the GADDESDEN DIARY

the

GADDESDEN DIARYRemembrance Supplement

1918-2018

WINTER 2018-19

www.littlegaddesden.org.uk

The Gaddesden Diary Remembrance Edition 1918-2018

The Legion Remembers

A hundred years ago the war, that was to end all wars, was over. Out of the

aftermath of the worst war the World had known, the Royal British Legion and

the Poppy Appeal were founded

to support those in need. A

century later there are those

who still need that support.

The aim of the event in October

was not only to commemorate

the end of hostilities but also to

highlight the intervening years

of the century in which the

World changed forever. All

families have their own stories

to tell; not only of the residents of Little Gaddesden a hundred years ago but also

those who live in the village today. We wanted to provide the opportunity for

people, of all ages, to come

together to share their memories.

Throughout the exhibition it

became very clear we had

unearthed a wealth of interest

and people were spurred on to

revisit, or even discover, long

forgotten memorabilia or artefacts

of their own.

The comments received, both on

the day and since, have been very

complimentary and very much

appreciated by the hard working individuals who contributed to the exhibition.

May I, on behalf of the Little Gaddesden Branch of the Royal British Legion, thank

all those concerned for their invaluable contribution, support and attendance

which guaranteed the success of the event.

In conclusion, I ask your continuing support for the Royal British Legion and for

the Poppy Appeal. It is important that we continue to honour our sacred promise,

not only to the casualties of two world wars, but also to the generations since

then that have made the ultimate sacrifice - We Will Remember Them.

Air Cdre J B Mitchell, CBE, AFC, RAF (Ret’d)

President of the Little Gaddesden Branch of The Royal British Legion


ORGANISING TEAM

Wendy Mitchell Karen Skinner Lyn Hyde Glenda Cooper

EXHIBITORS

Richard and June Abraham Ray and Eve Domeney Anne Isherwood

Jenny Birks John Mitchell Stuart Green John Allen

Lyn Hyde David and Anne Heard Jane Dickson

Mike Walsham Andrew Sheard Doug Adams Rob Irving

Karen Skinner Sarah Gall Chris Mawhood Tim Cooper

Alison Townsend Great Gaddesden School

ARTWORK and PUBLICITY

Bill Paterson Virginia Westmacott Karen Skinner

CATERING

Glenda Cooper

Virginia Westmacott Jane Murray Carolyn Wise Monica Tisdale

MUSIC PHOTOGRAPHY

Kevin Smith Phil Richardson

SCHOOL LIAISON

Shaun McCarthy Jo Bushe Rev John Russell

MEET and GREET TEAM

Anne Wooster Josie Jeffrey Paul Woods

DISPLAY BOARDS

Courtesy of Mick Thompson and Ashridge House

DISPLAY MATERIAL

Wyevale Garden Centre, Great Gaddesden


Richard Abraham

My small exhibit included a 1914-18 photograph of my maternal Grandfather,

Alfred Fear (Somerset Light Infantry & Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry) in his

Hospital Blues, having been invalided back from the trenches before going back

and fighting in both battles of the Somme. He lived until the age of 87.

Also on display were two of his Second World War Medals - the 1939-45 Defence

of the Realm Medal and his Special Constabulary Long Service Medal with 1940

Bar, along with a photo of my mother's Godmother in her Nursing Auxiliary

uniform. 1916.

Finally, my paternal Uncle, Sergeant Kenneth James Abraham’s, Royal Air Force,

1939-45 Medal, awarded posthumously - he died in an aircraft accident in 1944

- together with the Under Secretary of State for Air by Command of the Air

Council citation, which accompanied the Medal, to his parents.

Doug Adams and Rob Irving - Race to the sea

We have made a number of visits to the Western Front

and the last trip was actually driving the front line,

well the October ‘stalemate’ 1914 line.

We drove to ‘km 0’ on the French, Swiss, German

border - a full day of travel and then walked that area.

We then headed north following the front from

Pfetterhaus through the Vosges hills up to the bloody

battlefield of Le Linge, and on to the reinstated trench

systems of Massiges.

Chemin des Dames, which almost saw the French

army capitulate in mutiny was our next stop. The tiny

hamlet of Vingre where in 1914, six French soldiers

were ‘selected’ by straw poll for not defending with

sufficient bravery and shot at dawn - their final letters home bear testament to

the lack of justice - before wending our way via Cambrai.

