Since 2015 Society members have been writing a weekly article for the South Wight Chronicle, our local newspaper.  It’s a labour of love that we inherited from the late Fay Brown, who provided the paper with a local history page for many years.  Ths South Wight Chronicle ceased publication in July 2024, but resumed in November 2024 as a monthly publication.

A few articles from the past are available below –  we add these occasionally when there is interest in the subject.  All the articles, and Fay Brown’s Local History Pages, are digitised and saved in our Collection Database, which is available for people to access in the Heritage Centre.

Buried in Bonchurch: Lieutenant General Sir Robert Arbuthnot (First Published 20 June 2019)
Among the many gravestones in St Boniface churchyard in Bonchurch there is one for Lieutenant General Sir Robert Arbuthnot KCB, KTS , whose portrait is shown here and who died in 1853. One of the church members contacted us to ask if we could solve the mystery of why such a distinguished and much decorated British Army officer, whose home was in London, should be buried here, and this article looks at his life and explains why he was ‘Buried in Bonchurch’.
Read PDF version here: Buried in Bonchurch

Are You Being Served?  Sharpe’s Department Store in Ventnor (Parts  One and Two)
Two articles based on the memories of  Jenny Nigh (later Gardner) and Margaret Longbottom (later Davidson) who worked at Sharpe’s department store in Ventnor High Street in the mid-1960s – the title taken from the BBC sitcom ‘Are You Being Served’, set in a department store and broadcast between 1972 and 1985.
Read PDF versions here:
Are You Being Served? Sharpe’s Department Store in Ventnor: Part One (First Published 9 July 2015)
Are You Being Served: Sharpe’s Department Store in Ventnor: Part Two (First Published 16 July 2015)

Bath Road, Ventnor (First Published 13 January 2022)
The road from Belgrave Road to the Esplanade was named Bath Road. The reason for this was as a result of the common belief in Victorian times that salt water was a cure for everything from bruises to hysteria. A ‘bathhouse’ had been constructed at the western end of the esplanade for patrons of the Ventnor Hotel (also known as Fishers Hotel after its first Manager, John Fisher). After a dip in the sea, patrons would enjoy a hot bath. The bathhouse remains to this day and is now ‘The Spyglass’.  Guests would travel down the steep hill from the Hotel to the Bath House and so it became known as Bath Road.
Read PDF version here: Bath Road Ventnor

Station Memories (First Published 6 January 2022)
From the late 1920s travellers and staff alike would have sought the warmth of the Refreshment Room at Ventnor Station to escape the wintry weather. Over the years there were several different proprietors. Initially run by the Dixon family of Mitchell Avenue, it subsequently was run at different times by the Channings, (Gwen along with two Burke sisters from Wroxall managing it on a day to day basis with help from Molly Lush), Aubrey Randall of Bonchurch, and lastly Vi and Ken White who took on the mantle for the 18 months up to the railway’s closure.
Read PDF version here: Station Memories

Captain Bernard Augustus Beavis MBE (First Published 20 January 2022)
Bernard Augustus Beavis was a Captain with the Clan Line Shipping Company, plying between England and the rest of the world. He was born in Whitwell in 1908, the son of Frank & Edith Beavis (nee Slaughter), one of twelve children and spent most of his life at sea, with the latter years as Master of his ship. He saw service in WWII as Chief Officer on board M.V. Anglo Canadian in 1942 in the Vizagapatam Roads in the Bay of Bengal, India, when the vessel was attacked by Japanese torepedo bomber aircraft for over two hours, eventually succumbing to a direct hit and set on fire. He was awarded the MBE for Bravery at Sea as a result of his actions when under fire.
Read PDF version here: Captain Bernard Augustus Beavis MBE

Regel Bus snowbound near Wroxall [First published 27 January 2022]
In December 1927 a blizzard raged across a large part of southern England, right from Kent to Cornwall. One to two feet of snow fell in that period, but in exposed places, huge drifts formed. The Regel Bus (driven by Fred Lawson) became snowbound in Wroxall on its trip back to Shanklin from Ventnor, at the point where Johnny Dore had his allotments. [Article updated post-publication in SWC to reflect accurate location of Johnny Dore’s allotments.]
Read PDF version here: Regel Bus snowbound near Wroxall