The Blandford Express

Elm Tree Inn, Langton Herring in South Dorset is a 400-year-old hostelry with a colourfully checkered history - that includes smugglers, bouncing bombs, espionage and knicker bunting. Originally leased by the Prince of Wales, it became a known haunt for wreckers and smugglers. Wreckers plundered cargo from shipwrecks. The dangerous shingle banks and deep waters off nearby Chesil Bank led to many local shipwrecks. Folklore has it that wreckers would tie a lantern to a cow’s tail and the gentle up and down motion would simulate that of a ship at anchor. Passing captains would mistake the false light for a safe harbour. Disaster would follow. A fisherman who had cheated others on the size of his catch was chased through the village in 1780 and was hung from a beam at the Elm Tree Inn. In 1834, William Whittle was sentenced to death for smuggling and for assaulting a Revenue Official. Following a petition for clemency, signed by more than 600, he was transported to Australia. The village’s...

In 1966, Stella Lonsdale sold off almost the entire village of Okeford's Fitzpaine a part of the Pitt-Rivers Estate. Locally, Stella Lonsdale was a wealthy North Dorset lady but to Britain’s Security Services she had been a dangerous threat to national security. Furthermore, it seems that neither the British nor the German Security Services were entirely sure on which side she was on. She had various aliases including ‘Suzanne de la Roche’, ‘Simone de Valliere’ and ‘Solange de Leprevier’. Then, there was also ‘Mrs Warner’, ‘Princess Magaloff’ and ‘Mrs Carr-Glynn.’ Stella Lonsdale was born in Olton, Warwickshire on 9 January 1913, the daughter of confectionery salesman Ernest Clive and his wife Stella. Her late partner, George Pitt-Rivers had insisted that properties should be sold off in individual lots to place the existing tenants in a better position to purchase them. The estate had, at one time, been so large that it was said George could travel from coast to coast without leav...

At the time the giant German airship, Hindenberg was the largest aircraft ever built – it was an awe-inspiring sight. With its Nazi emblems, it was the pride of the Nazi Party when it flew over North Dorset during the morning of the 5 th July 1936. However, was the Hindenberg on a spying mission? That was certainly the view of a reader’s letter to the Somerset Standard (11 th July 1936) : ‘Are we in future when this country has been suitably photographed from the air by the Hindenberg to expect showers of bombs and poison gas wherever she has been? That is in the event of a future war. In case the Nazis should at any future date take exception to this letter, I think it more prudent to sign – AYZ.’ Returning from the United States to Germany with passengers, it was not taking the most direct route. It was also making its way contrary to an undertaking between the British & German Governments. This was that the Hindenberg would avoid flying over Britain except when forced to do so...

Langton House was at one time an exceedingly fine country house which could be found a couple of miles to the south of Blandford at Langton Long. Surrounded by trees, it was the home of the Farquharson family and was located on a bend in the River Stour. It had been built for James John Farquharson (1784-1871) who was renowned for his obsession with fox hunting and for his extravagances. As an example, to celebrate his coming of age, he held a great celebration which lasted four days and seated 300 guests. He became a Master of Hounds at Blandford and also the Sherriff of Dorset. Langton House had been built for Farquharson in the 1820s and in the 1840s had a staff of 30 servants. Much later, Langton House became, during World War II, the headquarters 0f the 1 st United States Infantry Division. Known as the ‘ Big Red One’ , they had already fought in Sicily and North Africa. Much of the detailed work for the US Forces assault on Normandy was carried out here. It is believed both Eise...

  At Lydlynch, near Sturminster Newton on the A357 road there is an unusual but unassumingly modest yet strong steel bridge of some local historical significance. It crosses the River Lydden and can be found alongside an older and more traditional crossing which it is believed dates back to the early 18 th century. The more modern bridge takes traffic one way while the older stone bridge takes it the other way. This steel construction is known as a Callender-Hamilton bridge. It was assembled in 1942 by Canadian army engineers as it was evident that the old stone bridge would not be able to bear heavy loads. At the time, it was only envisaged as a temporary feature. It was a Canadian armoured regiment that was the first major military user of the bridge prior to the raid on Dieppe in August 1942. The same route was later used by tanks and other military equipment which moved south to Poole for the D Day Normandy Invasion. This Callender-Hamilton bridge was assembled on site and...

