John Gleeson was one of the 83 victims of the Luftwaffe raid on the Brooklands factory on 4th September 1940. There’s more information here, and you can read an eye witness account if you check out Bill’s comment at the end of this post.
Categories
- 1918 – The Advance East (8)
- Along the River Lys (7)
- Arras (7)
- Belgian Military Cemeteries (2)
- Belgian War Memorials (18)
- Boesinghe (24)
- Bunkers (30)
- Demarcation Stones (11)
- Diksmuide (3)
- Documents & Artwork (16)
- Etaples (1)
- French Flanders (39)
- Fromelles (9)
- The Nursery (19)
- French War Memorials (10)
- German Military Cemeteries (4)
- Hill 60 (5)
- Ireland (31)
- Langemark (18)
- Lizerne (4)
- Memorabilia (4)
- Messines (30)
- Miscellaneous (49)
- Nieuwpoort (7)
- Ploegsteert (32)
- Ploegsteert Wood (20)
- South of Ploegsteert (8)
- Poelkapelle (2)
- Polygon Wood (3)
- Postcards (5)
- Potijze (5)
- Ramscappelle & Pervijze (5)
- Sanctuary Wood & Hill 62 (5)
- Spain (1)
- St. Jean (15)
- St. Julien (4)
- The Belgian Sector (16)
- The Menin Road (16)
- The Road to Passchendaele – Third Ypres 1917 (20)
- The Somme (55)
- Albert (2)
- Amiens (3)
- Thiepval (7)
- Villers-Bretonneux (4)
- U.K. Churches, Memorials & Cemeteries – Back in Blighty (427)
- An Introduction (1)
- Cornwall (111)
- Derbyshire (6)
- Devonshire (74)
- Dorset (1)
- Gloucestershire (12)
- Hampshire (8)
- London (6)
- North Wales & Anglesey (6)
- Northumberland (21)
- Oxfordshire (4)
- Scottish Borders (1)
- Somerset (34)
- Surrey (115)
- Sussex (8)
- Warwickshire (3)
- Wiltshire (10)
- Weaponry & Relics (24)
- Wulvergem (7)
- Ypres (Ieper) (24)
- The Menin Gate (5)
- Zandvoorde (5)
- Zillebeke (19)
- Zonnebeke (4)
-
Recent Posts
- Armistice Day 2018 – One Hundred Years On: A Surrey Village & the Great War November 11, 2018
- Wetlands November 10, 2018
- Mont Kemmel November 9, 2018
- The Somme – Fricourt German Military Cemetery November 5, 2018
- The Somme – Auchonvillers: Ocean Villas Tea Rooms Museum October 31, 2018
- The Somme – Auchonvillers Communal Cemetery October 26, 2018
- Somme American Cemetery October 20, 2018
- The Somme – An Afternoon in Péronne October 15, 2018
- Le Verguier & Maissemy – Two Stories of 1918 October 10, 2018
- The Battle of the St. Quentin Canal & the Breaking of the Hindenburg Line – 29th September 1918 September 29, 2018
Recent Comments
- Constantin Jh on French Flanders: Armentières, Nieppe & Steenwerck Part Nine – Steenwerck War Memorial
- Magicfingers on A Tour of Langemark Part Seven – Ruisseau Farm Cemetery
- Magicfingers on French Flanders: Fromelles Part One – Rue-David Military Cemetery
- Magicfingers on Armistice Day 2018 – One Hundred Years On: A Surrey Village & the Great War
- Andrea on A Tour of Langemark Part Seven – Ruisseau Farm Cemetery
- Brian McTighe on French Flanders: Fromelles Part One – Rue-David Military Cemetery
- kevin shipway on Leamington Spa War Memorial
Archives
Meta
- Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Hello, still waiting for info. re the field gun l shall let you know more when I am able Having seen the Weybridge post, it reminded me of the Wednesday lunch time raid by a group of M E 110 fighter/bombers on the Vicker’s factory. Standing at the junction of Long Reach and East Lane in West Horsley I saw all hell break loose as low and high flying raiders tried to escape, our fighters and ack ack were chasing them towards the coast Two parachutes came floating down, followed by a smoking 110. Looking North I watched it hit the ground further down Long Reach about a hundred yards North of Admiral Pelly’s Brown House. The aircraft had gone straight in. There was not much to see when I got there. Later I worked with two people who had been on the receiving end of the raid.
Eric Butcher was a toolmaker who joined the RAF in protest, as a pathfinder navigator and Charles Bovill an electronics wiz was found wandering miles away with ears and nose bunged up with plaster. Is there a memorial to those who died there?
Hello Bill. Time to own up now: the Exploring Surrey’s Past website is actually based where I work, so they came to me to ask if I knew anything about the field gun! The only way, I suspect, we are going to find anything about it is in the local papers and that will be a long job as we don’t even know how many years we need to look through.
Your story (as they always are) is fascinating. There is a memorial in the Brooklands museum remembering 83 civilians who were killed and 419 who were injured during the bombing raid of 4th September 1940.
Frank Finlay and his wife, Doreen are buried here. They were both theatrical veterans at West End and other stage performances while Frank also acted on screen for films and television. Their talents were very great.
Oh I remember Frank Finlay, although I did not know he is buried here. Cassanova was very educational for a teenager!