ÔRound
the TableÕ
The group held
its first meeting of 2010 on January the 21st at the village hall. It was a
round table type event which gives members a chance to
discuss meetings and outings planned for the year ahead.
There was a great
deal of interest from the 25 members present to the recent purchase of a
W.H.Goss, china cup, saucer& plate, know as a trio, depicting the arms of
West Dereham Abbey. The item was noticed on the e-Bay auction site by a friend
of Pam Bullas who contacted other members with the idea of purchasing it for
the village archives. Richard French took up the purchase, he is a very
frequent user of e-Bay, and was able to secure the items by bidding on the groups behalf. It was located in Sleaford so it had not gone
very far.
Many of our
readers will remember these little souvenirs of holidays when crested ware, as
it is now known, was a cheap gift to bring home to remember the event.
W.H. Goss started
his factory at Stoke on Trent in the mid 19th. Century and it continued under
the family name until 1929. Small domestic items were added to the range in
1886 and curtailed in 1916. It consisted of mainly nursery ware, small mugs,
cups plates and bowls and trios. These were all on a slightly larger scale than
the normal items being intended for the occasional use. The items we have
purchased come from this period and carry the hallmark used during that time.
The range of the crests fired on to the china was vast,
every seaside town had its crest adorned on little urns and vases. Abbeys and
Fonts were also produced, Towns and Cities and during WWI, Tanks, Battleships,
Balloons and Aeroplanes. Some of the rarest pieces are
Animals and in particular the Tiger. Over 500 agents were listed in 1909 who would have supplied the china to retailers. Goss
collecting has become worldwide reaching a peak in the 1980s,prices
have declined in recent years.
The programme for
2010 was finalised and there will be two events that will be open to the
general public who might like to attend.
The first is a
visit to the Sutton Hoo burial site in Suffolk which
will consist of a small coach party on either 17th or 24th. April. More information
will be published in March.
In May the very
popular Norfolk writer and broadcaster, Keith Skipper will be at the village
hall for 7.30pm with a talk entitled ÒSquitÓ, that will be on the 20th May.
Seats will be
available so for an evening of Norfolk humour, book now on 500030.
A
large package of 19th.
Century documents which were lent to the group last year by a West Dereham
family have been examined by Liz & Paddy Murfitt, Richard French and Cyril
Masters and the information obtained which is relevant to the history of the
village recorded and some of it stored on CD for future reference. A large map
made in 1873 was of particular interest because it recorded many of the old field names and covered most of the village. Thanks to
Liz and Paddy who had to work with a very difficult material to record the main
items of historical value. The principle landowner at that time was Huge Aylmer
who resided at Abbey Farm. The building you see there today was erected on the
order of Mr. Aylmer in 1892-3 just a year before he died.
Marriage
Customs
The March meeting
took place on the 18th at the Village Hall when we were delighted to welcome
Anne Barnes who gave a talk, With this Ring, a light hearted look at marriage
customs through the ages.
It was a very
informative talk which the 14 members present found to be most amusing at times
but also full of facts and figures which proved difficult to keep up with in my
notes. Anne does have a circuit in the area and so if you get the chance to go
and hear her talk, do go, it lasts about an hour.
Keith Skipper
will be along next month with his ÒSquitÓ so if you plan to come along we look
forward to making you welcome. Refreshment will be served during an interval or
at the end depending on how thirsty the speaker gets. Make a note now, 20th May
at 7.30pm.
Sutton
Hoo and
Woodbridge Tide Mill
On the 24th
April a party of 22 members and guests boarded a coach for the journey to
Woodbridge, Suffolk and the 7th century Anglo-Saxon burial site at Sutton Hoo.
The field is high
up overlooking the river Deben and in 1938 a local archaeologist, Basil Brown,
who did work for the Ipswich Museum was asked by the then owner of the Estate, Mrs.
Petty to make a preliminary examination of a large burial mound.
