Godmanchester Bomber Command Veterans Days 2015
Godmanchester Bomber Command Veterans Day 2015
This was the first event and was held in the impressed Queen Elizabeth Hall, a Tudor building that once acted as a school house. The day was a total success, so much so that it outgrew the Hall in its first year. The Veterans Day was organised by myself to raise money for the Godmanchester Stirling Memorial. With blue skies overhead and the sun shining we couldn't have wished for better weather, The Hunts Post and Cambridge Evening News came along to record the days events and I even managed to get a spot on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, I took veteran Percy Cannings and his wife Bet along.
Left a sensible photo at the BBC , the second was shortly after Jeremy Sallis shouted 'Orgasm'
And flags flew high as the sun shone down
The queues formed long before the doors opened, and to be honest I was concerned that we would get everybody in. But despite being VERY full we somehow copied with the huge numbers of visitors
The veterans put in a real shift, here WAAF Alice Taylor (who manned a Balloon Battery at Battersea Power Station during the Blitz) talks to a visitor, in the other photo four veterans busily sign memorabilia. A line of veterans helping to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund as well as The Godmanchester Stirling Fund
We give each veteran a goody bag each year, filled with Beer, Cheese and Chutney. Here we got some lunchtime photographs for the companies that donated the 'freebies', alas not all of the beers made it back! Percy Cannings, Donald Jeffs, Frank Tilley and Ken Johnson. Alas they have all left us, except for Ken who still comes every year
Donald Jeffs signing a Short Stirling print, and a wonderful photo taken by the Cambridge Evening News.
Cheers everyone...
The Dambuster Cheddar Round gets an outing before it's sliced up ready for the Goody bags
One last photo, and 'Hey Guys' thats my wife
Donald Jeffs had a great day, here he is presented with an engraved tankard by the Manager of the Golden Lion Hotel in St Ives. During his time at XV Squadron he would drink there with his best friend Len Gornall, along with others. In the second picture he is talking with Phillippa Kirby, the Granddaughter of Sergeant Edgar Gould, who was an upper gunner on MacRoberts Reply. It was wonderful for Phillippa to hear about the grandfather she never knew from a man served alongside him all those years ago