Two years or so ago I took @helenmoss on a 'walk with a secret' that I came across on the internet thinking that it might produce some photo ops for her 365 project that I had been stalking and enjoying. It turned out to be a very moving experience and absolutely fascinating. The walk passes through Tempsford Airfield in Bedfordshire and passes an insignificant looking barn that you would walk straight past unless you knew the secret. This barn was the site for departure of Special Operations Executive agents who were dropped into occupied Europe during WWII. There are many dusty wreaths and memorials to the agents and to the airmen who risked and often lost their lives on their secret missions. Yesterday I was listening to the news story about a memorial being erected for Noor Inayat Khan, a very brave SOE agent, captured and killed in WWII and it reminded me of our visit. So when Nigel asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday today I requested a dog walk back to Gibraltar Barn. I have been there since my trip with Helen and it looked very neglected indeed but on today's trip just ahead of Remembrance Day, the barn had been swept and many memorial crosses renewed. Descendants of the agents and airmen are clearly rightly very proud of their ancestors. I am attaching links to the Tempsford website (the Agents page makes me shiver but is definitely worth a read - I have a photo of a photo of Lise when very old and was amazed to see some info about Mitterand) , and to Noor who probably flew from a different airfield as she isn't mentioned. I also read 'The girl who fell from the sky' by Simon Mawer which gives fascinating background in novel form. I am going to put a collage together for Sunday to put this close up in context.
Three good things:
1. A fantastic personalised Kindle cover from Rachel and Adam (may feature in a photo)
2. Lovely flowers from Monty who has remarkable dexterity with telephone ordering.
3. Lovely walk and lunch with by husband. http://www.tempsford.20m.com/home.html http://www.noormemorial.org
First a very Happy Birthday Judith & many of them!!!! Clever Monty he is so well trained! Love the sound of the personalized Kindle, that is a very special thing to have from your children!!
Sounds a fascinating & timely walk you had too with a very moving destination. I too was very interested in the story yesterday of the special lady Noor Inayat Khan, her family must have been so proud yesterday at the unveiling of her memorial.
So many wonderful stories have been unearthed this year of so many brave people...you wonder how any one could put themselves into such danger, values in life so high in the war years.
I'm glad they have spruced up that special barn ...a sort of private memorial !
Will look forward to Sundays photo.
Have a fantastic evening with a G&T with your evening meal!
@happypat Thank you! Good thinking on the G&T - the lovely glass of red wine upset my stomach :0( The way these people were tortured and killed and they never gave away info was incredible.
Happy Birthday Judith - I hope you are having a good one and glad you've had some nice pressies from both Monty and the children as well as a nice day out with hubby. We really do owe so much to the brave people who did such a great job during the war. My father in law flew in Whitleys and we still have his flying suit! It's as good as new and I keep saying to Steve we should donate it to a museum or something because it is just put away in our spare garage. It's such a shame. He used to play the mouth organ during the flight to cheer everyone up but he said the noise of the engines on the plane was quite deafening. Brave people who must never be forgotten
Yay happy birthday! Are you a Scorpio then? That would explain a lot... Very interesting shot and story. Its great to discover these hidden historical secrets. Hope you had a lovely day. I'll be working on mine next week...
Very moving and interesting post. I've gone to the websites. It's all beyond words. Love the story of Gunner Mathews and his dog. Thanks for posting. Wishing you a Super Happy Birthday, xoxo...M
Very happy birthday Judith its a great story and i hope you enjoy the rest of your day.Its my brothers birthday today as well and it was mine on wednes day so it seems its a good week for birthdays.
Happy birthday Judith, I remember a photo of this barn ,was it really that long ago,It is good to hear some one has been looking after the place. I think Monty must be the cleverest dogs I know. btw we heard from Snowy's new owners that he is fit & well & happy( I do miss him )
This is such a wonderful shot. Obviously the subject matter is at the forefront but the tones are beautiful and the addition of the poppies makes it so poignant.
I now understand your comment on my shot! Many Happy Returns. I hope your day continues to be splendid and that you have a wonderfully relaxing weekend xx
Happy Birthday Judith! Thank you for sharing this story and have bookmarked the website, also must get the Simon Mawer. Since you mentioned The Glass Room I've read that and 2 others of his but not The Girl who fell from the Sky. .
Happy Birthday Judith - I was out for the day so missed the event. (See post) Sounds like a fascinating day out and what a story. Peter says he didn't realise you could go there - now he wants to go there too!
@busylady According to the bottom of the website you're supposed to get permission but we've seen the farmers around a couple of times and they haven't said anything apart from 'Hello'. I think if you don't look like hooligans you're alright! We've always done a circular walk starting and ending by the pub in Everton. It's a nice route of about 6 miles max - mostly good paths (WW2 concrete!) but there's a muddy bit near the end - they've treated recently and normal boots were fine. I got the route from Walking World website - I think I had to pay a couple of £ for the map and directions or you could no doubt work it out if you've got an Ordnance Survey. There's also a memorial in Tempsford church I believe but there's something special about the barn.
Sounds a fascinating & timely walk you had too with a very moving destination. I too was very interested in the story yesterday of the special lady Noor Inayat Khan, her family must have been so proud yesterday at the unveiling of her memorial.
So many wonderful stories have been unearthed this year of so many brave people...you wonder how any one could put themselves into such danger, values in life so high in the war years.
I'm glad they have spruced up that special barn ...a sort of private memorial !
Will look forward to Sundays photo.
Have a fantastic evening with a G&T with your evening meal!
Sounds like a fascinating place. So glad to hear people are keeping their memories alive.
I now understand your comment on my shot! Many Happy Returns. I hope your day continues to be splendid and that you have a wonderfully relaxing weekend xx
Sure you're avin it large and so good luck tmo too.. X