Mrs. Petty also
provided two of her Labourers to assist Mr. Brown with the task.
Brown started
work and by all accounts was very careful and thorough in his excavations. It
was the discovery of a significant number of large iron rivets which made Brown
realise that laying beneath his feet could be an ancient burial ship dating
from the 5th century long after the Romans had departed these lands.
In 1939 the main
discovery was located intact in the middle of the ship, the burial chamber
itself. It was here that one of the greatest treasures ever found in the
British Isles was discovered where it has lain undisturbed for 1300 years.
It is thought to
be the burial of the great Saxon King, Raedwald who died in about AD625.
Basically the boat would have been hauled up from the riverbank to the high ground which looks out to the sea. A large hole dug to
accommodate the ship and the body placed in the middle plus all the Kings
personal belongings including his weapons. This was then roofed over with a
timber covering and the soil heaped up to a substantial height to create the
mound.
At the outbreak
of the war most of the treasure had been removed and the site was then covered
over to protect it. Further work was done after the war right up to 1968 and
the shape of the boat could still be seen to this day if it was uncovered.
The site now
contains a Visitors Centre, Treasure House, Picnic and
Play area as well as scenic walks to the burial site itself with its collection
of mounds and was donated to the National Trust in 1998. The Visitors Centre
was completed in 2001.
For me the
Treasure House was the most amazing place with its full size replica of the
burial chamber and the contents laid out in the positions in which they were
found.
The gold and
silver artefacts were most breathtaking, a belt buckle, sword fittings which
are made of gold, so exquisite was the workmanship it was difficult to believe
they were made 1300 years ago. The most iconic piece is the Helmet of which
there is a reconstruction of the remainder as found and a full size replica.
One has to realise that although the gold, silver, bronze and enamel
antiquities remain almost in the same condition as when buried all iron, wood,
leather and textiles items will have rotted away, wood tends to leave just its
shape in the soil.
Iron rusts but
its shape remains and can be preserved over time with modern techniques. All
the original treasure is held at the British Museum in London and can be viewed
there.
Some of us had
lunch in the Restaurant others took along a picnic which
on such a lovely spring day was just the thing.
After lunch a
short ride on the coach brought us to Woodbridge and the Tide Mill with its
adjacent granary.
There has been a
Tide Mill on the site for over 800 years and records show it passed down
through family members throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. By 1939 it was
just one of 9 surviving working mills and continued working until 1957 when it
finally broke down and was not repaired. An electrically powered grist mill did continue to mill grain for livestock feed.
To save the mill
from collapse it was purchased at auction in 1968 by Mrs. R.T.Gardner and
founded the Tide Mill Trust. After extensive restoration it was opened to the
public for the first time in 1973.
How
does a Tide Mill work, very simply actually. A large enclosed pond is created just a bit up stream
from the mill which is located on the bank of a tidal
river.
As the tide
starts to make, rise, come in from the sea the water is able to push open the
gates of the pond which is now empty and starts to
fill it. At high tide this flow stops as the tide starts to ebb and the water
return to the sea. The pond is now full and the water starts to flow out which
in turn causes the gates to close thus trapping the water. This water can then
channelled to pass under the water wheel, know as an undershot wheel and thus
drive the attached machinery. This gave 4 hours work to the wheel twice a day.
The rest of the
workings are similar or the same as any Windmill. The water wheel itself is 18
feet in diameter and drives a 22 inch share axle which
weighs 1.5 tons.
The wheel has 56 elm ÔfloatsÕ or paddles and it weighs about 3 tons. It turns
two pairs of stones at the same time but with adjustment, just the one.
At the moment the
mill is not working due to the axle shifting off centre and the wheel has to be
restored as the floats need replacing. It is hoped
that this work will be started in the not too distant future.
