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Last broadcast on Tue, 20 Oct 2009, 15:00 on BBC Radio 4.
Synopsis
Vanessa Collingridge joins the residents of Mildenhall in Suffolk as they remember the early aviators who took part in an air race to Melbourne in 1934. On the coast she meets the team from the University of East Anglia that is mapping Second World War defences, and near Norwich she sees the human remains that may well shine a new light on the world of Boudicca.
Second World War Coastal Defences
Dr Robert Liddiard at the University of East Anglia invited Making History to visit Walberswick on the Suffolk coast to take a look at some recent discoveries which reveal much about an aspect our wartime history that few have studied.
As part of the UEA Virtual Past project, Rob and the computing team in Norwich have been mapping the coastal defences in Walberswick.
These were constructed in 1940 as part of a much bigger scheme for the entire East Coast. The barbed-wire has long since gone, but we are all familiar with the concrete pill-boxes that survive.
Dr Liddiard showed Vanessa a more important part of these defences that few people know about. These are the trenches that were associated with each pill-boxes.
Rob and the team have used both documentary and archaeological evidence to show that troops were encouraged to remain outside pill-boxes when under attack – unless they were manning weapons.
Pill-boxes appear to be a safe haven, but they were also a death trap when under attack. Troops were much safer in trenches in the open air because they could move and wouldn’t be susceptible to bullets ricocheting around a compact space.
Contact us
As part of the project in Suffolk, Rob Liddiard and the team want to hear from you about your memories of Second World War coastal defences, during the war and afterwards.
Email: making.history@bbc.co.uk.
Useful Links: Walberswick Coastal Defences
Take a look at the project here:
The Landscape of Boudicca
What did Britain look like when the Romans arrived? Our best evidence comes from Norfolk where the county museums service has pioneered a close working relationship with local people and, in particular, amateur historians using metal detectors.
Dr John Davies who leads the team in Norfolk explained that the picture we have for the county at the end of the Iron Age, when Boudica reigned, is of a settled, farmed landscape.
Already by this time, 2,000 years ago, there was little natural woodland left. As for the people in this landscape, we know from the thousands of finds made in the county that they were highly skilled, revered horses and were capable of some intricate and stunning design.
Most interestingly, Dr Davies feels that a recurring motif (three dots) could indicate that they could also write.
Further reading: Land of Boudica by John Davies
"Modern Archaeology is showing Norfolk to be a distinct region of national and international significance. This book traces the story of this area from the Ice Age and the first appearance of people, to the end of Roman Britain. In particular it focuses on the many remarkable and exciting discoveries made across what is now Norfolk, often through the contribution of amateur enthusiasts."
Useful Links: Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery
"Norwich Castle was built by the Normans as a Royal Palace 900 years ago. Used as a prison from the 14th century, the Castle became a museum in 1894."
Useful Links: Norfolk - land of Boudicca
"Leading Norfolk archaeologist John Davies has just published a new book on the perennial favourite rebel queen, Boudica. We asked him to explain what recent archaeological discoveries have revealed about the homeland of the Roman Empire’s most famous British enemy."
The Great Sand Flood
Does a brick on a church at Santon Downham near Thetford in Norfolk mark the spot sand reached during a 'sand flood' in the seventeenth century?
This is what has been intriguing Dr Steve Godby at Nottingham Trent University and Dr Mark Bateman at the University of Sheffield have been examining this event to find out what happened and why.
Talking to Making History's Richard Daniel, they explained that the 'flood' happened in the middle of the little ice age, a time we associate more with the deep cold that froze the Thames.
However, this was also a dry time and combined with the practice of rabbit 'warrening' the light soils of the Brecklands became increasingly unstable and liable to what today is known locally as a 'Fen blow'
Contact us
Dr Godby and Dr Bateman are keen to receive more information on the ‘great sand flood’. So if you have any material please email: making.history@bbc.co.uk.
Useful Links: The Great Sand Flood in Santon Downham
"Between the year 1665 and 1670 sandstorms took place which threatened to overwhelm the village of Santon Downham and silted up the river between Thetford and Brandon. The following is an interpretation of an account given in a letter by Thomas Wright Esq. to The Royal Society in 1668."
Useful links: View from the lab
"Which way does the wind blow? It makes a huge difference to the landscape, says Prof Steve Jones."
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race
On October 20th 1934 20 airplanes set off from what is now RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk at 6.30 in the morning. This was a start of a race to celebrate Melbourne’s Centenary and they were competing for a massive Sir Macpherson Robertson.
The race was organised by the Royal Aero Club. The distance was approximately 11,300 miles and there were 5 compulsory stops at Baghdad, Allahabad, Singapore, Darwin and Charleville, Queensland, otherwise the competitors could choose their own routes. A further 22 optional stops were provided with stocks of fuel and oil by Shell and Stanavo.
MacRobertson Air Race
MacRobertson Air Race poster, 1934
Useful Links: Mildenhall Museum and Suffolk Artlink
Making History was invited to hear some first hand accounts of the race from local people who have taken part in an oral history project organised by the Mildenhall Museum and Suffolk Artlink.
Useful Links: Flight of the Uiver
"A detailed account of the Uiver, a competitor in the 1934 London to Melbourne Air Race."
Flight of the Uiver (from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Useful Links: London to Melbourne Air Race
Broadcast
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Tue 20 Oct 200915:00
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