The Chatham News IndexThe Chatham News IndexFROM 1885 UNTIL 1987 the Chatham News, latterly the Chatham, Rochester & Gillingham News, was printed and published by Parrett & Neves (now Parrett & Neves Investments Ltd). For much of its history the newspaper provided an accurate mirror of the Medway towns of Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham in Kent and is now a rich source of reference for researchers and historians.
Without some sort of aid, making full use of microfilmed newspaper files is arduous and time-consuming, evenso hardly a day goes by without several researchers delving into the Chatham News files at local reference libraries.
When he retired as Head Librarian at Gillingham, Parrett & Neves Ltd. invited Norman Tomlinson to compile an index to the files of the Chatham News. This was originally intended to be of recent years and to be primarily of benefit to to our own journalistic staff. However it became clear that an index would be of value beyond our own offices and Mr. Tomlinson was commissioned to work back to the first issue in 1859.
Sadly, this arduous task was never completed due Mr. Tomlinson’s death. While this work was in progress, files of all back numbers were microfilmed and copies became available at local libraries.
Although incomplete (it covers the years 1899–1965) it is felt that an index to the Chatham News covering possibly the most important period of its history should not be lost. Parrett & Neves Investments Ltd. and White Horse Press Ltd have therefore prepared this version from the data in their possession and placed it in the public domain for downloading, subject to the copyright resrictions below.
The downloadable file, cnidx_r2.pdf, is 1,594Kb. It is in Adobe Portable Document Format for which Adobe Acrobat Reader is required. This utility is free from Adobe, but is also included with many applications and on magazine CDs.
It is likely to be valuable to both local historians and family researchers as Chatham was an important Naval base in both world wars. Casualties, decorations and shipping losses are among the items indexed.
Neither Parrett and Neves Investments Ltd nor White Horse Press Ltd. have file copies in their possession so are unable to carry out research. Copies of the Chatham News are held by the libraries of Gillingham and Medway (formerly Rochester-upon-Medway) Councils as well as the British Library.
Further information about Kent records and links may be found at:
Kent Archives
N. W. Kent Family History Society
Medway Council
Medway Archives
Kent Local A large directory of resources for Kent residents and visitors
ZIP VERSION The Chatham News Index
