THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN IN THE FINDON AREA — AUGUST 1940

Copyright Valerie Martin 2001.

Published in Along the Furlong in August 2002.

On FRIDAY 2ND AUGUST 1940 the sky was cloudy.  Shipping was attacked in the English Channel.  The Germans dropped leaflets from aircraft in an attempt to point out Hitler's "peace offer".  These floated down to be entangled in the bushes and barbed wire.  There was another incident when there were some addressed to the French people to resist the German forces and these were released over the village by mistake.

The Battle of Britain began on 8th AUGUST 1940.

In all, six raiders were shot down around the Findon area on a memorable day of 16th August 1940.  Forty-five German aircraft were shot down over England in total on that single day.

Tony Hammond (who lived in Findon as a boy during the Second World War) said that the above photograph reminded him of the time during the war when several of the local lads went exploring and ended up in that very spot.

There was quite a crowd on one of the tees so they ventured down to see what was going on. Apparently it was a tournament or something.

It was several minutes before the officials caught up with them and they were told to buzz off, but not before they had watched the players drive off, one of whom he believed to be Henry Cotton.

On 23rd AUGUST 1940 the Luftwaffe carried out an all-night bombing raid on London and the Blitz had begun.

Continue if you would like to read about The High Salvington Messerschmitt — 14th August 1940

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — was launched by Valerie Martin in January 1999 and will grow to be a historical record of life in Findon, West Sussex, U.K.