1987 STORM

Old photos, old memories.

This is what we woke up to on the morning of the 16th October 1987. We lived in Old Woking in Surrey at the time and I usually cycled to work but my usual route, bottom left, was impassable. Enormous oak trees had been felled like saplings. Setting off to walk instead I rounded a corner to find a man trying to saw through a large cherry tree which had collapsed onto his car. In the park, bottom right, trees were crisscrossed over the paths and people were wandering around trying to find a route through. Whole avenues of mature trees had been flattened, and hardly a tree was left standing. It was mayhem, and there was no way to get through without climbing over some of the tree trunks. When I walked past the house with the white car it was hidden under the tree which had crashed over it. I took this photo the next day after the tree had been cut up and removed.

I was late for work that day.

Batten down the hatches everyone and stay safe. All the best.