Yorkshire Dales

Last week, we stayed in a cottage in Pateley Bridge, in the Yorkshire Dales. I am trying to catch up with some places we have been and have not yet documented. This was a present two-story cottage in the center of town that was old stables.

While here, we visited several places, ticked items off the bucket list, and caught up with my old shipmate (HMS London) John and his wife Lynn. It was fantastic to see them again and catch up. Yes, I was thrown under the bus several times with my old Navy antics, which seemed to be focused on food. Karen, I deny all accusations. 😂 Unfortunately, no photos were taken at this meeting!

Grassington (Also known as Darrowby in ‘All Creatures Great and Small’)

Grassington is a market town and was used in the filming of All Creatures Great and Small. The town was called Darrowby in the show. If you have not watched this series yet, we highly recommend it.

Follow this link for Filmed in Yorkshire or Discover Darrowby websites. Can you see any of the locations in my photos below?

Tim Hill has some great photos of Grassington at 3 am in the morning. To view his photographs, click this link. Also check his page for the notorious Tom Lee involving murder.

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76 Squadron Memorial Service (Bucket list item)

During WWII, my father was a flight engineer on Halifax bombers and completed 30-plus missions with his Canadian crew flying out of Holm-on-Spalding-Moor, North Yorkshire, and he survived the war. Today, there is a memorial to 76 Squadronon on the Old Airfield. Google Map Location link.

On Sunday, 10th September, we attended a short memorial service at All Saints Church on Market Weighton Road, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial. As you will see in the photos, local schoolchildren laid a wreath. The local school has a corner of the school where they remember and keep the memory of 76 Squadron alive. Each year in July, the 76 Squadron Association (Facebook Link) presents an award/shield to one girl and boy who have been outstanding in year 5. This is not an academic award. The children at the memorial were well-behaved and very respectful. They even allowed me to pinch one of their chocolate cookies at the school. 😄

After the ceremony at the memorial, it was back to the school for tea and biscuits, then off to Ye Old Red Lion for lunch (Calvery) and a pint and time to chat. There is only one survivor left of the wartime squadron who is 101 and lives on the south coast.

Karen and I then stayed at Cave Castle Hotel. This place has some old-world charm but NO air conditioning in 28C (83F) heat! A few photos are included below.

Thanks to Martin Wintermeyer for organizing this event and being the boots on the ground. It was a lovely, touching, and poignant ceremony. Hopefully, we can make it again.

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Scar House Reservoir

Scar House Reservoir was a 20-minute drive from where we were staying.

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Thirsk (Bucket list item)

Why Thirsk? My maternal grandfather, C.V. Keeble MC, won the Military Cross in WWI. He was stationed in Thirsk during WWII and assigned to a searchlight battery. He wrote a letter to his wife, Bunty (My Grandmother), from an address of 387 S/L [Searchlight] Bty [Battery], Stoney Brough, Thirsk, Yorks. He would have been 51 years old. We did drive Stonybrough Lane but did not see any Nissen huts from the lane, as in the UK, hedgerows are allowed to grow unmanaged. However, looking at a satellite view, one hut is still in a farmer’s field.

The letter I referred to earlier had a view of the town market. We found a copy of the original photograph in the town Museum. I wanted to recreate this photo while in town. We did recreate it from the angle but not from the height, as I would have had to be in one of the upper windows of Greggs.

We will be visiting the National Archives in London during this trip as we have more research to do on grandad and Thirsk. He was a 2nd Lt and for some reason had resigned his commision. There was an incident involving a Spitfire aircraft and pilot killed, and 387 Searchlight battery? Related? We are going to find out, hopefully.

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‎⁨Elvington Airfield⁩, ⁨Yorkshire Air Museum

I learnt during the 76 Squadron memorial that the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington has a Halifax MKIII on display. After reviewing the website it turns out that it has been rebuilt with peices from several differant airplanes. Display Halifax link. It was great to see what dad had to deal with during WWII. Lots of other good planes here that I remember from airshows with my father and my time in the Royal Navy.

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What’s next?

We are in Alston, Cumbria. This is the furthest we go North. At the end of this week, we start heading south to Cornwall via Blackpool and Bristol.