Events & Speakers 2025

All meetings start at 2.00pm in the Wessex Room, Hanham Community Centre.

Date                            Talk Title                                                Speaker

 January 15th              AGM and Talk "Stonehill and Beyond"     Doug Crew

 February 5th              Being a Pantomime Dame                       Tim Mayo 

 February 19th            Show & Tell                                               Society Members 

 March 5th                 History of John Lysaghts                         Dave Cheeseley 

 March 19th                Researching our archives                         Society Members

 April 2nd                   William Bence and LG  Coachworks       John Hitchings

 April 16th                  Society Item                                                 TBA

 May 7th                     Underfall Yard                                            David Blackburn 

 May 21st                    Everest Expedition                                   Don Pickett

 June 4th                     South Glos Mining                                   Steve Grudgings 

 June 18th                   Society Item                                                 TBA

 July 2nd                     Yanks in Bristol WWll                             Oliver Davey 

 September 3rd           Society Visit

 September 17th         Society Item                                                 TBA

 October 1st                Society Item                                                 TBA

 October 15th             Shanty Singers                                            Storm Force Ten 

 November 5th           Remembrance

 November 19th         Whitchurch Airport Story 1930-1957      Clive Burlton

 December 3rd           Society Festive meal

Sgt Frank Samuel Martin RAFVR 1916 - 1944

 

Sgt Frank Samuel Martin was born in Kent in 1916 and lived there with 4 siblings and parents in 1921. His parents and one sister were recorded as living at the same address in 1939.  For reasons that are not clear he developed an association with Denham in Buckinghamshire where he was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard in 1944. He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve and underwent training as a bomb aimer in the second World War.

Like the rest of the crew who were also in aircrew training, he took off in Wellington bomber LN293 on 25 August 1944 from RAF Chipping Warden in Northamptonshire.  The mission for this aircraft was to participate in a diversionary bombing raid as the allies progressed from the D-Day Normandy landings to the east and south.  After collecting at a point in the North Sea off the Netherlands, the mission turned for this aircraft to a night navigation training exercise to Luton, Southampton and Bristol before returning to base, at all times maintaining radio silence except when crossing the coast back to England, which occurred at 20 minutes past midnight.

At some point close to Hanham, the aircraft became uncontrollable and the captain gave the order for the crew to bail out.  No mayday radio transmission was received by ground stations.  Sgt Martin bailed out, but his parachute became fouled on the aircraft and he landed in a tree in Hencliff Wood without it.  His body was found by Hanham resident Malcolm Williams, then a schoolboy. The remains of his parachute were recovered some 1½ miles northeast from where is body was found.  As such Sgt Martin was the nearest operational fatality to Hanham in World War 2.

Another crew member bailed out of the stricken aircraft, and he landed fatally in Keynsham with his parachute unopened.  The remaining four crew members died when the aircraft crashed in a near vertical dive on Uplands Farm land, south of Keynsham.

The RAF Investigation into the crash was unable to determine a cause as the aircraft was so badly damaged on impact at the crash and subsequent fire.

Sgt Martin and the crew are believed to have been undertaking aircrew training in New Brunswick, Canada prior to this mission.  His wife and infant daughter had arrived in Liverpool on a ship from New York on the day that his aircraft took off on this fatal mission.  It is believed he has grandchildren living today in Canada.

The history of this memorial goes back to 2010 when the Bristol Evening Post reported the efforts taken by Malcolm Williams, John Cummins and Roy Crew to establish a lasting memorial to Sgt Martin.

 At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

Note by author:

The memorial can be found on the footpath (South Gloucestershire Council reference PHA/2/30) leading from Common Road into Hencliff Wood by Harvey’s Shopfitters (which donated the cross) towards the River Avon about 180 yards on the left walking down.

What3words location ///pace.depend.kick

 John Antill

© Hanham Local History Society

Event Schedule Update

Please note the events schedule has been updated for 3rd July 2024  &  18th September 2024. The talk by Dave Cheesley planned for 3rd July has been replaced by "The History of Cheddar Cheese" by John Page. Dave's talk will be rescheduled for 2025.  On 18th September we will have a talk "Siston Snippets" by our member Geoff Cole

The Severn Bore

 

After Roger’s talk on the River Severn, Geoff Pook has compiled the following about the bore.

Severn Bore.  To help to understand our unique situation.

 There are features of the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel which cause the feature known as the Bore.  The large volume of water between Wales and Southwest England has only one place to go when the tide rises – it is forced into the funnel shaped estuary and then further upriver.

In his talk, Roger was right to say that there are two Bore’s per year – if you are talking about bores large enough to surf on.  People travel from all over the world to ride the bore so they will only come for a Good-un!  There are many factors which influence how good it will be: -

#             Wind – a strong south-westerly will help.

#             Moon _ which phase is it in i.e. full, half, crescent.

#             Sun - What season of the year is it.

There are between 250 and 260 bores a year.  They only occur when the tide exceeds a certain height.  Only tides more than 9 meters high (measured at Fethherne, near Frampton on Severn) are considered worth surfing though smaller ones can be spectacular. Most bores finish at Maisemore weir, but the very highest can overrun this.

 The orbit of the Moon around the Earth is not a circle, but an ellipse.  Also, the orbit of the Earth around Sun is an ellipse. Ironically, the Earth is closer to the Sun in the winter than summer. (See Diagram)

 The bore is caused by the Gravitational pull of the Sun and the Moon.  When the Sun and Moon are aligned, we see a Full Moon.  Their Gravitational pull acts together. These are the times of the highest waves.  The bore which occurred this year on 12th March was the largest we are likely to see for a while unless extraordinary weather conditions drive the wave higher.

                                                                                                                                                                       See also  Google- The Severn Bore Time Table – for more details.

Geoff Pook

Events Shedule Update

 Please note the events schedule has been updated for February 21st & March 20th.

Events & Speakers 2024

 

All meetings start at 2.00pm in the Wessex Room, Hanham Community Centre.

Date	Talk Title	Speaker
January 17th	AGM & W J Bence	Doug Crew
February 7th	Advertisements A Social History	Mike Hooper
February 21st	Hanham High Street Now & Then	Doug Crew
March 6th	Troopers Hill	Rob Acton-Campbell
March 20th	The River Severn	Roger Windsor
April 3rd	Butlers Tar Works at Crews Hole	Professor Brian Vincent
April 17th	Sgt Frank Martin   Hanham High Street Part 2	John Antill Doug Crew
May 1st	History of Glenside Hospital	Stella Man
May 15th	Murder in the Woods	Society Member
June 5th	East Bristol Auctions Highlights & Stories	Andy Stowe
June 19th	West of Hanham	Roger Windsor & Doug Crew
July 3rd	History of Cheddar Cheese	John Page
September 4th	Society Trip to Tyntesfield
September 18th	Siston Snippets	Geoff Cole
October 2nd	Society Event TBA	Society Member
October 16th	Chocolate, Beer & Tobacco manufacturing in Bristol	Chris Bigg
November 6th	Society Event TBA	Society Member
November 20th	Whittaker’s War – The Great War through postcards	Garry Atterton
December 4th	Society Xmas meal

 

Events & Speakers 2023

  All meetings commence at 2.00pm in the Wessex Suite at Hanham Community Centre.

             

Date	Talk Title	Speaker
January 18th	AGM	Society Member
February 1st	Bristol in the 1950’s	Mike Hooper
February 15th	Film " Making of Britain" with	Roger Windsor
March 1st	Bristol – City of the sea	Chris Bigg
March 15th	"Table top Discovery" with	Society Members
April 5th	Maya to mini eggs	Hugh Evans
April 19th	" A stroll around Hanham Christchurch"	Ray Smith
May 3rd	The Women who built Bristol	Jane Dufus
May 17th	Kingswood Heritage Museum	VISIT
June 7th	1950’s/Christmas toys	David Cheesley
June 21st	Bristol Cinemas Then & Now	Doug Crew
July 5th	As Time Goes By	Society Members
September 6th	Society Trip
September 20th	Quiz and Hanham Stories	Roger Windsor & Doug Crew
October 4th	Bristol’s Lost City	Clive Burlton
October 18th	Brunel the little giant	Mike Rowland
November 1st	Remembrance & our event	John Antill & Roger Windsor
November 15th	Long Tall Stories	Roger Windsor
December 6th	Society Xmas Meal