The Great Storm of `87

[ArkAngel]

I was at school at the time and i don't recall the winds being too bad in my area. A few trees down and it showed up some bad workmanship on a few houses.

I certainly didn't get the day off school i do remember the tiles in the false roof would lift at random intervals..that was quite funny. I suppose these days that would be enough to get the health and safety bunnies all fired up and close the school.

 

[Eric_Methven]

The winds were not too bad in Durham that night, just gusty and made the windows rattle. I had fun for days after though going all over with my chainsaw cutting useful bits of rare and endangered species that were on the ground. I made some lovely furniture out of wood I could never have otherwise have obtained.

Eric

 

[Twoflower]

Yup, i was pretty much used to that neighbour running around in his underwear in the middle of the night.

 

[spamel]

I just checked ArkAngels sig line character out. It's true! I've never heard anything so ridiculous! Sorry for going off topic, but that is just amazing!

 

[Goose]

I was on exersize in Germany at the time, we had about three days of solid rain stuck in a forest but as far as I remember no wind at all but so muddy and wet it was like the Somme. Someone managed to phone home and got told about the storms, we, and our kit were just very wet.

 

[xylaria]

I was 14 years old and woke up in middle of the night freezing cold and mouth full of brick dust. We lived in north london in a tall terraced house and the victorian large sash window was leaning into the room by about a foot at top of the frame. The bottom of the frame was stopping it crashing in. I sat there frighten wittless for I dont know how long until the thought if the window came in it was heavy enough to go through the floor and kill my sister below. So I moved my bed in front of the window and got my dad up. The noise was incredible.

Taught me about fear being the mind killer, the wind still scares me a bit. I had sleep in the well ventilated bedroom for months. I got like the sleeping outside feel.

 

[commandocal]

i wasnt born then, Soo i missed something good ey?

 

[Matt Weir]

i wasnt born then, Soo i missed something good ey?

Cal,

Thousands of people had to deal with loss of personal property and around 20 families suffered the loss of loved ones that day so in that respect no.

The upside is that tree experts learned a lot about how tree's and their root systems actually grow and that the downing of a lot of ancient tree's allowed brave new replanting of ancient tree avenues and woods etc to take place.

 

[grumit]

i slept through it but made a fortune for months after selling the logs spent the first part of the day after 60 foot up a pine cutting broken limbs off then the afternoon cutting a conifer off a car the car was onmarked lucky for the guy

 

[swyn]

I remember the first big gust coming through at about 10.30. A gang of us were moving some timber.
There was a large rumble and after looking around we noticed the skyline was different. On closer investigation the difference proved to be one of the local magnificent Cedar trees lying horizontally. Three of these graced the front of the local manor house, one had blown over, roots and all.

Noticing the time may sound un-important but the lives of the two builders who had been sitting in an Astra van underneath just minutes before were saved, as tea break had just ended.
The root ball measured 24' high. I still have a picture of my Mum standing in the hole for scale! The Astra van stood no more than 18'' high and apart from the wheels was completely flat!

The devastation here kept a number of us busy for the next year clearing some 60 acres. On the positive side, timber flooding the market rejuvenated an already flagging timber industry for a further ten years.

One of our machines was wrecked by over working and another had to be purchased (this has since had a ground up rebuild 5 years ago)

We suffered similar damage to a lesser degree in 1992 but were more prepared then. Just as scary though!

Swyn.

 

[ArkAngel]

I just checked ArkAngels sig line character out. It's true! I've never heard anything so ridiculous! for going off topic, but that is just amazing!

It sure is! i knew about the quote years ago but i did a bit of googleing (ouch!) a while ago and found this....strange but true!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sedgwick

 

[rich59]

That night I was heard saying "It's only a bit of wind, Love, go back to sleep".

The next morning I cycled off to my GP practice. Had to carry my bike over 2-3 trees. I was surprised none of the patients turned up.

In many locations in SE England whole south facing hillsides had been completed felled of trees.

The number of crushed cars, under trees, around SE London was quite a sight.

 

[xylaria]

I got up the next day and went to school. I had'nt had much sleep. I couldn't understand why nobody else had turned up. I helped the nuns clear up for the morning and then went home.

 

[stardust]

I remember sitting in school, (I was 8) and our classrooms looked out over the cemetary. The teacher stopped trying to teach us anything because we wouldn't come away from the windows. Every five minutes one of us woulod shout, "oooh look, another tree fell over!"

That bit was exciting. Then my step sister went missing and my mum went out to search for her and got blown over the bonnet of a car, (luckily a still one) then it turned out she'd been at a friends house for tea all along. My mum was not impressed!

The sad thing though was that our dustman was killed. He was very friendly and always used to stop in for a glass of orange juice and wave at us from the lorry. A tree fell on his car and killed him straight away.