so please send us any information relating to Elham that may be of interest.
Elham resident Les Ames in action for England against the West Indies in 1939. He was one of the finer wicketkeeper - batsmen and played for Kent CCC.
The Abbot's Fireside is one of the older buildings in the village and probably dates back to the mid fifteenth century.
Audrey Hepburn (neé Rushton) lived in Orchard Cottage (Five Bells) for five years in her childhood (1935-1940) and attended the local village schools. She took ballet lessons and dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina. I wonder what became of her?
Dave Lee opens Elham's brand new playground with a sensory garden and a pretty flower meadow created by the Play for Elham charity. 21st November 2010
The machine breaking that led to the riots of August 1830 onwards started in the Elham Parish, writes our historian Derek Boughton, who has made a lifetime's study of the subject.
Elham residents were prominent in the gangs that sought out the new fangled threshing machines and destroyed them. Some of them cost the not inconsiderable sum for the day of £100. Full Story
Dr. Creswell concluded his term of imprisonment in St. Augustine's gaol on Tuesday in last week, and upon his release' met with a somewhat remarkable demonstration. It seems that a two-horse load of his friends had been conveyed from Elham to Canterbury early in the morning, and they awaited the appearance of the doctor in the vicinity of the gaol. Immediately upon Dr. Creswell passing the gaol gate he was vigorously cheered by his friends and escorted to a carriage and four horses which had been in waiting. This was driven off amid cheers, his progress being heralded by the blowing of a post-horn. Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald - Saturday 24 July 1880
Heavy snow caused roads that were usually kept open for the milk tankers to get through to be completely blocked and electricity supplies were interrupted for days. This was not the end of the world though as there were local shops, a camping stove complete with kettle and there was always a welcome at any of our three pubs. Eventually money supplies ran out in the village and IOUs were exchanged to keep everyone fed and watered. EHS
Sgt Bill Green had been part of the Battle of Britain for nine days when he was shot down by a German fighter. On 29 August, Mr Green was an inexperienced pilot flying at a height of 20,000ft above Deal in Kent. He said: "If you had said to me, 'Is there any chance there would be any aircraft in the sky that you haven't seen?' I would have said, 'No chance.' "But suddenly, a hole appeared in the bullet proof windscreen in front of me and I immediately started to get covered in glycol (engine antifreeze). I realised I had to get out. I had got as far as taking the weight off my bottom and onto my feet when I was sucked out." The force with which Sgt Green rushed through the air ripped the boots off his feet. He pulled the rip cord of his parachute but nothing happened. As he plummeted to earth at 120mph, the 23-year-old's thoughts turned to his wife, Bertha. "I had only been married for about 12 weeks and I supposed I was seeking my end - for I was sure it was going to happen - through thoughts of my wife," he said. "I remember praying. I wasn't Christian at the time, I am now. "I remember saying, 'Please God open this bloody parachute' and quite magically the wind got under one of the folds with some vigour and kicked me back with a jolt. . "The quietude that hit me had more impact than any noise I've ever heard. and with that I thought, 'My god I'm alive.'" He had joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as an engine fitter in December 1936, and shortly before the outbreak of war, he trained as a pilot. Just 11 days before he was shot down above Kent, he flew a Hurricane for the first time. It was 20 August and Sgt Green had officially joined the Battle of Britain, one of the most crucial battles in British history. Nine days later, he was shot down. After his parachute finally opened, he landed on a farm in Elham. He said: "I sat in a field on my bottom and looked around. The field was full of thistles and cowpats and I thought, 'I've got to walk around this old trash in my stockinged feet'. "Then two blokes came out of the farmhouse with shotguns and realised I was English. "They helped me up and I couldn't stand because I'd been hit, without knowing it, in the leg. "They took me back to the farmhouse and gave me a cup of tea and that was the end of the Battle of Britain as far as I was concerned." Mr Green continued to serve with the RAF, reaching the rank of Flight Lieutenant. BBC video
I realised I had to get out. I had got as far as taking the weight off my bottom and onto my feet when I was sucked out." The force with which Sgt Green rushed through the air ripped the boots off his feet. He pulled the rip cord of his parachute but nothing happened. As he plummeted to earth at 120mph, the 23-year-old's thoughts turned to his wife, Bertha. "I had only been married for about 12 weeks and I supposed I was seeking my end - for I was sure it was going to happen - through thoughts of my wife," he said. "I remember praying. I wasn't Christian at the time, I am now. "I remember saying, 'Please God open this bloody parachute' and quite magically the wind got under one of the folds with some vigour and kicked me back with a jolt. . "The quietude that hit me had more impact than any noise I've ever heard. and with that I thought, 'My god I'm alive.'"
He had joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as an engine fitter in December 1936, and shortly before the outbreak of war, he trained as a pilot. Just 11 days before he was shot down above Kent, he flew a Hurricane for the first time. It was 20 August and Sgt Green had officially joined the Battle of Britain, one of the most crucial battles in British history. Nine days later, he was shot down. After his parachute finally opened, he landed on a farm in Elham. He said: "I sat in a field on my bottom and looked around. The field was full of thistles and cowpats and I thought, 'I've got to walk around this old trash in my stockinged feet'. "Then two blokes came out of the farmhouse with shotguns and realised I was English. "They helped me up and I couldn't stand because I'd been hit, without knowing it, in the leg. "They took me back to the farmhouse and gave me a cup of tea and that was the end of the Battle of Britain as far as I was concerned."