The two chaps who
were on duty were most helpful and gave those interested a guided tour over the
three floors. There were lots of milling artefacts, bygones and photograph to
see as well. One of the most interesting was the detailed auction poster from
1968 when the mill was sold to Mrs. Gardner. What did she pay I can hear you saying, well it was £7000.00, which I think was a lot of
money for the time.
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West Dereham
Heritage Group is delighted to announce they have been awarded a £12,000.00
grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to develop and furnish a Heritage Room in
the Village Hall. There are numerous conditions to this grant including a time
scale. The emphasis will be on education and the involvement of Schools and
Youth Organisations, to aid education and research. The project, on completion,
will be available to villagers, the general public and school parties.
Most of the work
will be done by WDHG in conjunction with the expansion and restoration of the
Village Hall which will commence this summer.
There will be
more publicity on this award via the various media in the coming weeks.
All
of the form filling connected with the application was conducted by Ruth
Marsters who was aided by a small steering committee of members. They will continue to supervise the
conditions of the grant up to completion.
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On the 29th of
April an evening meeting was held to welcome our guest speaker Mrs. Win Smith
(nee Barker). Win was born in the Village during 1920 and is the youngest of
seven children. Lived at Watering Cottages when the rent was £5 per year and
continued to do after she left school. She met her future husband at a dance in
Gooderstone and married in the early 1940s. By this time she was caring for her
elderly parents and continued to do so after she married.
She remembers her
Father as a very strict religious man who attended the
Methodist Chapel and at times was very bad tempered who did not always treat
his family in a Christian manner. As a child Win remembers they were well fed
and clothed and used to walk to school, across the fields in summer and by the
road in winter. If they arrived wet their clothes would be dried out round the
fire. Most winters were hard and there was always lots of snow. She remembers
the Headmaster as a rather cruel man.
Win left school
in 1934 and at this time her Father was 66, suffering from arthritis while her
Mother had MS so as was the usual duty of the youngest daughter at that time,
she stayed at home to look after them. Kind neighbours would look after the old
folk if Win wanted to go out at all and on the Saturdays evenings when there always social events taking place in the days before
televisions. After the war she and her husband used to help with whist drives
and dances as at the time they were raising money to build a Village Hall. In
1946 Win and her husband moved to Boughton to run the local pub.
Keith
Skipper
Congratulations
to Cyril Marsters on his recent literary award from the Cambridge Association
for Local History. His book Ò In Harness at HistonÓ was one picked out of over
200 looked at by the Association for an award in the Local History Book Awards
for 2009.
The book details
CyrilÕs daily life working on the Chivers Farms from 1944 to early 1948. Much
of his time was spend tending the fruit growing area and working with heavy horses which were still used on most farms at that time.
Cyril has
published a previous book which is an account of his
life after being born in Kings Lynn to arriving with the family at Wilburton
Station where his father was to take up the post of Station Master, entitled
ÒBoy on a BranchÓ. He is also a co-author of an account of the Stoke Ferry -
Downham Market Branch Railway.
On the 20th May
we were delighted to welcome Keith Skipper, Man of Norfolk, who gave a two hour
talk in local dialect on various topics with lots of funny stories and
memorable characters he has met during his life in Norfolk. We had a break for
refreshments and a raffle, our speaker Ôgot a bit dryÕ and Keith mingled with
the audience for half an hour and I was able to tell him a Norfolk joke he had
not heard before. As soon as I had spoken a few words he interrupted me and
asked how long I had Ôbeen this wayÕ, I said 35 years, why do you ask, well he said you sound like youÕre from Yarmouth. Absolutely
correct, I was born there and lived in the area till 1960. It just goes to show
how keen his ear is, able to detect the slight differences in the Norfolk accent
that exists in many towns and villages.
We had a packed
village hall that night which included some visitors from the surrounding area.
