Amersham, Maidenhead & Runnymede

A mini heatwave gave me the opportunity to get out on Ginny without fear of getting wet. The fact it coincided with Battle of Britain Day, 15th September, was a bonus, as this enabled me to go to Amersham, to try and find the grave of Flying Officer, Peter Cape Beauchamp St John, killed in the Battle of Britain.

I set off about 9:45, arriving in Amersham about 11:10. Amersham is an historic market town, with one of those wide main streets, full of timber framed buildings, coaching inns, etc. It also boasts a market hall, constructed in 1682. 

Amersham Market Hall

I parked Ginny on the main street. A sign said limited to 1 hour. That would be enough time to find Peter, I reckoned. Along from where I parked is the memorial gardens, a beautifully laid out gardens, with a fountain, WW1 soldier memorial, a stainless steel flower bed, in the shape of the Battleship Dreadnought, and most interestingly, 2 stainless steel miniature SE5A WW1 aircraft.

SE5As

The leading aircraft is that of Albert Ball, VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC. He was an English fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories. This is a depiction of his personal SE5a aircraft A8898. He was just 20 when he was killed.

From the memorial gardens, I made my way through the church yard, across the river Misbourne, which is no more than a stream, about 10-15 feet wide, and into the graveyard. I'd done some research on google maps/streetview, so I had a good idea where I was going. A picture of the grave, had also given me a clue, as it showed some trees nearby. My research paid off, as I quickly discovered Peter's grave. It was looking a bit unkempt, with plenty of wild grass growing on and around it, so I set about pulling up all that I could, to make it look presentable. The least I could do for one of our fallen heroes. Tidy up complete, I took some photos.

 

The last resting place of Flying Officer Peter Cape Beauchamp St John

Whilst doing my research, I'd come across something most unexpected, that being, famous people buried in the cemetery. One was a Welsh author, Arthur Machen . Machen was the pen-name of Arthur Llewellyn Jones, a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. I must confess, I'd never heard of him. The second person buried there and the one that really grabbed my attention, was Ruth Ellis. For those that don't know, Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in the United Kingdom, after being convicted of the murder of her lover, David Blakely. Originally buried in Holloway prison, she was exhumed and re-buried in Amersham. Apparently, her grave had “Ruth Hornby 1926-1955” inscribed on her marker, but this marker was destroyed in 1982, hence her grave is now unmarked, though photos I saw showed a few stones to mark where the grave was.

Once again, my research came in handy. Next to her burial place, the pictures showed a quite distinctive grave, close to a wall. I had a hunch that they would probably have stuck her somewhere out of the way, so I made my way over to the far corner of the cemetery. My hunch paid off. There was the distinctive grave from the photo. Though no markings remain, I can claim to have stood by the grave of the infamous Ruth Ellis.

In this patch of ground lies Ruth Ellis

I made my way back to the high street. Time was moving on and as I still hadn't walked the high street, I decided to move the bike, rather than risk a ticket. Just around the corner, was a car park with a motorcycle bay, just big enough for about 3 bikes. There was nobody in it. Parked up, I walk the length of the high street. It really is very nice, with several little mews leading off it. Judging by some of the artisan shops, it is a wealthy area, so rather than head in one of the pubs or restaurants/cafes, I walked back to the other end of the high street and went in Tesco to get a meal deal for my lunch.

 

The Kings Arms Hotel

I ate my meal deal in the memorial gardens, a beautifully presented place, with plenty of bench seating around the edge. With the sun blazing down it made a very pleasant place to have lunch.

Amersham Memorial Gardens

Lunch over, I made my way back to the bike. A big Harley had parked up next to me. There wasn't much room left for anything else in the bay now. I set Tomtom for my next destination and off I rode. The Maidenhead Heritage Centre is barely more than a big house. There's a car park right alongside it but no motorcycle bays, so I popped Ginny in a car bay. The sign board by the pay and display didn't even mention motorcycles, just ways to pay by phone, etc, so hopefully, I won't be getting a fine, as I don't expect to have to pay for a bike!

The reason for my visit to the heritage centre, was to visit the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) Museum. I've read Mary Ellis' book, Spitfire Girl and was keen to find out a bit more. The museum consists of one upstairs room. There are photos on the walls as you go up the stairs and in the room itself a cabinet down one side, with uniforms and other paraphernalia, donated by various ATA members' families. It costs £3.50 for a ticket that lasts for one year. To be honest, it probably isn't worth the £3.50 for a few photos and half a wall of 'stuff', so the year long ticket is probably to make you think you are getting you monies worth. I can't see myself ever going back, so it's a bit of a gimmick. 

There was a 2 minute video before I went upstairs and then I had a personal guide. Nice chap, not sure if he does this for all visitors but he talked me through a few bits and pieces, some of the history, etc. He also gave me a demonstration flight on the Spitfire flight simulator they have in the room. He used to fly, so made it look pretty easy. Reminded me of watching Catherine's son on his computer games years ago. It costs £20 for 30 minutes if you fancy ago or £30 for an hour. Not really my thing. Who needs a fake cockpit, when I'm in and out of the real thing each week? 😉 It was an interesting visit but apart from seeing personal items, log books of some of the pilots and the Pilot's Notes books they used to use (1  page/2 sides per aircraft), you probably won't learn anything that you can't find on the internet. I didn't learn anything over what I already knew, still, that's that ticked off my list. 

I was soon back on the bike and making my way to Runnymede and the Air Forces Memorial. This memorial contains the names of over 20,000 air force personnel, who perished during WWII and have no known grave. As always with these places, it's a very sobering place to visit, as you walk around the cloisters with the walls covered in the names of those who died. One of those names being that of Amy Johnson, who was killed in January 1941, whilst on duty for the ATA, when her aircraft crashed into the Thames Estuary in bad weather.

For those thinking how clever to find Amy in amongst 20,000 names, I must point out that I had a leaflet, that guides you to four names, hers being one. 

By the time I'd walked around, found the four people in the leaflet, taken my pictures, it was 15:45, time to head for home. The memorial closes at 16:00 incidentally, in case you fancy a visit.

 

Runnymede Air Forces Memorial

Back on the bike, it wasn't long before I was on the M25 and on my way home. I arrived back home about 17:10, just short of 7.5 hours after I'd left. It had been a very nice day. The weather was superb, the ride not too bad and I'd accomplished my mission of trying to find the last resting place of my second pilot.

I don't have any other adventures planned as yet, though on my list of To Dos is to pay a visit to the ATA Memorial at Hamble in Hampshire. Maybe I can incorporate that into a visit to the Solent Sky museum, which amongst other exhibits, has a Schneider Trophy winning Supermarine SB6.

That's all for now.

Stay Safe everyone.