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 | The Way We Were !805 & 1945: Tibenham. What should have been beautiful summer weather, (this was June after all), turned into a cold and blustery week-end, more like autumn than summer. This did not dampen the spirits though! For the third year we began with a Soap Box Derby race down Hill Road towards The Greyhound. This year we had the addition of a sleek, aerodynamic Lotus design joining in alongside a bath and a Dalek as well as more ‘conventional’ vehicles. Lotus has set a new distance record which is there to beat next year. This certainly brought out the crowds and everyone enjoyed the spectacle enormously. What will next year bring in terms of engineering feats? After this there was plenty to do at The Greyhound, a flower and produce show at the Community Hall with a 1940’s theme. Along The Street there were the most wonderful scarecrows peeping out of gardens. At the church there was an exhibition to commemorate the village ties with the 445th Bomb Group during the war and to show what some local people did during the war. An ensign covered the font with memories of Nelson for 1805 and a large Union flag hung from the Ringing Gallery. Displays showed the airbase and the 445th contribution to the war. Also themed displays in the windows and across the pews showed examples of domestic and farming items from the war years backed by superb flower displays. We opened the Tower to intrepid climbers who wanted to go up and see the views from the top. There were plenty of takers, of all ages, tours were conducted by two of the Tibenham bell ringers and what a splendid job they did. It’s a long way up and down and hard on the legs! We hope we will have done a little bit to say thank you to all those who fought on our behalf so that we could remain free.
We had a very interesting visit from members of the 701st Airlift Squadron, who descend from the 701 Bombardment Squadron (1943-45) at the airfield in May. They had just flown over from South Carolina to Mildenhall to take part in the VE Day anniversary. They were thrilled with the church and with the 445th Memorial. Many thanks for coming to see us to: Major Craig Bartosh, Major Kevin Schmedeke, SMSgt Lamar Tate and MSgt Ben Alexander of the 701st Airlift Squadron.We were thrilled that you could see the church and the 445th Memorial. |
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