Festival of Remembrance
Last week 6 of our cadets attended the Royal British Legion's Festival of Remembrance parade at St Michael's Church to honour those whose fought for us in the past and continue to do so in the present.
One of our Corporal's Lily had the honour of reading a piece of text written by Anna Howard, the daughter of RAF Squadron Leader Guy Bacon. Anna attended the Festival of Remembrance and we were lucky enough to have a squadron picture with her that day.
The following piece of text was written for the Festival of Remembrance specifically by Anna Howard.
“My name is Anna Howard and I was 5 years old when war broke out. My father was in the RAF, Squadron Leader, Guy Bacon, He originally joined the Navy in 1918 and went to naval college and after training joined the Naval Air Service and became a flying instructor after World War 1. Later, the Royal Flying Corp merged with the RAF.
My father, during the war, was stationed at a variety of RAF bases. I have never discovered why service men were moved so often during that time but it was the reason why our family lived in so many different places.
As a young child at the outbreak of war I remember the look on people's faces which were sad and worried and I also remember going into a shop and buying blackout material
Finding accommodation for us all was a real problem, though not for my father, who could always live on the RAF base that he was stationed at between our various moves. In between moves my mother and I lived with my grandparents in Dedham, whilst my brother was at boarding school at Framlingham. Throughout the war years the various homes we lived in included:
A furnished Nissen Hut on the edge of a field
A flat over a shop in Slough High Street
A Lodge cottage in the grounds of a Manor House
A flat over the lavatories of a public house in Wiltshire (which actually turned out to be one of the nicest!)
A bungalow in Dedham
A flat opposite a bacon factory in Wiltshire
A house opposite the guard house of RAF White Waltham - when my father was C.O. there.
A flat in a cul-de-sac off the High Street in South London
A bungalow in Ickwell Green in Bedfordshire, which is the only home we had to share with the owner
A House at Felixstowe Ferry
I always smile when I remember the home at Ickwell Green. The owner was a middle-aged lady who was very fussy. She wore very dark woollen cardigans, thick stockings and stout shoes. On wash days she used to drape her hand washed garments, fresh from a squeeze through the mangle, around the kitchen to dry near the old kitchen range. Food was always scarce during the war, with strict rationing, but occasionally we would get some kippers, of which my father was very fond. One morning the lady took my mother aside and asked her "Would you please not cook kippers in my kitchen as the smell gets into my underwear!!"
All this moving about must have been very difficult for my parents and particularly my mother. I don't think my brother and I were especially upset by it all even though we had to keep changing schools and make new friends. So many other families were in a similar position.
It taught us children to be adaptable, if nothing else!
From 1945 to 1954 my father was posted to Bawdsey Manor as Adjutant. Bawdsey was the birthplace of operational radar. Radar was an innovation crucial to Britain's defence in World War II. In 1936, the Air Ministry established a top-secret research station there, By 1937, RAF Bawdsey became the world's first fully operational radar station, forming the first link in the 'Chain Home' network that would prove vital in the Battle of Britain.
Radar enabled the outnumbered RAF to detect and intercept incoming Luftwaffe aircraft, conserving limited resources and proving instrumental in the fight for air superiority. The work at Bawdsey continued throughout the war, with scientists and WAAF operators developing systems to detect low-flying aircraft and even V2 rockets.
Following World War II, Bawdsey Manor remained a vital RAF base. becoming a master radar station and training school for the Cold War era. The post-war era saw the replacement of the original Chain Home system with more advanced ROTOR radar technology, featuring rotating dishes used to track Soviet aircraft. The base also housed Bloodhound Mkll surface-to-air missiles from 1979 to 1990. RAF Bawdsey ultimately closed in 1991, with the transmitter block later opening as a museum that details the sites history.
Since the closure of Bawdsey Manor, I am honoured to be a member of the RAF Bawdsey Reunion Association and we meet once a year for a social event and dinner.”
