Hastings Senior Men's Forum

His subject was "Out and about". Twenty-odd years ago Mr Ogley was the editor of a weekly newspaper in Sevenoaks, but he chose to tell us about the events which turned him from that role to that of a prolific author, with 20 or so books to his name. Those events were the ones celebrated this year on their twentieth anniversary '“ the Great Hurricane of 1987. Mr Ogley related in graphic detail how he walked through the woods surrounding his house on that evening, woke during the night to hear the howling wind, and with the coming of daylight, found the surrounding forest almost completely flattened. As that day wore on it soon became apparent that an enormous area in south east England had been similarly afflicted, and he and a member of his staff were able to charter a helicopter to fly over it, taking many photographs, which he later incorporated into his first book. To his astonishment this book, written in that November, sold 20,000 copies by Christmas, and launched him on a career as a writer of many other books telling the story of his area of Kent.

Many of the audience were able to relate stories of their experience of the Great Storm, and all applauded Mr Ogley as the meeting came to an end.