Folkestone Gazette
13-5-1970
Local News
Cigarettes and spirits worth £80 were stolen by intruders
who broke into the Valiant Sailor public house, Folkestone, on Saturday night.
Folkestone Herald 10-2-1973
Local News
Why was the name of
the public house at the top of Dover Hill changed
in 1820 from the Jolly Sailor to the Valiant Sailor? The question is asked by Mr. G. W. King, of Painters
Forstal, Faversham, in the hope that somebody will be able to explain the
intriguing change made more than 150 years ago.
Mr. King, who makes a study of English inn names, recently visited the
Valiant Sailor. “It was built”, he tells me, “in 1780 as both a farmhouse and inn and was
originally known by the more usual title of The Jolly Sailor. The reason for
the change of name appears to have been lost in the mists of time. The present licensee, Mrs. Flora
Ransford, now a widow, who moved into
the house with her late husband 20 years ago, told me that at the time there
was a derelict cow shed in the farmyard, which now forms the inn’s car park.
Until a few years earlier the house had been noted not only for its fine brew
but for its very excellent strawberry and cream teas. Mr. Alf Aird, who was born in the
house and retired from it 27 years ago, was unable to explain why the jolly
sailor became a valiant sailor”.
Folkestone Herald
8-5-1976
Obituary
One of Folkestone`s best known sporting and charitable
personalities has died, aged 89. Mr. Alfred Aird was known to many local people
as a former landlord of the Valiant Sailor, at the top of Dover Hill.
Born and bred at the pub
where his father was landlord, he took over as licensee in 1915. And for
nearly 30 years, Mr. Alf Aird was a familiar figure behind the bar there. Being owner
and landlord of a pub was strenuous enough, but it was only a small part of his
life. Apart from running the Martello Dairy Farm, and tea
gardens, Mr. Aird found time for many other voluntary activities and interests. He was a former committee member of
Folkestone Football Club. A keen
cricketer, he and several other Folkestone residents started the Folkestone
cricket festival in 1926. As well as
being a member of the Folkestone Cricket Club, Mr. Aird was also a member of
the Kent County Cricket Club.
“His knowledge of the
game was tremendous”, his son Mr. Bill Aird told the Gazette on Thursday. “When Kent
played Australia in 1899 he could remember every ball that was bowled”.
The late Mr. Aird was one of a band of men who for many years helped to
provide amenities at Folkestone’s Royal Victoria Hospital. He was a member of
a fundraising group for charities - the Brotherhood of Cheerful Sparrows. He helped organise fetes, the biggest
Folkestone has ever seen, and competitions for the Sparrows. In 1971 Mr. Aird
moved from Folkestone to live with his son and daughter-in-law in Epsom. He
later became ill and was moved to a nursing home in Harrietsham. He died in
hospital at Maidstone, after injuries sustained in a fall.
Cremation will be at Barham on Monday. Mr. Aird leaves two sons, Mr.
John and Bill Aird, and three grandchildren, Mrs. Jennifer Jolly, Miss Alison
rid and Miss Gillian Aird.
 | ||
| Photo from South Kent Gazette |
Folkestone Gazette
15-9-1976
Local News
It was “Last orders” for the last time on Tuesday night
for Valiant Sailor landlady Mrs. Flora Ransford. After being at the hill-top
pub for 24 years she pulled her last pint and bade a fond farewell to her
regulars. There was a pleasant surprise for Mrs. Ransford when she was
presented by Mrs. Emily Watkinson with a handsome clock bought by more than 20
Valiant Sailor regulars. And Mrs. Ransford – who became landlady nine years ago
when her husband “Lofty” died – will take a special scroll signed by the
regulars to her new home in Folkestone.
“I have had a very happy time here, and I would like to
thank all my friends and customers for the support they have given me over the
years”, she said. “I have mixed feelings about leaving but I feel it is time I
retired”. Mrs. Ransford thanked her friends for the clock and the scroll. Mrs.
Ransford, born in Sidcup, spent many years in Nigeria with her husband before
he retired to England to take over the Valiant Sailor.
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