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An RAF biplane force landed to the west of the village. The co- pilot had bailed out and the other pilot had landed the plane. When we schoolboys arrived, the RAF were taking the engine out. The next day everything had gone.

A few weeks later a ‘Hamdon’ bomber force landed to the East of the village on a field known as ‘Hundred Acre Field’. When we arrived three L.E.P. lorries were having the parts of the plane loaded on to them.

One foggy night a ‘Blenheim’ bomber crashed a quarter of a mile further East from where the ‘Hamdon’ went down. Next day four of us young boys went to have a look at the site. A very fed up RAF guard was standing near the bushes to stop anyone taking away any parts of the plane. The smell of the burnt flesh will remain with me for evermore.

One Sunday morning we were out with our Ferret, looking for rabbits. The ferret had gone down a hole and had not appeared for a while. I had my head down the hole listening for him, when the whole earth shook. The ferret appeared immediately and I grabbed him. At this moment we heard the sound of bombs and saw three ‘Blenheim’ bombers flying very low with the pilots visible in the cockpit. They were heading for King’s Lynn and the Wash. We found out afterwards that the planes had been captured in France, loaded with bombs and flown back to England by German Pilots. They then used our planes to bomb the area around Gayton on their way to King’s Lynn and the Wash.

One stormy night while I was still attending school a ‘Barrage balloon’, broke free and was blown over the village. It was taking roof tiles of the houses as it went. It had caught its cable in the shafts of a farm wagon and stood the wagon on end. It was just heavy enough to anchor it. The Home Guard tried to shoot it down. As the fabric was self sealing nothing happened. If it had caught fire it would have come down and set light to the farm buildings. The RAF arrived with and ‘Anchor lorry’ and brought it down and deflated it.

One Saturday after my schooldays had finished, a ‘Mosquito’ crashed in my fathers chalk quarry. Being made of wood it quickly burnt out. For two hours bullets were exploding; flying all over village. One engine prop had buried itself in the top edge of the quarry leaving one part sticking up in the air. Part of the pilot’s leg still in a ‘Flying Boot’ was found on the Grimston Road. At this time I was working for Mr.A.F.P. Hill, the local builder. On the Monday I was repairing the police house roof and found several items from the cockpit in the gutter of the roof.

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