George ‘Tornado’ Smith in Boxford
Perhaps Boxford’s most eccentric resident, ‘Wall of Death’ rider George ‘Tornado’ Smith once included a lioness as part of his stunts. As a cub she would perch on Smith’s motorcycle handlebars and later, as an adult big cat, in a sidecar. This was in the 1930s long before the Dangerous Wild Animals Act of 1976 would have prevented such outlandish and clearly dangerous pursuits.
John Lennon and Yoko in Lavenham
Despite being at the height of their fame John Lennon and Yoko’s bizarre outing to Lavenham in December 1969 drew little publicity. They were there to witness the launch of an orange helium balloon for a short film called Apotheosis, and promote their crusade for world peace. They turned up in hooded cloaks and watched the balloon being inflated but decided against going up in it, thus inviting ridicule from some villagers.
Bill Tutte
Not everything in Newmarket centres on horses and racing. There’s an interesting looking memorial in the town centre called Codebreaker that commemorates the life and work of local man Bill Tutte who played a vital role in World War II.
Tutte, a mathematician, made a significant advance in cryptanalysis of the Lorenz cipher, a major Nazi cipher system which was used for secret communications within the Wehrmacht High Command.
The Russian Revolution
What are Suffolk’s links to the Russian Revolution? Well, in 1919 Exning housed a training camp for Russian soldiers who – having been liberated from German prisoner-of- war camps after World War I – would be sent home to their mother country to fight the Bolsheviks.
St Pancras Station built with Suffolk bricks
In 2007 the Bulmer Brick and Tile Company, near Sudbury, supplied nearly 28,000 bricks for the £5.8 billion restoration project at St Pancras Station, London. The Gothic revival arches are a dominant feature of the station’s design and, because the original bricklayers had shaped their own bricks to fit, the replacements had to be specially made.
Brandon’s flintknappers
Brandon’s flintknappers, who mined and shaped the sedimentary rock from the local area, played a key role in Wellington’s victory at the Battle of Waterloo. They provided much of the flint for the British rifles that wrought havoc among the French troops.
The ancient oak at Great Yeldham
The ancient oak at Great Yeldham is the oldest tree in Essex. Now dead it is thought to have been on the village green for over 1,000 years and is encased with iron bands to support and protect its 30ft circumference.
Captain Lawrence Oates
Leafy Gestingthorpe on the Suffolk/Essex border and Antarctica are quite literally Poles apart but the two have a link . . . the former was the birthplace of one of England’s most famous explorers.
Captain Lawrence Oates was part of Captain Scott’s ill-fated Antarctic expedition and the village sign depicts a hunched figure representing Oates. He is chiefly remembered for his self-sacrifice . . . his last words before leaving a tent and into a blizzard were: “I am just going outside and may be some time.”