  Pilot Jim Wallwork and his co-pilot Johnnie Ainsworth were the first Allied troops to land in Normandy as a part of the June 1944 D-Day Landings. They had flown their Horsa glider, named Lady Irene across the English Channel from Tarrant Rushton Airfield. Between 1943 and 1947, Tarrant Rushton was a Royal Air Force airfield and it played an important role in the war effort. It was used for glider operations and also for secretive Special Operations Executive (SOE) exercises such as weapon drops to the French Resistance. Wallwork and Ainsworth’s glider had taken off around 11.00pm on 5 th June 1944 towed by a Halifax aircraft known as a ‘tug’ . Behind them were 30 fighting men with blackened faces and just a little over an hour later, they landed in France. Their glider landed heavily hitting the ground at 95mph and ploughed through barbed wire before the cockpit collapsed. They were both catapulted through the windscreen of their glider. Although stunned, this made them the...

  George Pitt-Rivers was a major Dorset landowner and at one time was one of the richest men in England. Yet he was a controversial character and despite being related to Winston Churchill’s family was interned during the Second World War because of his Nazi sympathies. He was born in London in 1890 and during the First World War served as a Captain in the British Army. Pitt-Rivers was wounded in the First Battle of Ypres and had to return to Britain for surgery. After the war, he travelled to the South Pacific and he wrote about the clash of cultures he witnessed there. It was during the 1930s that he became increasingly involved in politics and attracted to the ideas of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. In 1935, he stood as a candidate for the North Dorset parliamentary seat but finished second last and lost his deposit. He met Hitler in 1937 and attended the Nuremberg Rally at the invitation of the Nazi Government. One of his guests to Dorset in the 1930s was an enigmatic Irish...

Dorset Starfish are not a rare marine invertebrate found off the Dorset  coast. In fact, Starfish saved hundreds of lives in Bournemoth & Poole during World War II by preventing an estimated one thousand tons of German bombs being dropped there. Starfish were decoy sites designed to deceive German night bombers away from strategically important towns and airfields. There were several Starfish decoys in Dorset. One was set up on the western side of Brownsea Harbour. It contained a mixture of different types of fire designed to simulate a burning town. Created with the help of a technician from Elstree Film Studios, it was operated by Royal Air Force personnel from a bunker about 200 metres from the set up pyrotechnics. Once the first wave of bombers had passed drums of oil and creosote-soaked hay bales were lit to simulate the effects of incendiary bombs. This sought to attract the focus of the drops from the next bomber wave. Poole & Bournemouth were a target for a large ...

  Bombing Raid On 18 th November 1940, Blandford was bombed by German aircraft when an estimated 100 explosive devices were dropped on the town and its outskirts. Yet Blandford was not an obvious enemy target with Portland’s naval dockyard, Yeovil’s Westland aircraft factory or the newly reopened army base at Blandford Camp being more obvious targets. So why did the German air force decide to bomb Blandford? At the time the River Stour was in flood, so many of the explosive devices just fell into the water. However, an incendiary device did land on the roof of the Crown Hotel setting it alight. Thanks to prompt action by the town’s fire brigade, led by Captain C M Timbrell, the fire was quickly brought under control. Despite much charring to the beams, the fire fighters were able to confine damage to the hotel roof. After the raid, the brigade’s efforts were acknowledged by the hotel’s management in a letter enclosing a £10 cheque. It was decided, following the raid, to supple...