Keith likes to
explore any rivalry that may exist between local villages and makes fun of
those little incidents from the past and quoted one that still goes on to this
day in that Cromer and Sheringham have this ÔthingÕ about who has the best
crabs and lobsters. So our audience was boosted with, as Keith called them,
reinforcements from Hilgay, Stoke Ferry and Wereham. Note, names in
alphabetical order, not an indication as to numbers attended and many thanks
for coming, we enjoyed your company. Keith and his wife arrived in good time
but with a fault light showing on his cars dashboard. The AA were called and
found the fault and he made note of the fact that now the AA know
where West Dereham is. He made mention of his visit in his piece for the
Eastern Daily Press Sunday Supplement on the 29th May and that
even natives who know most corners of Norfolk do need occasional
reminders that there are two Derehams. East Dereham, a growing town in the
centre of Norfolk but not to be confused with us rural upstarts here in the
West.
Sunday the 23rd
of May members of the group took part in the Wretton at War event by kind
invitation of the Wretton Historical Organisation. Staged with the help of the
Heritage Lottery Fund we all had a lovely day, the weather being sunny and
warm.
Several of our
members went in period dress and we had a display of 1940s publications
which included newspapers, recipe books and magazines. Every day items
shown included gas masks, steel helmets and identity cards
It was a
fantastic day with a great many people taking part and lots of displays of
items from the period which included, for obvious
reasons, a large military presence. See our website for pictures taken on the
day.
Village
Walk
The Group meeting
on the 17th of June was another village walk conducted by Richard French with
contributions from Ken Barker and Fred Lucas. Meeting up at the Village Hall on
a very fine summer evening 28 members moved off up Church Road. Over to the East
stands White House Farm purchased at auction in 1894 by the Glover family on
the death of Hugh Aylmer when the West Dereham Estate was put on the market. It
has remained in the family until quite recently.
Some historians
also believe this to be the site where Hubert De Walter was born and it is
recorded that his Mother, Matilda, died in the Village in 1198 and was almost
certain to have been buried in the Abbey.
A little further
along is Hill House Farm where, at the beginning of the 20th century stood a mixture
off agricultural buildings with a farmhouse and row of cottages, of which, only
the latter survives.
At the junction
of Bath Road stands the dwelling that was the White Horse pub
which has been a private home since 1964. All of the other properties on
Bath Road are modern, built within the last 40 years. The Church stands on the
high ground to the west and is presently undergoing another stage of the
restoration project this time dealing with the age related erosion to the South
Porch and the Nave windows.
On arriving at
the highest point of Bath Road one can look out to the North towards the A134
and the site of The Grange and Gibbert Lane which is where
the Mill stood.
To the east is
Anzac quarry where much of the ballast for the Stoke Ferry Branch Railway Line
was extracted. Just below this was the Searchlight site during WWII and in fact
the field was from then on called the Searchlight Field.
It was at this
point we were by the home of Keith Gore who being known to both Ken and Fred
was introduced to members and was very happy to confirm the sites of both the
Roman Baths and the searchlights. Keith was born in the Village and takes a
keen interest in preserving local knowledge and old farm machinery.
The Roman Baths
were excavated in 1969-70 and some fine mosaics were found as well as other
artefacts. They date from the 2nd century AD and had been known about from the
mid 18th century and probably remained in use until the end of Roman occupation
in 410 AD. The baths were fed by a spring and from which the Village took its
water supply for many centuries after the Romans had left these shores.
Everyone enjoyed
listening to Keith reminisce about West Dereham and the changes he has seen in
his time and members were most grateful that he was able to talk with us. A
slow walk back to the Village Hall being half hour later that expected for
refreshments and thanks to Richard from the Chairman, Jack Walker.
I n conclusion I
offer my sincere thanks to Ken, Fred and Keith for their contributions without
which the evening would not have been so interesting and entertaining and to
all the members who attended. Last but by no means least to Ruth who manned the
Village Hall and provided a splendid array of snacks along with tea and coffee.
KingÕs
Lynn Walk
We have been to two meetings this month with the
first at Kings Lynn with another of Dr. Paul Richards walk and lecture on areas
of old Lynn.
