Buckinghamshire Reflects

THE CAPTURE OF U-110 AND THE ENIGMA DECRYPTION BREAKTHROUGH

Arnold Hargreaves, age 99, is the last surviving member of a boarding party from HMS Bulldog that in 1941 captured an Enigma machine from a stricken German U-boat. The information discovered from a…

A PROUD DAY IN THE OX & BUCKS LIGHT INFANTRY’S HISTORY

At 02:30 on the 24th March 1945 the men of the 2nd (Airborne) Battalion, Ox and Bucks Light Infantry were roused from their beds. They were given a breakfast of fried eggs, bacon
and beans. At 0…

THE SECRET MAPMAKERS OF RAF BOMBER COMMAND

To most Buckinghamshire inhabitants, Hughenden Manor will usually invoke the link with its most famous incumbent, the Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. With passing generations, the house…

Tony Comer is the historian for GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) and a world expert on the Bletchley Park story. GCHQ needs a historian as technology moves so rapidly that the organisation needs to be able to keep hold of its foundations, that knowing...

On 9th May 1941, the German submarine U-110 was captured by the Royal Navy after becoming seriously damaged by attacks from HMS Aubretia, HMS Broadway and HMS Bulldog. A boarding party from HMS Bulldog, featuring Buckinghamshire resident Arnold Hargreaves*, was able...

The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was originally formed during World War I and was re-established shortly before the outbreak of WWII to provide extra agricultural labour whilst the men were serving away at war. By 1943 there were 80,000 women working for the WLA, nicknamed...

The RAFs Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) operates from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. Their mission is: "to maintain the priceless artefacts of our national heritage in airworthy condition in order to commemorate those who have fallen in the service of this...

Buried deep in the secret archives of the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ), was a map that shows a different perspective of the Bletchley Park story to those reported and dramatised in books, films and documentaries. The map shows cycle and foot routes,...

THE STORY OF MARIE-FRANCE MacCARTHY 

Marie-France MacCarthy was brought up in the most rarefied French circles, becoming a fine singer; yet it was in action during the Second World War that she especially distinguished herself. Her ex…

JEAN CEIRIOG JONES’ TIME IN THE WOMEN’S LAND ARMY

Jean Ceiriog Jones was 15 years old when war broke out in 1939. She experienced many aspects of wartime life in Buckinghamshire and kindly shared her memories with us. Jean was still at school at t…