The tiny and ancient Church of St Andrew sits in a field just a few yards from the runway of long-abandoned RAF Little Snoring, home of 23 and 515 Mosquito Intruder Squadrons.
Inside the silent one-roomed church the victories and awards of wartime heros are commemorated on large varnished boards.
There is also a smaller war memorial board (which see on the memorials page) listing those who served and died in the First World War.
"Isolated in a field, is the mediaeval round-towered St Andrew's Church. Inside, total silence, and on one wall, four wallboards, carefully hand-painted : VICTORIES and DECORATIONS & AWARDS. Every claim meticulously painted on as they happened. These historic boards once adorned the Officer's Mess and were saved when the buildings were demolished in the 1950s. Many famous Mosquito Intruder names here, 'Sticky' Murphy, 'Sammy' Hoare, Paul Rabone, even Dambuster Mickey Martin flew Intruder ops from here while 'resting'. I leave the Church and walk up the lane. Very little remains of the old airfield now, but the Control Tower still stands in a sea of wheat. Appropriately, hundreds of poppies are mixed in with the crops. The only sound to be heard is the song of skylarks". (Martin Bull, WW2 forum)
Two large boards have "Victories" with Date, Squadron Number, Crew, Place and Claim; another large board has "Honours and Rewards" with Date, Squadron, Name, and Award (eg DSO, DFM). The Sqaudrons were 515, 23 & 169. Dates range from 1944-1945.
Between the two are several pages behind glass which look like duty rosters or crew lists. They have the names and designations (ie Flight Lt., Flight Sergeant) of some crews with their actual signatures.
These names may seem to be irrelevant now and perhaps long-forgotten but they are very relevant to the families of war heros, the brave men who flew Lancasters and Mosquitos to combat this country's enemies. The story of just one such hero, who happened to be the Little Snoring Base Commander, is found on a separate page. It is dedicated to Group Captain 'Sammy' Hoare.
The full-size photo of each board can be seen when clicking on the thumbnail. A complete listing of all the names, victories and awards can be found by clicking the name under each board (below)
Memorial to 155 Squadron
Little Snoring Church 1950
The Snoring Villages: a website for those researching their family trees, and for anybody curious about the history and whereabouts of these two small villages in Norfolk, UK.
I no longer live in Norfolk. I cannot visit graves, make local enquiries or provide contacts for you. Please be aware that I have no information other than that on this website..
Address: Derbyshire, England
Telephone: Unavailable
E-mail: tricia (at) the-snorings.co.uk
