We are very pleased to present the latest history article by Alan Langley. Alan describes the history, including photos, of the East Farndon Age Concern team, which ran for 28 years through the 70s, 80s and 90s. Please click the link above to access the article directly or use the menu to visit the village history home page.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us us at the East Farndon Village Hall, on Sat 21st Dec, for the Laugh Out Loud Theatre Company, professional production of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Everyone had a great time and please click this link to see some photos from the evening.
Back in March 2024, Jack Beesley and Will Evans presented a plan to the East Farndon Parish Council to renovate the bench on Lubenham Road, East Farndon, as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Jack presented a very eye catching design and the project was gratefully accepted by the Parish Council, with a budget agreed of up to £100 for materials. The renovation team of Jack Beesley, Will Evans and Alfie Freeman set to work to clean up the old metal bench and then re-paint using their design. Click this link to see photos of the team and the renovation work. The project was managed well within budget and reported as complete at the Parish Council meeting in May 2024. The finished bench looks superb and many village residents have commented on how good it looks and that the design very much reflects community life within East Farndon. The Parish Council is very grateful to Jack, Will and Alfie for their hard work, innovative design and excellent support for our community. The team were very professional in the planning and execution of their project and definitely achieved all of the objectives set. They have created a lovely on going asset for the residents of East Farndon to enjoy. Well done Jack, Will and Alfie! Posted on behalf of East Farndon Parish Council.
Many thanks to everyone who joined us at the Remembrance Service at the East Farndon War Memorial on Sunday 10th November 2024 and afterwards at the Village Hall for tea and coffee. Huge thanks to the War Memorial team for organising the event and raising a fantastic total of £235 for the Royal British Legion. Also, many thanks to Corporal Oliver Burton, Royal Corps of Signals, for laying the wreath on behalf of the parish. Click this link to see some photos from the event.
Many thanks to residents in East Farndon who supported the Halloween Trick or Treat trail around the village on Saturday 2nd November, everyone had a great time! Bonfire night is now very close and so please make sure that you enjoy yourselves and stay safe. Click this link to see Bonfire Night safety tips from the Northamptonshire Police & Fire Service.
Thanks for attending the 80’s Party Night held at the Village Hall on Sat 19th October 2024. Please click this link to see a few photos.
Home-Start Daventry & South Northants is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting the welfare of families with at least one child under five years of age and living in West Northamptonshire. They offer a unique service, recruiting and training volunteers to support families.
Volunteers visit families in the families’ own homes on a regular basis giving informal, friendly and confidential support that helps to increase parents’ self-esteem and confidence in their parenting ability. The volunteers also help run groups, such as school readiness or fitness and fun groups. Sometimes volunteers go on to develop professional careers in related services.
If you are interested in being a volunteer for Home-Start, or perhaps know someone who might be, please visit https://www.home-start.org.uk/Pages/Category/how-to-volunteer
Last week was Bees’ Needs Week, but you can still get involved. Our bees call on everyone to take five simple actions to help pollinators. To sustain bee populations, people can:
For more details and information, please see https://defraenvironment.blog.gov.uk/2024/07/08/5-simple-actions-to-help-pollinators-this-bees-needs-week/.
Many thanks to everyone who purchased raffle tickets and those who braved the variable weather to attend our East Farndon Village Fete on Saturday 15th June 2024. Also thanks to the Fete Committee for organising such a great event and special thanks to Nigel for the use of Haynes Field. Cick this link to see some photos from the event. The raffle raised £950 for the church and the other activities raised £1,300 to support local charities and village initiatives.
Judy Hodgetts has created a special history article to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day which took place on Thursday 6th June 2024. The article, together with some WW2 artefacts, were displayed at our East Farndon D-Day 80 commemoration event. Judy’s very interesting article is a must read and it includes reflections from a number of East Farndon residents. The first page is repeated below, please click this link to read the full article.
The D-Day Landings by Judy Hodgetts
In June 1944, five years after the start of World War II, France was under German occupation. On 6th June that year over 150,000 allied troops landed on 5 beaches across Normandy, northern France in what was known as the D-Day landings. The aim of this mission was to drain German resources and to block access to key military sites. Securing a bridgehead in Normandy would allow the Allies to establish a viable presence in northern Europe.
A combined naval, air and land assault, it remains the largest seaborne invasion in history. It was known as Operation Overlord, codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as the D-Day landings. The landings marked the start of a long and costly campaign in north-west Europe, which lasted until 30th August 1944. It ultimately convinced the German high command that defeat was inevitable.
Early on 6th June, Allied airborne forces parachuted into drop zones across northern France. Ground troops then landed across five assault beaches – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. By the end of the day, the Allies had established a foothold along the coast and could begin their advance into France.
A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself, with more than 5,000 wounded. In the ensuing Battle of Normandy (the entire campaign), 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded. The battle – and especially Allied bombings of French villages and cities – killed around 20,000 French civilians.
Many men and women from East Farndon served in World War II, and although we know where some men were stationed, it is unclear how many landed in Normandy on 6th June 1944. Upon their return home after the war, many men were unable to talk about the trauma they had been through.
Sadly, two men from the village (Sidney Chapman and Brigadier Denis Sanders) were killed in action during the campaign and four other men (Frederick Stanley Allen, Mick Belton, Ernie Piggin and Brigadier Sir Alex Stanier) took part in the landings and survived……….please click this link to read the full article.
