Derrick Sykes, the Flight Engineer in one of the Halifax Bombers that crashed near woods at Fontaine l’Etalon on 25th June 1944 should not been flying that day. He was due to be married and his leave had started that morning. However the raid being early he chose to fly Read more…
76 years ago today 102 Squadron set out on a daylight bombing raid to target a V1 Flying-bomb launch site at Montorgueil Farm. The V1 Flying bomb, also known as the doodlebug, was developed in 1939. The first was launched on London on the 13th June 1944. At its height Read more…
James McCudden V.C., D.S.O and Bar, M.C. and Bar, M.M., Croix de Guerre, is one of our Great War heroes. James McCudden joined the Royal Engineers in 1910 as a boy bugler but by the outbreak of war was working as an Air Mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps. By Read more…
As I write this, the borders remain closed and we await news of when they will reopen. As France is at last able to begin deconfinement, we offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who continues to respect the travel restrictions, reducing the spread of the virus. May and June are Read more…
This week we commemorated the centenary of the death of Sam Pickersgill on behalf of his family. They had stayed with us in 2014 and had planned to return in person on the 21st March this year. When France went into lockdown this became impossible so they sent the wreath Read more…
Yesterday we took advantage of a glorious afternoon to walk to Martinpuich British Cemetery. Many of our guests have asked how well the cemeteries are faring during lockdown and photographs seemed the best answer. The CWGC have changed the way they work, replacing teams of gardeners with individuals working alone. Read more…
We were pleased to welcome the grandson of Thomas Leslie “Jack” Axford who won the Victoria Cross at Le Hamel serving with the Australian Infantry Corp on 4th July 1918. We set out together to walk in Jack Axford’s footsteps. The tracks and field boundaries are such that we could Read more…
On a recent visit to Flatiron Copse Cemetery John and I were pleased to see that the stones left by the family of Alexander Russell were still in place. With one stone to represent each member of the family it is clear that he is well remembered. Read more…
Our first commemoration of 2020 took place in London Cemetery by High Wood. It was just the two of us, John with his camera and me with flowers and a small wooden cross. We had received an email from the niece of John Davidson who was killed on the 3rd Read more…