Watnall Troop S.N.Y.C. local history

  A particularly rare and, in the world of medals, unusual group of items has surfaced relating to the training of the Polish Air Force in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. The medals and a presentation plaque were awarded to Squadron Leader James Brown, R.A.F.V.R., who was awarded the Polish Cross of Merit in Gold by the President of Poland for his work training the Polish aircrews at RAF Hucknall. After the fall of Poland and then the fall of France, the Polish Air Force re-established itself in Great Britain. By the end of the war, it had grown to a strength of nearly 20,000 personnel, the fourth-largest allied air force in Europe. It had several fighter and several bomber squadrons fighting alongside their RAF comrades. Taking part with great effect in the Battle of Britain, 1940; the 1000-bomber raids on Germany; and D-Day, to name but a few. Its famous 303 Fighter Squadron became one of the most successful fighter squadrons serving with the Allies,...

Mr Frank E. Woodhams, a competent amateur marine artist for a time, was residing at Watnall Hall in March 1916. Lady Maud Rolleston herself was a well-known amateur artist with an interest in the world of art; possibly she knew him from local circles of the art world and decided to take him under her wing.  How long he was staying there is not known; however, during a gathering at the Hall on 20th March 1916, the tradition of those attending signing a sheet of paper was followed. Mr Woodhams, rather than signing his name, added a small colour painting to the sheet of paper, rather than just his signature.  During his stay, Mr Woodhams painted a series of seascapes entitled " The British Battle Fleet in the North Sea". At least three paintings were produced for this. Possibly due to the influence of Lady Maud, his work was exhibited at the City of Nottingham Museum and Art Gallery, a local artists' exhibition, presumably sometime in 1916. One of the three known paintings s...

George Greville Weaving was born in the village of Appleton, Berkshire, in 1894. As can be found with recruitment into the South Notts Hussars during the Boer War, the South Notts during the First World War found itself with recruits from further afield than the Nottingham area to meet the required numbers. Conscripted into the army in 1916, George G. Weaving was placed with the South Notts Hussars, first serving in Ireland, then Egypt, and then finally on the Western Front while attached to the Machine Gun Corps. During his time with the South Notts, George was to become one of ten South Notts Officer's to be awarded the Military Cross during the First World War. Like so many who witnessed the horrors of the First World War, George did not say much to his family about what he had witnessed. Thankfully, there is interest today with his descendants, most notably his great-niece, who has unearthed some of his wartime possessions and records to help piece together his story.  Born in ...