On 2 December we had, first, an excellent Christmas lunch at the Links Hotel in West Runton. This was followed by a talk by local military historian, Neil Storey.
He continued the theme which he had begun in March, that of Norfolk during WW2. He outlined how before 1939 the UK was not very ready for war and showed photos of the early preparations made by the Home Guard. One good governmental decision was to prepare the east coast defence and mention was made of the many pillboxes that were built. Neil showed many photos both of North Norfolk and of Norwich taken during the war and showed how Norwich was badly bombed during that time. One unfortunate occasion was when it was decided to blow up the middle part of Cromer pier, to deter attackers; however one girder was blown so high it ended up in Cromer market! We should not fail to mention that the Royal Norfolk Regiment was at Sword Beach on D-Day – something to be proud of. Neil’s really fascinating talk ended with a photo of a street party in Fakenham, celebrating VE Day.
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