Collage Tour - page 1

Surfing on the web I found Lavenham - a village I lived in on and off with my mother's relatives (she was born in Little Waldingfield) prior to and during WWII. I stayed with my Uncle Stan Carter at 13 Church Street - why has someone stripped the old plaster and the plaster Flemish reliefs from its walls? Thanks for the map of the old US bomber base where I used to cycle to carrying laundry to the US guys washed by my Aunt in return for pay for my aunt and sweets (candy) for me - so much a premium in those days. I remember sitting in the aircrew billets awaiting their return in their Liberator bombers. (The base security must have been appalling as we kids were never challenged on entry!!)

Church Street, Mike Hodges

Lavenham is a wonderful place of history but I must admit some sadness when I visited with my U.S. wife and found so much changed even though the façade still remained maybe somewhat the same. What do I mean? A walk down Water Street from the Swan where I expected to find the blacksmith shop where I took a few horses to be shod was now a gift shop, opposite stood the dairy farm where I learned to milk a cow and assisted in a cow giving birth to twin calves was now a residential unit and the farm manager's house apparently a place of interest. Tracing my steps up past the Church I found that the Cock Inn had somehow migrated along the street and past this and round the corner the old Glebe Farm belonging to a Mr Steed where my Uncle Stan was head horseman (the Suffolk Punches there were a sight to be seen!!) was a housing estate. Jack Ashby jacksby@earthlink.net

Lavenham Airfield Stuart Thomson, stuart@lavenham.co.uk Church St. Nancy Clendaniel, nancy@clendanielphotography.com