Page 8 - Town & Around - December

8 Town & Around December 2022 Tel: 01485 540620 email: editor@townandaround.net
Remembrance Sunday and the USAF 67th

John Maiden
his year's Remembrance Sunday fell of
the eve of the 70th Anniversary of the
TUSAF 67th Special Operations
Squadron, because on November 14th 1952
the 67th was activated, as an Air Rescue
Squadron, at RAF Sculthorpe. It is hard to
believe that more than ten years have passed
since RAF Flight Sergeant Mark Service
contacted me, as Chairman of Hunstanton
Civic Society, to ask if Hunstanton would be
interested in celebrating the 60th Anniversary
of the 67th. I was an elected Town Councillor
at the time, and it was very pleasing to find
my fellow Town Councillors working in
harmony with the Civic Society in order to
renew and strengthen the bond of friendship
between our town - widely known as "little
America" in the 1950's - and the USAF in Southbeach Road.
general and the 67th in particular, for its major Thanks to our archives in Hunstanton, I was
role in rescue operations on January 31st able to show Jackie a picture of a children's
1953. outing to London (left) on which she was able
to identify her mother, Joyce, together with
Joyce's younger brother Derick, who was one
of my friends at primary school. Later in the
day Jackie and her husband were introduced
to the current Commander of the 67th, Lt Col
Michael Bien at the Sculthorpe Heritage
Centre. They will meet again on the last
Sunday in January 2023 when we
commemorate the 70th anniversary of the
Floods. Much more on that story next month.

The Hunstanton Civic Society's Heritage
Centre has been very successful in collating
information about the Floods, and on
November 13th collaboration with RAF
Sculthorpe Heritage Centre succeeded in
shedding more light on one episode from that
dreadful night. RAF Sculthorpe Heritage
Centre's Curator, Ian Brown, introduced me to
Jackie Hartley, the daughter of Joyce
Stubbins, a Floods survivor thanks to Freeman
A Kilpatrick, awarded the George Medal for Lt Col Michael Bien receives a framed print
saving the lives of 18 of his neighbours on from Ian Brown - Nov 13 2022

More about Remembrance Sunday in
Hunstanton on page 12

Jackie with the current Commander of the
67th, Lt Col Michael Bien The procession leaves the United Services Club for the Hunstanton War Memorial