Auxiliary Units To enable the British Army to reform and mount a counter attack any advance by an invading German enemy had to be slowed down. Delaying this for just a matter of days was to be the role of the innocuously named Auxiliary Units. Nicknamed the ‘scallywags’ their role was to inflict maximum damage on the enemy during a brief but violent period. In June 1940, an Auxiliary Unit patrol was set up in Pimperne. Sergeant Harold Legg Iron Moulder Private Leonard Bastin Farrier/Blacksmith Private Frederick Berry Farm Labourer Private Harry Duffett Cowman Private John Hall         Driver/Mechanic Private Harold Joyce Farm Carter Private Walter Lucas Builder’s Labourer Private William Shiner Tractor Driver Private Stephen Shiner Farm Carter (Source: British Resistance Archive) Service in the Auxiliary Unit was expected to be highly dangerous with an anticipated life expectancy of just twelve days. Patrol members had orders to shoot ea...

Local Defence Volunteers In 1940, invasion of southern England by the German Army appeared imminent. France had fallen and the defeated British Army had just been evacuated from Dunkirk. One of the most disturbing sites was the arrival of trains at Blandford station carrying in total some 45,000 tired and dishevelled troops who had retreated from Dunkirk. For days the station was extremely busy with train after train arriving. Blandford people came to the station carrying jugs of tea to witness the sad sight. With the threat to the country of invasion by the German army, an appeal was made on 14 th May 1940 for volunteers to come forward to form a home defence force to be called the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV). Those that came forward had to be over 18 years, be able bodied but there was no upper age limit. Later that month a LDV unit was set up in Blandford based in the old workhouse building which is now Castleman House just off Salisbury Road. Home Guard Two months later...

  Blandford Camp reopens In the spring of 1939 with the outbreak of the Second World War just months away, a decision was made to re-establish a military base on Blandford Down. Known as Blandford Camp, the site had been occupied by the Royal Naval Division and then the Royal Air Force during the First World War. However, the base was closed in the early 1920s and all the wooden huts were removed. Even the track of the little used railway branch line between Blandford and the Camp was lifted. Fields next to Blandford Cemetery together with the Milldown were also considered for the site of military bases but in May 1939 Blandford Town Council was told these would not proceed. Work would begin immediately to re-establish Blandford Camp as a military base capable of accommodating several thousand soldiers. First task was to make up and widen Black Lane – the road between the town and Blandford Camp. An urgent call went out to local labour exchanges for the recruitment of carpenters an...

  Day War broke out On the 3 rd September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany. But what was life like at the time, in Blandford and in the surrounding villages? At first, despite the outbreak of war, things continued as normal. The Somerset & Dorset Railway was offering cheap excursion fares to Bournemouth and Bristol, the latter including entry to the zoological gardens. A cheap half-day return ticket to Bournemouth cost two shillings and one penny (10p). While the all-inclusive Bristol fare was only two shillings and eleven pence (15p). Perhaps travelling by rail rather than by road was safer in September 1939 as there were two serious local road accidents. While riding his bicycle in Blandford, a 17 year-old milk roundsman was killed at the bottom of White Cliff Mill Street when he was hit by a car driven by a Stourpaine man. The coroner reckoned it was an accident caused by the recently introduced wartime requirement for car lights to be dimmed. While just outside Lo...

  A military site between Wareham and Poole was so secret it was deliberately left off an Ordnance Survey map published in the 1940s. At its peak it was the largest industrial complex in Dorset employing around 2,000 people. It was the Royal Navy Cordite Factory. Cordite was a smokeless material developed to replace gunpowder as a military propellant. It was used in large weapons such as tank guns, artillery & naval guns. It was so called because of its cord like appearance. The explosives site was built during World War I at Holton Heath with the help of around 500 bricklayers. First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill had decided the Royal Navy needed its own cordite manufacturing facility. During this war, certificates were issued to men working at Holton Heath to prove they were engaged on important war work and were not avoiding joining the armed forces. The factory included a power station, two acid factories, a reservoir, various buildings and a hospital area. A...