The northern part of the front is where the British lines at the Somme and Ypres

are better known - the cemeteries at Tyne Cot and Lijssenthoek are so reflective

you pause for some while.

The race to the sea ends in Nieuwport where the Belgian king took the decision

to open the canal gates and flood the land to halt the advancing Germans.

880 kilometres of reflection.


John Allen - My Father’s War

My Father joined the RAF in August 1941, aged 32. He trained as an equipment

officer and munitions specialist. In May 1942 he was despatched to RAF Tura in

Egypt, to a unit which was

unloading bombs and

ammunition from barges on the

Nile for storage in the caves which

had been created in quarrying

rock for the Pyramids. His arrival

coincided with the peak of the

German advance into Egypt, so

much of the supplies must have

been used in RAF support for the

8th Army fight back.

In January 1943, with the

Germans and Italians in retreat in

North Africa, he was transferred to Kenya, where the main role seems to have

been supply of equipment for a squadron of Catalina flying boats which was

looking for submarines in the Indian Ocean. He was overseas for 3 years and 3

months, returning in August 1945 to serve a further year in the UK, including a

spell as Commanding Officer of a Camp for Italian prisoners of war at an, as yet,

unidentified site.. His long service overseas was recognised by a ‘Mention in

Despatches’ in June 1945.

Jenny Birks

Jenny grew up in occupied Jersey and her exhibits included a number of

fascinating insights into life under

those most difficult circumstances.

In particular, Jenny showed the

remains a radio receiver which her

father had kept, so that the family

could listen to news from London

on the BBC. It was kept hidden

under the floorboards but

discovery would most certainly

have led to him being shot.


Tim Cooper

My table contained a miscellany of Scouting and other books and documents

pertaining to the two World Wars. The highlight was the Scout Group Diary,

written by Bridget Talbot, covering the period from its foundation in 1911 to

about 1919. It lists the names of all the Scouts and Scout Masters from 1911 to

1919, many of whom served in the Army and the Navy in WW1, some of whom

never returned…

Jane Dickson

The display on local men who fought in the First World War and survived had

been researched intermittently over the past four years (and with increasing

determination as the exhibition

approached) starting with the

names on the Church Roll of

Honour. Using local and internet

resources and information and

photos kindly provided by

descendants, the aim was to work

out who these men were -

villagers, those who had married

into the village, Ashridge

servants, men who had come for

work - then to piece together

some details of their life stories. Pre-War professional soldiers, Territorial

Volunteers, boys who joined the Royal Navy aged 14 or 15, young men who

volunteered at the start of the war and those who clearly did not want to fight at

all were all represented. In the process of researching the Roll, another 20 men

were found whose names could now be added to it.

Eve Domeney

Our display was to show what happened regarding the Arctic Conveys and other

Campaigns which men like my Dad Wilfred Birdseye were sent to in the Second

World War.

Stuart Green

20 year old Alan Green was completing RAF Officer training in Torquay on 14th

November 1940, the night his home city of Coventry was obliterated by the

Luftwaffe. Keen to ‘have a go back’, Alan travelled to Canada for airborne training,

before joining 218 squadron Bomber Command.


Alan went on to carry out 22 missions in Wellingtons and Stirlings including the

first 1000 Bomber raid on

Cologne, attacks on the battleship,

Scharnhorst, and a top secret

mission to bomb the Skoda factory

in the Czech Republic.

He was shot down twice, first time

in friendly fire and then over

Holland, after which he became a

Prisoner of War in Stalag Luft 3,

famous for the Great Escape!

After the “long march” of 1945 he was eventually liberated by the Russians,

although he sadly died in 1976, aged 56.

Stuart Green (Alan’s son and LG resident since 1996)

David and Anne Heard

With Anne’s father, who fought in World War II,

and my grandfather, who died at Passchendaele

in World War I, we had a common interest in war

history.

This led to a decision to track down the

memorials of those who died in World War I, and

later World War II, and whose names are on the

Little Gaddesden memorial.


Whilst visiting WWI battle areas we were able to

collect various items relating to the war, such as

spent bullets, bits of larger shells, an old Army

boot, an Army helmet, etc., all found on the battle

fields. In addition, we purchased

other items of interest such as

Princess Mary’s Christmas

boxes to the troops from 1914,

one of which still had some of

the original contents, death

plaques sent to the family when

a serviceman died, and

examples of trench art.

