Local Lynx No.131 - April/May 2020

vegetables? Ask the group! Want to recommend a great
event or place to visit? Tell the group! Fancy a good old
chat about social events, the Church, the traffic? We even
have previous residents from Australia trying to stay in
touch.
If you have a Facebook account then just enter Stiffkey
Village in the search bar at the top and it will take you to our
page. If you don‟t have an account, they are easy to set up
and do not have to be available for public viewing unless
you wish.
CHURCH NEWS
In February on the 14 th , a well-attended funeral service
was held in the church for Pat Price, a past Chairman and
committee member of the Local History Group after a long
battle with illness.
Mothering Sunday was on 22 nd March. Unfortunately,
there was no service at Stiffkey this year, however there was
a shared service at Langham, as there will be for Easter Day
as this also falls on a second Sunday in the month.
On Easter Day, 12 th April, although there is no service in
the morning, our Annual Easter Egg Hunt in the
Churchyard will take place at 3p.m. Let us hope the weather
is warm and sunny by then and everyone is welcome.
Heather Harrison
A VILLAGE REMEMBERS
Like all villages here in North Norfolk,
Stiffkey sent its young men and women to
war in 1939. Some put their lives on hold.
Some were changed mentally or physically
for ever. Some families felt the scars of war
even to the present time.
The village of Stiffkey was changed beyond
recognition. The building of the Anti
Aircraft Artillery training camp at the
Greenway in 1938 saw the influx of up to
2000 young men at here any one time. They came to learn
how to use their rifles and the Bofors guns. They were
mostly teenagers. The Stiffkey Stick, a simple guidance for
the big guns, was
developed here
and adopted all
over the world
during the
conflict. Some in
the village were
able to thrive on
the influx by
setting up
businesses which catered for the camp while others found
employment opportunities. Others were curtailed by its
presence.
The longshore fishing community, who used the
marshland and the nearby sea, were often unable to go to
work, despite the fact that they were producing valuable
protein for the diet of the locals. Fr Bruno Scott James, who
lived in the village, set up a co-operative to champion their
cause along the coastline, but I don‟t think it made a jot of
difference.
29
The pinkfoot and brent geese left not to return until after
the 1962-63 bitter winter. There were often accidents in the
narrow street through the village and disruption from the
young men letting off steam. The Army training continued
at Stiffkey until 1955, with the addition of the USAF doing
its thing with radio controlled aircraft (RCATS) for a year or
two in the early 50‟s. Until 1960 the territorial brigades held
their summer camps in the redundant buildings until the
whole site was sold back to farming interests.
Many of the buildings have been demolished and part of
the site is now used for tent and caravan holidays. Some of
the buildings are holiday lets and boat building businesses.
The rest are used for the farm except for the
Rescuewoodenboats museum but the evidence of the
occupation can still be found.
There is a list in the Stiffkey Church of those who
served, and those who lost their lives are commemorated on
the village war memorial. They are PO George Green, aged
22 (died 31 st August 1940 on board HMS Express off
Texel, Holland - no known grave); Alan George
Greenacre, Private 5 th Battalion Royal Norfolk
Regiment aged 22 (died 24 th January 1942 when the
Japanese took Singapore. Buried in Singapore); Mark
James Jarvis, 5 th Battalion Norfolk Regiment, 28 (died
as a Japanese prisoner of war 6 th June 1943, buried
Thailand); Ernest Cornelius Jarvis, Sergeant (air
gunner) 550 Air Squadron, RAF Volunteer Reserve
(died 23rd February 1945, buried Bayern, Germany).
All were members of longstanding Stiffkey families.
They did not come home but their names are here, set in
stone.
Geraldine Green for SLHG