Dame Starry

This may bring back memories to our John Llewellyn:

Along the Thames between Chertsey and Staines, is a lovely village called Laleham:



Laleham Abbey, set back from the river, has now being converted to flats, but was once home of the Earls of Lucan, a title associated with misfortune.



The third earl gave the disastrous order to the Light Brigade to attack at Balaclava in 1855 and the seventh earl is still missing after a murder in 1974!
Many Lucans are buried in the local churchyard:



Many other famous people lived in Laleham, including Bob Hope, Gertrude Lawrence and Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales, was a regular visitor at the Three Horseshoes public house when he stayed with the Lucan Family at Laleham House.
Gabrielle Anwar comes from Laleham.

Oh, and my dear Mum (Granny Lovett) lives there!



YDSL x.

Steve Crook

And just upriver a few miles from there, just the other side of Staines, is Runnymede. That was not only the place where King John was made to sign the Magna Carta which was the start of the distribution of power from the monarch. It is also the site of the John F. Kennedy Memorial. The area of ground that the memorial is situated on was given as a gift to the United States of America by the People of Britain, and as such it is American territory. (It is an extraterritorial site in roughly the same sort of way that an embassy is considered to be). So you can travel a few miles up the road from your Mum's, visit America and be back in time for tea

Steve

Marky B

Nice photoes,Starry
Ta Ta
Marky B

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

Dame Starry

I've been to Runnymede many times - it's a local beauty spot and lovely for a walk on a summer's evening. Nearby is Windsor Great Park too.

But Laleham's lovely for a picnic while you dip your toes in the river on a hot day! I used to walk and cycle down there when I still lived at home - and it's steeped in history.
(Also good on a Friday night for parking the MKIII Cortina in the car park.....)

YDSL x.

Mark O

Beautiful pics Dame Starry, I love the River Thames, though the part of the River where I live is nothing remotely like lovely Laleham!

Mark

J. J.

This is a wonderful thread...
Thank you for everything.

batman

Four of my favourite places in Norwich ....

St Peter Mancroft (the church where Mrs Bat and I were hitched)


Pull's Ferry (with the spire of Norwich Cathedral in the background)


Rosary Cemetery (a quiet and beautiful place)


Plantation Gardens (overlooking St John's Catholic Cathedral)

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

David Brent

I must say that flying into England over the famous White Cliffs Of Dover never fails to bring a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye.
I always think of the many world war pilots and air crews who viewed the cliffs on their return to the safety of England after completing their many dangerous missions.

Dave.

Harleybloke

Remembrance Sunday at The Cenotaph.

Tell you can't feel any pride when you see all those ex-servicemen, merchant seaman etc marching together.

.....You couldn't hear it, if they were shooting at me with howitzers!

Dame Starry

I have a great-uncle still lying under the battlefields of Ypres ('Wipers') aged 18 years and my uncle, named after him in honour, is buried at the Beachhead Cemetery in Anzio; he was 20 years old.

I am always filled with great pride - and deep sadness on Remembrance Day.

YDSL x.

Marky B

I take it that your great uncle is lying there with no grave or anything. I apologise if I am wrong. That must be heartbreaking not being able to visit the grave of a loved one. My dad was lucky in the Second World War,but a lot of his fellow merchant seamen went down to a watery grave.
Ta Ta
Marky B

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

batman

My great uncle David was killed in WWI. His body was brought home and is buried in the cemetery at Wingfield Church in Suffolk. The Royal Suffolk Regiment recently put up a new headstone.

My uncle Jimmy was killed in WWII. He died in Changi. There is a memorial to him out there which my brother has visited. My uncle Fred was also in Changi but he survived.

Bat-Quiz 13 is up and running in the competition thread - 24/8/8.

Dame Starry

Yes, Marky; there is a memorial at the Menin Gate cemetery where he is remembered - and also in Cheltenham where he came from. Officially, the War Office had him as 19 years old when he died but he was, in fact, 18.

I was given this explanation about the body:
As you know, George’s body was never found. He was most probably quickly buried by his comrades soon after death and the actual location of his grave lost or, if you look in at the circumstances of the battalion at the time of his death you will see that they were retreating, so his body may well have been buried by advancing Germans. Only in rare cases did they advise the International Red Cross of actual burial locations.

There may be no grave - but I still feel proud that, as a Nation, we can all remember him at least once a year.

YDSL x.

Marky B

I echo that!
Ta Ta
Marky B

I once shot an elephant in my pyjamas - how he got in my pyjamas,I'll never know

Dame Starry

Harleybloke mentioned Remembrance Day and the sense of pride watching the parade at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
Can we have a little bit of Pomp and Ceremony? It’s something that I like about this country – and we do it so well!

We have the Changing of the Guard…..



…at Horse Guards Parade (like Cpt. Blount used to) & Buckingham Palace.

The Trooping of the Colour (for the Queen’s Birthday):



and The State Opening of Parliament:



Does anybody know who these men are and what they're doing?

(Clue: They are NOT Beefeaters!)

YDSL x.