Memorial

It was a fine morning and I wandered across Whitchurch Common into Whitchurch village to post a parcel.



During the Second World War, US soldiers stayed in Whitchurch before the D-Day landings. As a token of their gratitude, an avenue of elms was planted on Whitchurch Common.

There is a plaque there which reads:

'This avenue of trees was planted on behalf of the 2nd Evacuation Unit of the United States Army as a token of gratitude for the hospitality extended to them by the parishioners of Whitchurch during the Second World War 1939 - 1945.'

It has been 67 years and the trees are gradually disappearing. Another one fell during last week's stormy weather. I don't know how many trees were originally planted, but we now have just four left. Eventually only the plaque will remain.



If you'd like to see other scenes from today's wander into Whitchurch, please take a look at the photographs on Flickr. There's a crow who seemed quite interested in what I was doing and a duck standing on a stone in the stream.