BACONSTHORPE VILLAGE

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This site has been jointly funded by the village hall and St Mary’s Church as a resource for the village of Baconsthorpe.
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In Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary VE Day

Here is an article from The Norfolk Chronicle on Friday 7th February 1941 about the bombing of the Rectory in Baconshorpe

An East Anglian village was bombed and machine-gunned on Saturday. The village rectory received a direct hit and the left wing was demolished. The rectory stands just behind the church, but knowing the Huns ideas of military objectives, it is possible that the church was the target.

Talking of his experiences the rector told the “Norfolk Chronicle” reporter “I was sitting in the dining-room writing a letter, when I heard a plane go over. I rose and went to the window to see the departing bomber. I then heard the sound of falling bricks, and the windows of the room I occupied blew out. When this happened I was bending down shutting a drawer, so I escaped injury from flying glass”.

The Rector’s wife said “I was upstairs when I heard the plane, so I popped my head out of the window to have a look, when the glass from the window on my left was blown out. I was lucky as I has just left the wing that was demolished. When I saw the left wing blown down I rushed downstairs to see if anyone was hurt. The only casualty was the cook who had her hand slightly cut by flying glass. It seems a miracle that nobody was hurt”.

The gardener said “I was in a shed joining the rectory, talking to one of the Rector’s friends when I heard machine-gun fire. I looked out of the door and saw a long plane about 200 feet up. It was so low I could see the pilot, the swastika on the tail, and everything. I saw the bombs leave the machine which was travelling at a tremendous speed. My friend and I threw ourselves on the ground and saw the corner of the house blow up. We were only 30 yards from the demolished wing. I then rushed out to see if anyone was hurt, but the only casualty was the cook who had cut her hand cut. It was absolutely marvellous how the people in the house escaped. It’s a pity I hadn’t got a machine-gun as the plane was so low it would have made a lovely shot.”

The man who was with the gardener said “With the noise of the explosion, and with the debris flying everywhere, I thought everybody in the house must have been killed.” The Rector later said “The house maid had a miraculous escape, as she was in the room where most of the damage was done. My wife was coming down the stairs with her friend when glass flew in all directions. How the escaped injury is beyond me.”

The windows of the greenhouse adjoining the Rectory were smashed and a bomb which landed in the orchard blew an apple tree in halves.”

A farmer in a nearby village was machine-gunned. He said “I was coming over a field having just fed the pigs. I saw a long black plane coming along very low. In fact it was so low it had to rise to get over a hay-stack, and then it came straight for me. I ran and threw myself in some bushes, and looking up I saw it was a ‘Jerry,’ as I could the swastika and the crosses on it. They missed me, the bullets passing about ten yards from me. A bullet hit the top of the hen coop and took a piece clean out of it. My little dog was scared. He ran home faster than I’ve ever seen him move before.”

Please note that all village events have been cancelled or postponed until further notice.

Churches are closed and all services cancelled until further notice. The Reverend Canon David Longe is organising regular online services which can be viewed from the Matlaske Benefice YouTube channel by clicking here.

The mobile library van is postponed until further notice.

The Post Office will be in the Village Hall every Tuesday from 1.00pm – 4.00pm. It will not be there on Fridays until further notice.

Mandy Honeyman is a teacher and specialist in home education who lives in Baconsthorpe. She has written a helpful article with strategies for coping with self-isolation and home-education please click here to read.

Mandy also has a useful blog with more self-isolation education ideas and resources for parents that can be found by clicking here. She will be updating this regularly.

Paul Nichols from Baconsthorpe has started a blog about his walks and nature observations during the lock-down. Please click here to read.