Lest we forget: Suffolk’s wartime heroes pays tribute to the region’s most courageous and inventive individuals whose bravery and ingenuity have left an indelible mark on history. From daring soldiers on the front lines to resourceful civilians who played vital roles behind the scenes, this article explores the stories of Suffolk’s remarkable wartime figures. Their sacrifices and resilience serve as a powerful reminder of the enduring spirit of those who faced conflict with unwavering determination, ensuring their legacy is remembered and celebrated for generations to come.
Bill Tutte
While Alan Turing is well known to the public, principally for his connection with the secret wartime Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park and the German Enigma encryption machine the exploits of Newmarket-born Bill Tutte have been undersung.
Yet Tutte’s breakthrough in the attack on Hitler’s Lorenz cipher machine has been described as ‘The greatest intellectual feat of the Second World War’.
That accolade is no over-statement when you consider that not only had the Lorenz machine 12 rotor wheels compared to Enigma’s usual three, but also that it was far more sophisticated and technically advanced. Furthermore it needed the development of the world’s first programmable computer called Colossus to run the algorithms worked out by Bill Tutte to crack German messages enciphered by the system Bletchley Park called ‘Tunny’.
At the end of the war Bill Tutte returned to Cambridge University to complete his PhD, after which he went to Canada where he met his wife Dorothea. There he became a professor of mathematics and a world renowned authority on graph theory.
He died in Canada in 2002 having received many prestigious international awards for his work on graph theory but without any official recognition for his achievements at Bletchley Park.
For more on Tutte read Bill Tutte: Codebreaker by Tom Williams, published by Awesome Books.
Photo of Lorenz SZ42 cipher machine by TedColes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Leonard Cheshire
The one time Cavendish resident was a hero in both war and peace. He was a highly decorated pilot in World War II becoming a Group Captain and flying a unique total of 100 missions. Invited to Buckingham Palace to receive the Victoria Cross alongside a lower-ranked warrant officer, he told King George VI: “This chap stuck his neck out more than I did – he should get his VC first.” WO Norman Jackson remarked that he would never forget Cheshire’s humility.
Cheshire was also the only British observer of the atom bombing of Nagasaki.
Some three years after the war he started his charity, Leonard Cheshire Care Homes. In 1959 he married Margaret Susan Ryder and their home in Cavendish became the original headquarters of the Sue Ryder charity.
Edmund Blunden
Blunden, who is buried in the graveyard of Long Melford’s Holy Trinity Church, spent more time in the trenches than any other First World War poet. However, his work has tended to be overshadowed by the likes of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. While his poetry was relatively restrained his hatred of the conflict, and his grief for the dead, was just as intense. He also expressed dismay at the destruction of the French countryside while sometimes acknowledging that amid the slaughter there were moments of happiness.
When war ended he claimed he only survived because his short stature made him an inconspicuous target.
His final years were spent with his third wife, Claire Poynting, and their four daughters in Grade II-listed Hall Mill House in Hall Street, Long Melford, now a bed and breakfast known simply as The Mill.
Edmund Blunden by Lady Ottoline Morrell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Sidney James Day
Norwich born Corporal Sidney James Day was a soldier serving in World War 1 and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy. While a corporal in the 11th (Service) Battalion of the Suffolk regiment he was seriously wounded during the Battle of the Somme and invalided home to spend time in hospital.
Upon discharge he returned to France and commanded a bombing section detailed to clear a maze of trenches still held by the enemy; this he did, killing two machine gunners and taking four prisoners. Immediately after he returned to his section, a stick bomb fell into a trench occupied by five men, one badly wounded. The corporal seized the bomb and threw it over the trench where it immediately exploded. He afterwards completed the clearing of the trench and established himself in an advanced position, remaining for 66 hours at his post, which came under intense fire.
Arthur Frederick Saunders
As an 18-year-old Ipswich born Saunders joined the Royal Navy and served for 12 years before later working for the agricultural equipment company Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries.
He returned to service at the outbreak of World War I and – at the age of 37 – won the Victoria Cross for his bravery at the Battle of Loos on the Western Front.
When his officer had been wounded during an attack, Sergeant Saunders took charge of two machine-guns and a few men and, although severely wounded in the thigh, closely followed the last four charges of another battalion, giving them all possible support. Later, when the remains of the battalion which he had been supporting was forced to retire, he stuck to one of his guns and in spite of his wound, continued to give clear orders and give covering fire.
A statement from Lt Crispinson, an officer he assisted said: “A shell landed and blew part of his (Arthur’s) left leg off, above the knee”. A tourniquet was applied and he continued to fight, using a Lewis gun to hold back advancing German troops, some 150 in number. The Germans were somewhat surprised when this heavily injured man began to fire on them. The officer also then joined in the attack. The Germans retreated.”
Images of Day and Saunders supplied by the Suffolk Regiment Museum, Gibraltar Barracks, Bury St Edmunds. More at suffolkregimentmuseum.co.uk
Photograph of regimental aid post – CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
