Hopping (1911): perfect weather; less sickness.

Post date: Mar 04, 2012 9:6:33 PM

Extract from Parish Magazine of October,1911:

The Hopping this year was again a short one—just over three weeks. No doubt the perfect weather had much to do with this, as there was no rain to interfere with the picking.

Our mission work began on Saturday, August 19th, when the station coffee stall was opened to cater for the first batch of pickers. The club room and coffee stall were in charge of Mrs. Riches, who was assisted by Miss Dixie, Miss Crosse and Miss Varville, the two last named also helping with the stall work in the hop gardens. Judging by the number of people who gathered in the room night after night to read the papers, write letters and listen to the piano, this branch of the work was highly appreciated.

The hospital report from Sister Kerr—who this year had with her Nurse Scholefield and Miss Wait—shows that there was less sickness than usual. This, of course, can be accounted for by the glorious weather. There were five in-patients and 525 out-patients (the numbers last year were nine and 614 respectively). In addition eight visits were paid to the encampments. The hospital was open for 18 days.

Mr. Webb, who undertook the lantern work, held nine open-air services at the various encampments and one service in the Church Room on a Sunday night. He reports that the services were well attended—especially those held at Canon Court and Mr. Philips' farm—and the behaviour of those who were present was all that could be desired. The mission work, in fact, was conducted without a hitch, and for this we wish to express our warm thanks to all those who came to help us. There are so many details to be thought of in connection with the work that it is a great advantage to have workers who have been before, and know how things are done. So in the absence of the Vicar and Mrs. Livett we were especially glad to have Sister Kerr, Mrs. Riches and Miss Dixie, who have been through many " hoppings " in Wateringbury.

We also wish to take this opportunity of thanking the resident ladies who kindly helped at the Church Rooms and at the station stall, and all those who helped by subscribing to the Mission Fund and by the loan of horses, carts, &c.

It has been found impossible to complete the balance sheet in time for the October Magazine, so it will appear in the following issue.

The Annual Conference of Mission Workers was held on September 5th in our Church Room, Colonel Warde, M.P., presiding. It was preceded by a celebration of the Holy Communion at the Church, the sermon being preached by the Rev. Percy Collins, Rector of Lydd. In presenting his report to the Conference the Rev. F. G. Oliphant (Hon. Secretary) spoke of the difficulty he had experienced in finding workers this year. Owing to the lack of nurses the children's hospital at East Peckham had to be closed, though happily there had not been much sickness. In the course of the discussion which followed a number of suggestions for the more successful working of the mission were made. Mr. Reynolds, from Paddook Wood, thought that the clergy in London ought to commend any of their parishioners who are hop-pickers to the clergy of the hop districts. The Rev. W. F. Cobb thought that on Sundays more might be done to attract "hoppers" by means of open-air preaching and the exhibition of sacred pictures. At the close of the discussion a resolution was carried unanimously, thanking Mr. Cox, Superintendent of the S.E. & C. Railway passenger traffic, for the efforts he had made this year for the quicker dispatch of the hop-pickers to their homes at the end of hop-picking.