Our starting
point this time was the Tuesday marketplace close to Stair Page Lane. It was in
this area that those unfortunate people convicted of witchcraft were executed
usually by burning. The heart carved into a lintel on the building opposite is
said to be a reminder of an incident when a victims
heart burst from the body and hit this building. It is recorded that this house
was that of her accuser.
There are several
14th and 15th buildings in the area all of which are in excellent order.
This part of the
town is a much later addition to that of the Saturday market area and the
dockside was much closer to the back of the Corn Exchange than it is today. You
can still trace the line of the dock edge in the car park there now.
Moving on into
Chapel Street and past St. Nicholas Chapel we entered TrueÕs Yard which is now
known as TrueÕs Yard Fishing Heritage Museum .It features two restored
fishermanÕs cottages which were once part of North End fishing community.
This area was a
very close knit group of people with their own traditions and way of life
centred round the fishing industry right up to WWII. The museum captures the
harsh realities of fishing as well as the traditions and day
to day life in such a crowded community. Some of these tiny cottages
were home to as many as 15 persons often sharing just
two rooms. Children slept 6 to a bed, 3 at the top end 3 at the bottom.
The whole family
would be employed in some aspect of fishing with much preparation being done
inside on the floor.
The Trustees have
recently been able to purchase adjoining buildings which
included Michael TaylorÕs tattoo parlour which he had owned since the mid 70s.
He converted much of the back area into living accommodation for himself but in
doing so he actually preserved the Smoke House of which there were once 9 in
Kings Lynn.
It was thought
that none had survived until this one was revealed during restoration work to
the rest of the building. Smoke houses were common in the 19th century and were
used mainly to cure Herring, Silver Darlings as they were called along the East
Coast. Smoking over slow burning oak sawdust preserved the fish so it could be
transported with out going off and the finished product was sent worldwide.
Bloaters were
lightly smoked whereas Kippers had a much longer curing time and turned the
flesh of the herring a rich mahogany brown. Great Yarmouth tended to place more
emphasis on pickling in brine for export to Europe but still maintained smoke
houses for their traditional bloaters.
The museum has
been able to extend and now includes the Smoke House for visitors to view. It
has remained almost intact from the time it was last used although some of the
equipment used to prepare the fish prior to curing has been reproduced from old
photographs so that visitors can now see the process right through to the final
product.
In an outside
area is fully restored and rigged Lynn fishing smack,ÔActivityÕ built in 1904.
These vessels were very manoeuvrable and ideal for fishing the Wash and North
Sea. These boats were often towed out by steam paddle tugs in lines of up to
ten, this was not because they were unable to sail out but a matter of speed,
get out on the tide as quick as you could and get fishing. Fishing on Sunday
was another common practice for East Coast fishermen and was the cause of a
near riot when they went down to the Cornish coast in the winters leading up to
the turn of the century as Cornish men never fished on a Sunday. Lynn and
Yarmouth boats fishing on Sunday landed their catch Monday morning and prices
would be good, Cornish boats would not land until Tuesday morning thus being at
a disadvantage.
We were pleased
to meet a volunteer of the Museum who is a Northender himself and remembers
much of the North End before the decline of the late 1940s
which by the middle of the next decade fishing for herring from the East
coast had ceased.
Visit to Fairhaven and Woods
Our second outing
of the month was a visit to the workshops of Fairhaven & Woods, the
stonemasons who have contracted to do the restoration work to the Porch and
Nave windows in St. Andrews Church.
The Business which is owned by Lady Fairhaven operates two
Stonemasons yards, one in Bottisham, Cambridgeshire, which is the one we
visited and other is in Norwich.
The work for the
Church was in progress during our visit so we were able to see new technology
at work using computer controlled saws and diamond-cutting tools transforming
the quarried stone into workable pieces.