Anne’s mother had made a

collection of her family’s

memorabilia from the time of WW2. This included Anne’s ration books and

identity card, her Mickey Mouse gas mask as an evacuee etc., with newspapers

of the time.

Christine Mawhood - Women in Two World Wars

Women working and volunteering in many different organisations and Home

Front Life.

My mother’s typical three roles with cards and ID tag My aunt’s work with UNRRA

- United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration - in post war Germany.

Wooden items made by displaced persons at Wentorf and Government reports

from information gathered from Women’s Institute members leading to welfare

reform.


John Mitchell - Lightning

The RAF’s Lightning was the air defence aircraft that was fundamental to NATO

winning the Cold War. Neither the Soviets nor the American military had an

aircraft of comparable performance. Its rapid start capability, stunning

acceleration and superlative rate of climb made it the ideal interceptor to counter

the Soviet’s frequent and confrontational infringement of UK airspace with their

long range offensive aircraft. Aircraft were kept at five minutes’ readiness, in UK

and the RAF element in Germany, 24/7, year in year out, to counter this threat.

It was a demanding role but there was also the opportunity for other, perhaps

less onerous, activities which included performance demonstrations at airshows,

16 aircraft formation over London for Winston Churchill’s funeral and several to

celebrate HM The Queen’s Birthday. There were frequent detachments to Cyprus,

and beyond, during emergencies using tankers for air to air refuelling or less

frequent opportunities to attack specialist high threat targets similar to the U2.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 35 years’ service in the Royal Air Force and never

regretted my choice of career. One of the more extraordinary experiences was

being alone in the cockpit of my Lightning above 84,000 feet altitude, just east of

Edinburgh, the exceptional visibility allowed me a clear view of the curvature of

the planet as well as an unhindered view of Scotland and most of England. All

this in a clear sky and sunlit silence; a memory I will treasure until my dying day.

Andrew Sheard - Greg’s War

Andrew displayed some of the material from the Greg’s War collection

(see gregswar.com), which was

the subject of a Gaddesden

Society talk in April 2018.

Greg was Andrew’s grandfather,

and a pilot in the RFC and RAF in

the closing months of the First

World War, flying above the

Western Front. He flew RE8s in

artillery liaison patrols, locating

targets and directing the fire of

our artillery onto hostile

positions. This was the principal

role of the air forces in the Great War - a role that has to a large extent been

undeservedly forgotten today.


Karen Skinner and Sarah Gall - Animals at War

Animals have always played a major part in British life as friends, companions

and helpers. What, until recently, has gone largely unnoticed is the significant

part they have played supporting our military and civilian service personnel in

all the major conflicts of the last 100 years.

The exhibition showed, through a video, the appalling conditions in which these

brave animals lived and

worked and how they lost

their lives (8 million

horses, 1 million dogs and

thousands of pigeons in

World War I alone) as well

as the many ways in

which they have been,

and continue to be, of

service.

Sarah managed to

persuade (don’t ask how)

the Household Cavalry at

Windsor to lend us one of

their saddles from Word War I and a roll of honour highlighted some of the

animals awarded the prestigious PDSA Dickin Medal.


‘Goodbye Old Man’Fortunino Matania (1881 - 1963)

The Soldier’s Kiss

Only a dying horse! Pull off the gear,

And slip the needless bit from the frothing jaws,

Drag it aside there, leave the roadway clear-

The battery thunders on with scarce a pause.

Prone by the shell-swept highway there it lies

With quivering limbs, as fast the life tide fails,

Dark films are closing o’er the faithful eyes

That mutely plead for aid where none awaits.

Onward the battery roll, but one there speeds,

Heedless of comrade’s voice or bursting shell,

Back to the wounded friend who lonely bleeds

Beside the stony highway where it fell.

Only a dying horse! He swiftly kneels

Lifts the limp head and hears the shivering sigh

Kisses his friend. While down his cheek there steals

Sweet pity’s tear; “Goodbye Old Man, Goodbye”

No honours wait him, Medal, Badge or Star,

Though scarce could war a kindlier deed unfold;

He bears within his breast, more precious far

beyond the gift of kings, a heart of gold.

Henry Chappell






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