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Lamble Close, BURY ST. EDMUNDS, IP28 8AF

The three-hamlet Memorial bears the names of 24 men lost in WW1; a further 8 in WW2 and the name of 1 civilian.

The village of Beck Row is adjacent to the huge US Airforce base at RAF Mildenhall. Behind the village sign are various airfield buildings and an old control tower.

The motif at the top replaces a clock which proved too inaccurate, featuring a Union Jack flag next to the US Stars and Stripes symbolizes the close partnership that has developed between the base and the local community in the 60 years the U.S. Airforce has been at RAF Mildenhall. The main sign takes the form of a quartered shield showing sheep beside the beck, three different types of aircraft, all of which have flown from Mildenhall airbase. In the lower quarters, an oak tree with acorns, and finally a farm labourer gathers sheaves to make stooks ready for collection. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4291308

Beck Row is actually a hamlet of Mildenhall, part of the airbase of which can be seen in the background. The motif featuring a Union Jack flag next to the US Stars and Stripes symbolizes the close partnership that has developed between the base and the local community in the 60 years the U.S. Airforce has been at RAF Mildenhall. The main sign takes the form of a quartered shield showing sheep beside the beck, three different types of aircraft, all of which have flown from Mildenhall airbase. In the lower quarters, an oak tree with acorns, and finally a farm labourer gathers sheaves to make stooks ready for collection. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6745639

There is a circular plaque by the front door which tells the story https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6379939

The text on the plaque is self explanatory. The bungalow to which it is affixed can be seen here > https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6379943

Three churches in one: the sign on the main building says 'Methodist Church', but this clearly has been overlaid on top of 'Wesleyan Chapel'. The smaller building to the right is the only one in use, as the Christian Science Church.

To find a headstone of a man awarded the Victoria Cross is something of a rarity. Most are buried abroad where they fell. Pilot Officer Rawden Hume Middleton of the Royal Australian Air Force never returned to his home in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. He died 29th November 1942. His citation can be read below: The following details are given in the London Gazette of 12 January, 1943. Flight Sergeant R. H. Middleton was captain and first pilot of a Stirling aircraft detailed to attack the Fiat Works in Turin one night in November, 1942. Very difficult flying conditions, necessitating three low altitude flights to identify the target, led to excessive petrol consumption, leaving barely sufficient fuel for the return journey. Before the bombs could be released the aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and a splinter from a shell which burst in the cockpit wounded both the pilots and the wireless officer. Flight Sergeant Middleton's right eye was destroyed and the bone above it exposed. He became unconscious and the aircraft dived to 800 ft. before control was regained by the second pilot, who took the aircraft up to 1,500 ft. and released the bombs, the aircraft meanwhile being hit many times by light flack. On recovering consciousness Flight Sergeant Middleton again took the controls and expressed his intention of trying to make the English coast, so that his crew could leave the aircraft by parachute. After four hours the badly damaged aircraft reached the French coast and there was once more engaged and hit by anti-aircraft fire. After crossing the Channel Flight Sergeant Middleton ordered the crew to abandon the aircraft. Five left safely, but the front gunner and the flight engineer remained to assist the pilot, and perished with him when the aircraft crashed into the sea. Flight Sergeant Middleton was determined to attack the target regardless of consequences and not to allow the crew to fall into enemy hands. While all the crew displayed heroism of a high order, the urge to do so came from Flight Sergeant Middleton, whose fortitude and strength of will made possible the completion of the mission. His devotion to duty in the face of overwhelming odds is unsurpassed in the annals of the Royal Air Force. He is referred to above as a Flight Sergeant but he was in fact a Pilot Officer