THE GREAT GRINGLEY HISTORY SHOW 2020

The Community centre was busy on Sunday 8 March 2020 when Gringley History Club hosted 'The Great Gringley History Show' otherwise known as 'Where do You ThinkYou Are?' Dozens of visitors from the village and further afield came to take part in the History Club's open day.  They were presented with a vast collection of documents, books, photos, displays, maps and other artefacts showing aspects of Gringley-on-the-Hill's history as far back as Roman times and even the Stone Age, with a quern stone excavated from Gringley 'Beach'. Visitors were able to learn about Gringley in the two world wars including details of some of the 24 casualties recorded on our war memorial.  Crime and punishment was covered, including a publication of 'Gringley News', along with stories of convicts transported to Australia and a hanging in Nottingham Jail for murder. Ledgers showed Parish Council Records, burial reports (from Mr Hunter, Undertaker) and property records. 

A fascinating new exhibition and display showed the history of Wiseton Cricket Club, along with photos and a unique blazer and cap in Laycock's colours (green & white), kindly lent by Adam Kay.

Many visitors engaged with club members to talk about their personal experiences.  A welcome surprise was the visit of Stuart Sipson, who lives in Ordsall. He was a patient in the 1950's in theTB hospital formerly based in Gringley Hall.  Stuart described his treatment, including being immobilised in a steel frame for up to two years, along with other anecdotes about hospital life.  We were able to show him our book and exhibition based on the History Club publication, 'Deep Pockets and Fresh Air', a history of the hospital.  Stuart was very moved by the information we were able to show him and was delighted when Alex Morris kindly gave him a personal tour of the site of the former hospital in the grounds of Gringley Hall.

Drinks were served in a 'cafe' by club volunteers, adding to the enjoyable atmosphere of the day. This was the second event of this type and the positive feedback suggests it will be repeated. 

DARRYL UPRICHARD PRESENTATION: MY FATHER'S CAREER IN BOMBER COMMAND

Thirty five members of Gringley History Club met at the Blue Bell on the 20th February 2020 for a club night. Following our AGM, we were delighted to welcome Darryl Uprichard who gave us an informal talk on the experiences of his father as a WW2 bomber captain.

Will Uprichard (known as Paddy) joined the RAF as a 17 year old in 1929. He was invited for pilot training and became a top-class pilot.  Unusually, he also trained as a navigator and completed his training by taking navigational responsibility for a Hull trawler, the Arctic Trapper, on a three week fishing expedition to Icelandic waters in winter. After the outbreak of war he was posted to 51 Squadron at RAF Dishforth. Paddy was amongst the earliest RAF bomber crews of the war, between 1939 and 1941, a period on which little information is known.  Darryl described some of the 31 raids in which he took part as Captain of P 5020, a twin-engined Armstrong Whitley aircraft. One for example on the Fiat aeronautical and motor works in Turin but also targets in Germany, France, Belgium and eastern Europe . Darryl read out a moving testimony dictated by his father of a raid on an oil refinery at Politz in the Baltic in bad weather. Although he was lost for a large part of the flight he did manage to reach his target and, with great difficulty, return to base in Yorkshire after a flight of eleven and a quarter hours, the longest recorded mission of a Whitley.  He landed with empty tanks; two Whitleys on the same raid ditched in the Wash after running out of fuel. Missions were also carried out to drop propaganda leaflets in Germany and France. After completing his 31 missions, as an experienced pilot Paddy was assigned to a group of pilots in RAF Ferry Command who delivered aircraft from the Boeing works in Seattle, over to England. This involved long flights over the US mainland and North Atlantic to the UK with possibilities for a bit of siteseeing on the way!

Darryl's talk was illustrated by an amazing range of memorabilia collected by his father; flight log books, maps, plans of targets, RAF orders, photos, leaflets and even the insulated clothing he wore on missions. Darryl also showed us Paddy's medals, including the DFC.