Stonemasons
finish the work with traditional methods before finally fitting and cementing
into place at the Church.
They work with
limestone, sandstone, granite and marble the majority of which is from UK
sources.
They are able to
produce all types of stonework that often involves delicate tracery panels,
windows, doorways, columns and balustrades. All the work is of the highest
standard and this is demonstrated by the level of repeat
business.
The work of stone
carving, sculpture and letter cutting are all undertaken and some photographs
of previous work were quite awesome in the beauty of the finished item.
Pam Walker
organised the trip which was an addition to our normal
programme and members were most grateful to Rob Humphreys, the
stonemason/manager, who conducted our visit round the workshop and yard.
It was a
wonderful opportunity to see first hand the work being done for St. Andrews.
Restoration Work St.
AndrewÕs Church
Work on the
restoration of the Porch and Nave windows of St. Andrews Church is well under
way and some members have been up to look at the progress. The Stonemason in
charge is a very helpful person and is pleased to see Villagers taking an
interest in the work and welcomes visitors.
We as a group
have been fortunate in obtaining some of the old stonework taken out of the windows which we intend to preserve in some way. Most of it
has decayed so much that it is of little use unless you have a drive or roadway
you want to make up with some hardcore. Some, however is worth keeping and we
have the complete top of an arch which although in cut out pieces it can be
re-assembled. It is hoped to be able to use this in some way in the future but no
final plan has yet been formulated.
These windows
were not so old as was thought, 14th century, they are actually less than 300
years. This has been verified by the Stonemasons as
they were made of ÒclunchÓ which is a type of chalk stone that was probably
quarried within 100 miles of here.
To conclude, on
behalf of the Group, to thank the people who keep the Churchyard and cemetery
in such good order. When I think of what is was like some years ago, over grown
and uncared for it is a pleasure to look at these days. I donÕt know who you
unsung heroes are but I thank you most sincerely for all the time and effort
you put into keeping the area so beautiful.
Re-enactment
Members Liz and
Paddy Murfitt have been involved with re-enactment for many years
which covers what is generally know as the Civil War period. A time in
history from 1620 to 1660, the year the monarchy was restored and Charles II
took the throne.
Members gathered
in the village hall as usual hear a lecture and demonstration given by Paddy,
Liz was unable to attend due to work, about their hobby of re-enacting periods
in history. It is by no means a new thing, it was popular during Roman and
Victorian times as both generations entertained themselves re-enacting battles
from the past. Today events staged by re-enactment Groups and Societies can
range from Knights of the Round Table, English Civil War right up to WWII as
was demonstrated at the Wretton at War event in the early summer when that
period, WWII, was re-lived by those taking part both in dress, food and
entertainment.
Paddy takes the
part of a Parliamentarian well to do tailor and as there are no surviving
garments other than those which are in museums then he
has to make all his own clothes in the manner of those from the early 1600, by
no means an easy task. Patterns are not available so he has to rely on
illustrations from the period. In recent years help has come from the film
industry because of the need for greater accuracy in the way costume is
depicted many more patterns are available.
Paddy does make
all the garments he and Liz wear when at events much of it from traditionally
woven wool and silk It is all hand stitched although he admits to trying a
sewing machine it did not really work. It was a very austere time and English
dress for the average person with the Parliamentarians under Cromwell was much
simpler and plainer than their Royalist rivals.
Paddy had a
number of garments to show us and everybody was very impressed as to the
quality of his workmanship, from the fine hand stitching, embroidery and
beautiful hand made buttons. Buttons are made from wool, silk and metal, silver
or pewter. Metal buttons were cast then finished off by hand to work out
blemishes in the casting. Many of the Ladies present were most interested in
the cloak which when fastened by many small buttons down each side became an
overcoat and of course vice versa when they were undone. It would look
fashionable worn today. There were also examples of shirts and waistcoats,
jackets with pantaloons, dresses with aprons and all manner of headwear.
