THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com reated by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

 FINDON IN THE LATE 1970s

Text copyright Valerie Martin 1999

In the mid-seventies, I have discovered that Findon was a thriving community with many shops supplying the inhabitants with most of their day-to-day requirements. These included two grocers, a butcher, a fishmonger, a greengrocer, a hardware shop and a bootmaker. These trades were to slowly vanish in the ensuing years.

The seventies were a busy time for cricket at Kennel Bottom and other sportsmen alike in Findon. The Sunday XI played Midhurst and look very happy about the outcome on the day as they posed for their photograph.

From left to right in the back row are Keith Groves, D. Nicholls, C. Green, M. Gill, P. Powell, S. Towers and the umpire, M. Rumsey.

In the middle row are R. Richards and S. Duffield; the others are unknown.

Cross-legged in the front is M. Stewart.

1976 was a year of drought and entries of ewes and lambs at the Fair in September dropped to 6,000 plus 550 rams.

By 1977 the average attendance at the school in Findon was one hundred — the older children of the parish attending the school in Angmering.

It was in 1977 that the Secretary of State published a proposed route of the A27. This followed the existing A27 Arundel Road west of the A24 and passed to the north of the residential areas of Worthing and Lancing. It appeared that Findon would still not be affected.

In September 1977 there was a remarkable drop in animals at the Sheep Fair. An extraordinary low entry of only 4,000 ewes and lambs. The number was the lowest since the Sheep Fair of 1921 when there were 5,000. However, despite the low entry numbers, the actual cash turnover for 1977 was the highest in the history of the Sheep Fair, due to the improved rates.

Entries took an upward turn in 1978 when the Sheep Fair was held on Saturday 9th September and the numbers on offer were back to normal. They comprised 9,500 ewes and lambs for sale and 450 rams and ram lambs. On the night after the Sheep Fair, a large lorry crushed the small timber built store-cum-office that had been standing on the Green since 1947. Later a new store was erected on the same site.

John Goodwin from London told me in 2002 that the owner of Kybo (when a youth at boarding school) would receive letters from his mother which ended with the reminder of K.Y.B.O.  

Nita Whitehorn, just up the A24 road in Washington was the one to tell me that Kybo = "Keep your bowels open".  She believed the owner incorporated the initials into several of his horses names.   Its now over twenty-years since poor Kybo suffered an injury at Ascot which necessitated  him to be put down.

The seventies were rounded off with another successful jumping season for Josh Gifford at the Downs Stables.

The Sheep Fair had a presentable number of 12,000 animals offered for sale in September. From that date the numbers gradually dwindled as Findon entered the 1980s.

ANOTHER LOVELY STORY.... emailed to me by Carol Gladman at the end of February 2007....Dear Valerie, I so enjoy looking at your website, and keeping in touch with life in the village.

Looking at the 'villagers past and present' item, I thought you might like to include a photo of a past 4-legged villager, well remembered by many in Findon. This is Pepper, or Peppi to all who knew her, helping my mother, Jill Brown, with the daily shop at Wintons.

In the latter years she was always accompanied by my father, Hylton Brown, on their walks through the village.

Peppi died many years ago, and sadly, both my mother and father are now gone, but I am sure that many people will remember Peppi and her master.   Keep up the good work with the website!   Carol."

Continue if you would like to read about the death of Mick Ockenden in The Voice of Findon.