To the side of the A140 there is a monument dedicated to the pilots who were stationed at RAF Mendlesham as the 34th Heavy Bombardment Group. Although the air force base has long since been returned to farmland and industrial units, with very few of the buildings and runways intact, the memorial reminds us of our history. In its prime the memorial looked like this,
however, by the time we arrived part of it was missing.
The copper plaque had been stolen! Details about the crime can be read here.
This was a memorable landmark for me as I was able to tease Ian about dropping his phone here. The caretaker’s partner found this when she went to inspect the cut grass. How a lime green mobile survived the onslaught of a large mower, I’ll never know, it did return unscathed.
From Suffolk we headed north to the county of Norfolk and the seaside town of Cromer. Here we had to find the bust of Henry Blogg, a man that can be classed as a true hero.
Henry was coxswain to the Cromer lifeboat from 1909 to 1947. During this time the lifeboat was called into service 387 times, saving 873 in the process. For his services, Henry received the George Cross, 3 Gold Medals and a VC and bar of the lifeboat service amongst his honours. How did a person or persons unknown treat this brave man? Like this!
Fortunately Henry was back in situ watching over the sea that he spent many hours of his life fighting.
My final choice is a landmark that took some researching. The clue was listed as “Roman Bridge”, Lyn Ogwen, near Capel Curig. Looking on the usual websites that I use produced no information, however eventually I came across a site that gave the location but no picture. With this information off we went. How many times have we travelled on the A5 in Wales and like thousands of others before us never knew of the bridge’s existence? We cross over the bridge without the motorcycle’s tyres coming into contact with it. How? Take a look.
The bridge is sheltered under a modern structure from the onslaught of today’s traffic. The downside to this is that a strong wind was created passing through and Ian’s rally control card was nearly lost and his helmet almost landed in the water. Does the bridge really date back to the Roman era? The jury is out on that question.