Footwear is made from leather as are gloves and
military equipment. High leg boots were straight, no left or right foot.
Paddy also makes
furniture of the period from English oak but in such a way that it can be taken
down and to use a modern day term Òflat packedÓ simply to make transporting it
to events easier and less bulky.
Also on display
were reproductions of everyday items like plates and bowls, weapons, cutlery
and glass made items. Cutlery only just coming into use at that time, in fact
forks had only just been invented, just a few being imported into England
through ports like Kings Lynn from the Netherlands then known as Holland. So if
you had a fork to add to your usual spoon, which could be wood or metal, and
knife then you were likely to be quite wealthy and influential.
So youÕve got
your period clothes, furniture, eating utensils, now what do you do? Well you
should be a member of your Civil War period group or society in your area which
will enable you to take part in a re-enactment events which will be organised
by them at a site or venue where they have expressed a desire to see you all in
action so to speak. Paddy is a Tailor so he will have a tent which will be set
out to look like a shop where his work would be on sale and around it all the
everyday articles and things that such a man and his family would have had at
that time. They then proceed to act out the day to day
activities that would take place in such an establishment. They do have to be
careful about lighting of course, candles can be somewhat dangerous under these
conditions, there are quite good electrical alternatives however.
Others will be
adding to this scene by being a Blacksmith or Carpenter, a Butcher perhaps
while those who prefer action will be taking part in the battles by acting as
Musketeers, Artillerymen and Cavalry and these occupations are not restricted
to the men, ladies are welcome to participate providing they have the right
equipment.
Where the cannon
come from IÕm not sure or the horses for that matter but all the horseboxes
parked up must have something to do with it.
Their rivals the
Royalists have style too but the average male would not look all that different
from his opposite but the leaders who supported the King had a much more
flamboyant garments with silks and feathers. A far more expensive undertaking,
I think I would stick to the cheaper option, being on CromwellÕs side.
Paddy
was thanked by our Chairman,
Jack Walker for one of the most interesting evenings we have had since we
started four years ago, everybody was so engrossed I thought they would never
go home.
The Fens at War
Officers of the
group held a meeting at Hilgay Road to plan next years programme and discuss
the possibility of another coach trip to a place that will interest most
members.
The work to
refurbish the Village Hall is likely to start soon so the group will probably
hold future meetings in the Church. Grants obtained by the Village Hall
Committee have reached about £85,000.00 plus the Village TrustÕs contribution
bringing the total to £185,000.
Fairhaven &
White have completed another phase of the work to restore and stabilize parts
of St. Andrews Church. The Church is open for worship again and the Harvest
Festival was one of the first services to be held in the Church since it closed
to allow the new Nave windows to be fitted. There will be a Christmas Eve
Service with Holy Communion and Carols at 11pm
The Group meeting
in October proved to be another popular open to all event
when a packed hall welcome again Mike Petty with an illustrated talk entitled
ÒThe Fens at War 1939-45Ó.
With the recent
70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain it seemed appropriate to remind
ourselves of the huge sacrifice so many of our parents and grandparents made at
that time.
The Fens of West
Norfolk and Cambridgeshire did not escape the conflict in spite of the areas
isolation. In many instances it became a front line zone because this large
flat area became home to so many Airfields and other military installations.
At the end of
1939 many Villages were involved in the war effort from Digging For Victory,
issuing gas masks, taking in evacuees, which in most cases was compulsory to
forming the Local Defence Volunteers, later re-named The Home Guard.
Air Raid
Precautions units were formed as the Spanish Civil War had given the world an
example of what concentrated bombing from the air could do to towns and cities.
By early 1940
rationing started to take hold of everyday life and many foodstuffs were in
short supply.
