Little Gems

The visitors booked, dating from 1923, has signatures of HM Queen Elizabeth 11 and Prince Philip, Sir Winston Churchill, HRH the Duke of Kent who opened Northdown Park on 1st June 1939 as well as many dignitaries and visitors from across the globe. The first signature, on 30th December 1924, is that of S.F. Wilson, from New Zealand.

It's interesting to note the number of ships’ members who visited the Mayor’s Parlour when in port The first mentioned is HMS Curacoa and its Captain, Cecil B. Prickett, and Lt Commander JRS Haines, HMS Curacoa on 31st August 1925. They accompanied Rear Admiral Howard Kelly commander of the 2nd Cruiser Squadron. It is worth mentioning, that this ship was sunk by the Queen Mary on 2nd October 1942 with the loss of 339 lives.

The first MP recorded in the visitor book, is Ellen Wilkinson, suffragette, and Labour MP for Middlesborough East in 1924. She took part in the Jarrow March in 1936. Her signature can be found under 15th December 1927.

One of the treasures of the Charter Trustees, is ‘The Margate Gospel’, a copy of the Gospel according to Saint Luke, which is hand-written by the people of Margate. Each chapter was allocated to a particular Church/School/Group/Organisation and was presented to the Town by Margate Action Group in 2001.