The full album of Gathering photographs, taken by Andrew Emptage. Enjoy!
Gathering Memories September 2018
People came from near and far, by plane, train and car, for the first Emptage / Emtage Gathering. They came in good humour, with the intention of enjoying themselves and contributing to the success.
It was a truly uplifting experience.
Gathering at the Viking Ship and Margate
There was no set programme on the Sunday but a number of suggestions for people to visit depending on the time they had available before leaving to make their way home. These included the Viking Ship, St John’s Church and Margate Museum.
WW1 Military Biographies
We honour the memory of all our ancestors who played their part in World War One at home or away.
So we are pleased to present short biographies of all those whose names we have found in the military records.
Gathering at the Orangery
On the evening of the Saturday, thirty three of us gathered at the Orangery in Margate for dinner.
Not only was a fine time had by all but a surprise announcement was made.
Margate Lifeboat Men
When we visited the Margate lifeboat, Nick Smith, the archivist, had extracted the names of Emptages from the RNLI records, with their dates of service. He also provided a list of notable services and some historic photographs. This is an attempt to identify those Emptages.
As our research progressed we became aware of the uniqueness of the surname Emptage and a growing belief that the ancestors of all the Emptages and Emtages spread across England and the rest of the world today not only originated in the small Isle of Thanet, on the eastern tip of the county of Kent, in England but that they were probably here in Anglo-Saxon times. And so began a worldwide study of the name.