Day to day life
would not be normal again for a decade. Self help was the way for a lot of
towns and villages, we grew most of our own vegetables and fruit, kept a few
hens in the back yard, collected jam jars for Mum and any spares went to the
WomenÕs Institute ladies. There were Beetle and Whist Drives to raise money to
build Spitfire fighter planes, iron railings were collected to boast metal supplies,
aluminium pots and pans donated to provide the metal vital to aircraft
manufacturing.
It became
essential to produce more food in the UK as World War one had seen the German
submarine campaign in the Atlantic take a huge toll on our merchant shipping
bringing in food and materials from the Empire and North America.
History was to
repeat itself in this aspect of the conflict and farming was put on a war
footing having been neglected for years due to cheap imports from abroad.
War Agricultural
Committees were formed mainly of farmers and Government advisers to show others
modern farming methods and to increase mechanization.
A great deal of
land in the fens was pasture and the Committee went round ordering farmers and
landowners to plough it up. Posters went up in rural areas showing a tractor
and driver half in sunlight, half in moonlight with a slogan underneath in
large letters, Plough, By Day and By Night.
The WomenÕs Land
Army was re-formed having been raised in WWI and on one occasion in 1940 a group
of the women were picking potatoes on a field in Cambridgeshire when a couple a
large highly polished cars pulled into the field from a nearby drove. Who
should get out but the King and Queen, George VI and Queen Elizabeth along with
a few Officials, all these moral boasting trips were kept very secret for
obvious reasons. They spent 15 minutes talking with the women many still in
their teens and taking an interest in all the work that was being done to bring
in the 1940 potato harvest. One little interesting aside to this event was that
there were a small group of men working in the same field but apart from the
others. The King And Queen did not go over to speak with them and they were ignored by the rest of the workers. It would seem
that these men were all conscientious objectors and had chosen to work on the
land rather than put on a uniform.
The area saw
increasing militarization, barracks being built at Ely
which saw its first occupants come home from the beaches of Dunkirk. Concrete
blockhouses appeared near to many by roads and defences were put up in towns
and cities often being huge walls of sand bags. Shelters were put into gardens,
schools and streets as Cambridge suffered one of the first air raids of the war
on the 19th June 1940. Many shelters became flooded because they were below the
water table.
Observer Corps
watched enemy aircraft movements and were able to
contact the Royal Air Force control rooms to indicate numbers, height and
direction of enemy planes. There were aircraft down all over the Fens both
friendly and hostile, far more of the latter of course. RAF Grange at
Littleport later moved to Ely and the Battle of Britain came to an end in 1941
and although air raids continued not on the same scale as the Nazi regime had
turned itÕs might on the Soviet Union.
At the beginning
of 1942 the United States had entered the war and began to deploy the 8th Air
Force into East Anglia and the Fens for the daylight bombing of Germany.
Airfields were
being built on these ideal flatlands along side which were
the bomb dumps and the railways were employed to move them from the
ports. A bomb loaded train moving at night was approaching Soham station when a
fire was noticed in one of the wagons which along with another wagon and
locomotive were detached from the train by the driver and his fireman who then
attempted to move the burning wagons up the line away from the station but
unfortunately only got as far as the signal box before the wagons exploded. The
signal box had all but gone and the locomotive was blown to pieces along with
the driver and his fireman. Their bravery and quick thinking had saved a whole
village from disaster as was graphically illustrated by the photograph of the
incident in the Cambridge Daily News the next day.
The war went on
relentlessly but people enjoyed life when they could, it was not all work and
no play. Villages were bombed but the dances and concerts were popular and the
pubs were the hub of local social life. Food and clothing rationing continued
right up until 1953 but farming was starting to pay dividends, food production
had gone up dramatically culminating in the record harvest of 1944. D.Day came
with the invasion of Nazi occupied France by the Allied armies and the end of
the war was in sight which came in May 1945 when the
conflict in Europe ceased.
Mike was born
just after the war and he ended his talk with, ÒThis is where I came in so itÕs
here that IÕll finish, thank you all for coming.
A
vote of thanks was given by Jack Walker.