storm of 1987

[Andrew Gale]

I was a 16 year old apprentice bricklayer in Rose Green in West Sussex and spent months rebuilding chimneys, gable ends, garages anything and everything really.

 

The bridleway that ran from my house to the beach was lined with around 20 Monterey cypress; all but 3 got blown down and in one night my childhood play ground was gone. The LA leveled the site with a fire that burnt for about 3 months and it's now a housing. estate.

[agrimog]

that hurricane is the reason your all stuck with the rules and regs that now plague us, so many fly by night, inexperenced, muppetts were hurt with chainsaws that H&S had to come up with a set of "rules" to cover there butts, and they've been getting stupider eversince

[Suffolk-Matt]

Genuinely my earliest memory of was of that storm. I was nearly 3 and my parents where half way through building our extension, we had no windows or doors fitted at the time just plastic sheeting, I remember being shown the roofing slates daggered into our lawn after they had been blown from the roof.

[felixthelogchopper]

I slept through the night of the storm and woke up in the morning to see the big Macrocarpa outside my bedroom window had gone over onto our neighbour's newish BMW. When my Dad and I dismantled the tree (with bowsaws ), we found their car had escaped with just a few scratches.

[Ukulian]

that hurricane is the reason your all stuck with the rules and regs that now plague us, so many fly by night, inexperenced, muppetts were hurt with chainsaws that H&S had to come up with a set of "rules" to cover there butts, and they've been getting stupider eversince

 

I worked for the local council at the time, and worked for 4 months clearing trees around the local parks before they decided that they would send us on a chainsaw and brushcutter course. Fortunately though, I wasn't a muppet!!

So much good timber wasted though.

[hedgesparrow]

87 what a storm force 12 inland barometer dropped to 927. lowest i have seen and not seen since. was clearing major A road for council on night of storms clearing 70ft beech trees as we cleared so more fell down in end baled out as to dangerous to work. worked for 4 weeks for council clearing trees paid for 3 new saws plus a good wedge in bank. once in a lifetime storm of 91 was strong but not on the scale of 87 so many trees lost. but majority of beech should have been felled as at end of life.

and a number of people killed by fallen trees winchester was blocked for over a day for trees to be cleared from roads. also bad floods in lymington lifeboat station was under water had to deflate to get it out of station they went half way up high street taken people from bottom of town. took over six months to get things back to normal.

once seen do not want to see a storm of this force again very scary. :scared:made a noise like a jet aircraft flying low.

[Paul Jenks]

'87 was a lifetime Masters and PhD in broken tree management.

I remember the noise.

I remember the slates whistling past

The trees banging against each other

The warm wind

The mess.

The extraordinary sight of entire plantations flattened with the highest thing being the rootplates.

I remember cutting our way down the lane to my nan's place and her having no idea of the carnage outside, including the 2 bloody great trees that'd just missed the house.

[miker]

remember it well, was 18 i worked with my brother on the windblow,for those who know winchester area,girlfriend lived in owslebury and couldnt get to see her,morestead road looked like a kerplunk explosion

[Robbyrasta]

My memory of the 87 storm was later that year, helping out my forester aunt counting blown over trees in a plantation. I was useful as a kid to climb and weave my way thru the devastion. I had to mark each tree at the root plate, so I could tell it if I had counted it allreAdy. I think it was an over stood plantation of willow. ( now a completely flat mess of willow)

I got bored thru the morning and the can of spray paint in my hand had to be used. I am sure it caused some amusement in the mill once the timber was finally extracted.

[Paul Jenks]

remember it well, was 18 i worked with my brother on the windblow,for those who know winchester area,girlfriend lived in owslebury and couldnt get to see her,morestead road looked like a kerplunk explosion

 

Obviously wasn't that much of a girlfriend. When I was 18 trees wouldn't have curtailed my testosterone:001_tt2: