Audley End & WWII

We spent the day at Audley End House, experiencing what we have determined would be kin to a WWII movie set. And we had the time of our lives.

Audley End House. It's hard to do it justice. The grounds are expansive with bridges, a farm house, multiple gardens and Greek temples. It's a bit like Pemberley (really known as Chatham House) in Pride in Prejudice.

Adam in one of the gardens

 The House was used Station 43, a training ground for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), the precursor to the CIA during World War II. The men & women who were in training were billeted (or lived) in the House while the grounds were used for training exercises. The training goal was to learn everything there was to know about war so that if they were captured while on a mission, the spies would have the chance to defend themselves. Consequently, German, American and British guns, uniforms, etc. were all used to prepare the spies who were American, British, German and Polish (the Polish resistance provided many SOE agents). And on this day, training camp was happening. We saw a firearm demonstrations, a battle simulation, lindy hop demonstrations, an amphibious attack training exercise (it was awesome), and took a tour of the beautiful house.

Take a look:

Firearm demonstration of all guns used in WWII, including machine guns. Thank God they were using blanks (Adam and I did wince a bit thinking of the Hill City episode earlier this summer)

American Troops

American Tent

Inside American Tent. Adam said the tent smelled like an Army Surplus store.

American Uniforms

Sir Winston Churchill, of course

Battle Simulation

Battle simluation. At one point, the man on the left fell against a tree and stuck his tongue out of his mouth, exclaiming to an "enemy" soldier: "I'm dead! I'm already dead!" Good man. He was following orders from the commanding officer who was running the exercise: "You're dead!" Then, pointing to another, "You're dead too!"

German troop surrender during a battle simulation

Row Row Row your Boat- the start of the Amphibious Attack



Smoke-- to make it more real for the trainees



Perched for attack, watching the bridge that will be "destroyed" by enemy gun fire



The realities of war--rowing through gunfire



Rowing the boat under the bridge (that was just destroyed in the amphibious attack)

WWII Plane

WWII Jeep

The most amazing collection of German medical tools owned by a WWII enthusiast (who is British and does not speak any German).

German ether mask





Floating Along the River Cam

We spent a fabulous night in Cambridge with friends having Thai food at a pub called The Wrestlers (it is very un-British to be so sneaky-- usually everything is so literal. In this case, the pub should be called The Thai Pub, not The Wrestlers), taking a punting tour along the River Cam, and having dessert in a local restaurant. Here are pics from the punting tour. For those of you who come visit, you may be experiencing this. It's too good to be missed.

Adam crunching on chocolate covered Almonds with a friend as they barter for punting boat rates

The Boats

Someone had the right idea and came prepared!

What it means to punt

Our punting master.  For a senior at Exeter University he sure knew a lot about Cambridge.



A bridge built to mirror the Bridge of Sighs in Venice



Cambridge University

Bury Abbey Ruins & An Old Friend

Adam and I were delighted to have our first visitor!

Valerie Vigoroux, a friend who I met in Buffalo when we were just kids, came to see us before she moves from London to India for the next few years. It is true that I am sad to see her go considering we just landed in the same country for the first time in years (she is originally from Paris), but we are happy for her and look forward to seeing her and her husband in a few weeks for their going away party in London.

Valerie & Jaclyn (in front of the Nutshell)

Valerie & Adam at Cathedral Cafe

Valerie took the train to our town from London (it took about an hour and a half, and she traveled via Cambridge) where we picked her up, gave her a tour of our house, and continued on to have a great lunch at a pub in Icklingham and then explore Bury St. Edmunds. It was on this trip I was able to get some pictures of the Abbey ruins.

Enjoy!

Emily's Tea Room

Emily's Tea Room is fantastic. It is located in the center of Mildenhall Village, the Village associated with Mildenhall RAF (another USAF base) and is about a 10 minute drive from Lakenheath RAF.

I could go on and on about Emily's, but just take a look, you'll see why the ladies I know love it, and why I am now a huge fan.

Emily's Tea Room

                                     

Lovely ladies and my guides to Emily's. Notice all the plates are actual china?

It's really only one room

This was my breakfast-- homemade waffles with honey, fruit and greek yogurt. It was heavenly.

About Military Life

LAKENHEATH RAF
Lakenheath RAF is a base that is owned by the Royal Air Force (or British Air Force, or RAF) and is leased by the United States Air Force. Lakenheath is one of three bases located here in southeast England. The other two bases are Mildenhall RAF and Feltwell RAF. While the purpose of those living and working at Lakenheath RAF is to prep F15 fighter jets for battle, Mildenhall maintains the planes, and Feltwell is responsible for intelligence. Lakenheath is the largest of the three, and also the only base with a hospital.

F15 Fighter Jet

Mounted Planes on base at Lakenheath RAF

When at Lakenheath RAF (to be distinguished from the Village of Lakenheath), there is no doubt that you are on an active base. The base is busy (it feels like a being in a busy town) and you can hear the jets taking off at regular intervals, usually in pairs, and they are loud. Those of you who Skyped with us  while we were staying on base know just how loud, as we had to wait for the jets to pass before we could resume our conversations. The jets usually take off in pairs and land just over the main road we drive daily between work and home. I hope all of you who come visit get a chance to see a plane land. It is amazing; they fly only a couple of hundred feet above the road.