The reason for our trip to this area is to see if we can track down anything about John's uncle, Frances Robin Graham, who was a B17 pilot killed when his plane went down over the North Sea. The crash was caused by flak from other American planes crashing into each other as the planes in front of the formation received orders to abort the mission before the communication got to the planes in the rear.
Many of the old airbases still exist or the runways are evident still; many have been returned to the farmland they once were. Rattlesden, John's uncle's base, is still somewhat intact because it is used by a gliding club. The two story tower still stands and looks very much like the towers you see in the old war movies with John Wayne and others. We visited this base about 6-7 years ago with an escort but we wanted to go back and do some more exploring. It's not very impressive looking, is it? Not until you stand on that balcony and look out at the airfield.....I'm getting ahead of myself. We got into the area around 1:00 and had plans to meet our new friend Mary for lunch at The Gardener's Arms in a little village called Tostock (pronounced tosstic) at two. We met Mary on our trip to Oberammergau and since she's a very special person, we want to stay in touch. She's American and lives only about 65 miles Rattlesden (which is outside Bury St. Edmonds for those of you who know the area or are looking it up) and it seemed like a good idea to meet so we could get to know each other better.
Since we were early, we took advantage of the time and visited The Brewer's Arms in Rattlesden, the most likely pub that John's uncle would have frequented. We had been told that there is a pub somewhere in the area where the airmen and servicemen had signed the walls while they were there. This seemed like a likely candidate. Parking was a bit tight this Sunday afternoon, so we asked a fella we saw if we could park in front of his house. One thing led to another as it usually does for us and while we were telling him and his wife about our search, she mentioned that in a small village nearby, Buxhall (pronounced Buxle), there was a craft shop that had a museum in the back with a lot of WWII memorabilia and we should check it out. Not knowing how significant this tip would be, we put it on our " to do list" and said we would.
We went into the pub and found some photographs of a B17 and a few of the airmen, but nothing else. We were pleased, however, that the locals were still displaying 70 years later some acknowledgment of the role "our boys" had played in their country during this world's war.
Time to go meet Mary and after a very pleasant two and a half hours and too many desserts (I am so going to regret this!), we parted better friends and John and I went on to our bed and breakfast.
What a lovely place Oak Farm Barn in Rougham is, located in another little village with an airbase located 10 minutes from Rattlesden. It was an OLD barn that Ray and Rachel and their builder son dismantled down to the studs. Rachel said the scariest part was when they jacked it all up to build the new foundation under it and it started to sway! There was a big lounge on the upper story with a huge window for relaxing, happy hour and eating breakfast. Downstairs through this glassed wall and outside was a patio that looked over the hedge to a field and paddock with four horses. We took advantage of all the spaces the two nights we were there and enjoyed every minute.
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