On 18 th November 1940, Blandford was bombed by German aircraft when an estimated 100 explosive devices were dropped on the town and its outskirts. Yet Blandford was not an obvious enemy target with Portland’s naval dockyard, Yeovil’s Westland aircraft factory or the newly reopened army base at Blandford Camp being more obvious targets. So why did the German air force decide to bomb Blandford? At the time the River Stour was in flood, so many of the explosive devices just fell into the water. However, an incendiary device did land on the roof of the Crown Hotel setting it alight. Thanks to prompt action by the town’s fire brigade, led by Captain C M Timbrell, the fire was quickly brought under control. Despite much charring to the beams, the fire fighters were able to confine damage to the hotel roof. After the raid, the brigade’s efforts were acknowledged by the hotel’s management in a letter enclosing a £10 cheque. It was decided, following the raid, to supplement the brigade’s wate...

In addition to the threat of German bombing during World War II, Blandford also suffered from an infestation of rats. This infestation resulted in a bizarre incident witnessed by a local businessman and Town Mayor. Late one night he was counting the multitude of rationing coupons that he had collected that week when he experienced an amazing sight. He was working in his grocer’s shop at the corner of the Market Place and Salisbury Street when he heard a loud swishing noise. He put out his light and lifted the wartime blackout curtain. It was a moonlit night and he could clearly see hundreds of brown rats marching from the river through the Greyhound Yard and up Salisbury Street. Another man witnessed this army of rats and was so shaken he fell off his bicycle. It appears that at the time large quantities of corn were stored in the Blandford Station Yard and when river levels were low the rats would go to the yard to supplement their diet. There was much discussion at Blandford Ru...

WHO’S AFEAR’D is not just the motto on the Dorset Coat of Arms but also the name of a Spitfire which crashed near Meopham, Kent on 23 rd June 1942. This fighter aircraft had been funded by local contributions from Blandford & Sturminster Newton district people and paid for in a manner which today would be called crowd funding. Many years later, Graeme Sinden was excavating for a swimming pool in his back garden near Camer Park, Meopham when he came across aircraft wreckage. Experts were called in and the plane was identified as Spitfire WHO’S AFEAR’D. (P8531) It had been built at an aircraft factory in Castle Bromwich in the Midlands. In September 1940, Shroton had raised twenty six pounds for the Blandford & District Spitfire Fighting Fund. The next month, Child Okeford held a concert in the packed village hall and sent in seven pounds. A Winterborne Whitechurch Dance in November 1940 raised eight pounds, two shillings & sixpence (£8.12) while a Winterborne Stickland So...

  While it may not be unusual for members of the Rail & Maritime Trade Union to take industrial action, it is much more unusual for members of a British military base to do so. Yet, that is what happened in Blandford Camp at the end of World War I. Today, the military base is associated with the army yet in early 1919 it was a large but only recently opened Royal Air Force (RAF) establishment. Recruits to the RAF were received there for initial training and the RAF Records, Equipment and Personnel Depot had been relocated to Blandford Camp the previous year. Having only been opened as an RAF base in 1918, Blandford Camp was not a happy place. There were accommodation problems due to construction delays caused by a shortage of building workers. The War Cabinet had flatly turned down an Air Ministry plea to improve construction worker pay rates to aid recruitment. Such delays resulted in widespread overcrowding in tents particularly unsuited to bad weather.   Blandford’s RAF...

In the latter years of the Second World War, Blandford Camp was occupied by the U.S. Army. While Langton House, now demolished, became the base of the 1 st United States Infantry Division. In preparation for the 1944 Normandy Landings, part of Blandford Camp was transformed into a major U.S. Army Hospital complex. It was to be known as the ‘ 22 nd General Hospital’ . The site was converted from a British Army training camp to a hospital containing wards, operating theatres and medical stores. While the hospital was being constructed, Blandford Camp was also used as a parking zone for tanks and vehicles awaiting the Normandy invasion. This area was well camouflaged and protected by anti-aircraft guns. American Army medical staff arrived in Liverpool in April 1944 and travelled on to Blandford by train. There were five hospital units set up which each had 1,248 beds. They started receiving patients about two weeks after ‘ D Day’ (6 th June 1944). Many casualties were flown into t...