Reflections 1993 09 29 There is a temptation to think that history is dead - but

much more is constantly coming to light. Only recently a prehistoric fort has
been discovered at Sawston. dominating the surrounding countryside and
covering an area of some 8 hectares, making it the second largest in the
county. It was spotted by a local archaeologist and has been surveyed by a
team of field recorders based at the Royal Commission for Historical
Monuments at Gt Shelford. This is just one of the 800 new sites and finds
added to the Archaeologists' records each yearincluding a spectacular burial of
a child complete with copper bangles and pottery figurines unique in Britain
unearthed at Godmanchester. Meanwhile another researcher from the Institute
of Historical Research, London University has been deciphering the complicated
history of the small parish of Ashley cum Silverley near Newmarket which once
had two churches, both now gone apart from a ruined stump of the church
tower at Silverley. The results of his work will be known in some years time
when the final volume of the Victoria History of the County of Cambridge is
produced. It will join the many books on Cambridgeshire over 60 of which have
been produced in recent months. These various developments are featured in
the latest issue of "Conduit", a six-monthly bulletin published by the Cambridge
Antiquarian Society, now produced by a team of County Council Heritage
Officers and edited by County Archaeologist, Alison Taylor. Much of the journal
is devoted to the activities of many local history societies whose programmes
promise a fascinating mixture of meetings on 350 years of Royal Mail at
Royston, Grandma's kitchen at Sawtry, the new Cambridge sewer project will
attract the Industrial archaeologists who will also enjoy a talk on the history of
Marshall's airport (Cambridgeshire Local HistorySociety 6th November), Ely
archaeologists will flock to Mike Young's account of his trip to Sri Lanka perhaps as entertaining as the reconstruction of Cambridgeshire life during the
1000s whose fighting skills are practiced on Midsummer Common by members
of Raefield (the Early medieval re-enactment society) - but probably not to be
compared with John Humphreys' evocation of life in Hunter's Fen which he will
present at Swavesey in December. From the four corners of the county come
dates and details, whilst any other secretaries looking for speakers would do
well to peruse those listed here. For those wishing to learn rather than just
listen there are details of courses such as "History through objects" at the
Cambridge Folk Museum - or a new Certificate in Historic Building Conservation
being run by the University of Cambridge Board of Continuing Education whose
students will visit buildings under repair to watch craftsmen at work before
researching a dissertation. Mike Petty Reflections Mike Petty
www.cambridgeshirehistory.com/MikePetty 45 The archivists at Cambridge and
Huntingdon report some of their recent accessions - such as the school log
books from Soham where in 1871 only 6 of 71 pupils could put down numbers
but where a report just eight years later was praising the arithmetic and
recommending that the boys be taught knitting. Meanwhile at Kimbolton Castle
in November 1865 some 470lbs of meat, 12 rabbits, 10 chickens and 300 eggs

were consumed in one week during the visit of the Price of Teck who arrived
weighing 12 stone 10 and perhaps departed somewhat heavier. On a lighter
note the report from the Norris Museum. St Ives, charts the love life of Dinner
the Museum duck whose courtship of a pretty Muscovy duck named Little
Lunch resulted in a clutch of eggs, some of which they ate, the rest they
deserted. A rival male was chased away by a lady museum assistant, since
when true love seems to have been re-established and a new brood awaited.
Further details of the saga, together with the next round of meetings avid
discoveries will be carried in the next issue of "Conduit", copies of which cost
1,00 from museums, societies, Cambridge Library shop or direct from Alison
Taylor at Shire Hall Reflections 1993 10 06 Two more War books arrived on my
desk within days of each other. One is mainly pictures, the other un-readable. It
was 30 November 1943 that Bottisham began to become used to being an
American air base and the streets started to resound with the southern drawl of
Virginian fighter pilots, aircrew, support staff & the rest of the paraphernalia,
marshalled by Thomas J.J. Christian junior, Officer Commanding. Some 1,700
personnel were expected, enlisted men accommodated in village homes, the
officers quartered at Bottisham Hall. By Christmas eve they had won over local
children, welcoming them - and their mothers - to a party in the NAAFI
buildings, American rations making a welcome treat from standard British
wartime fare. Already steel matting had been planted over farmers fields to
form runways and early in 1344 the arrival of over 50 Thunderbolts destroyed
the tranquillity of rural life and heralded the start of a new chapter in the fight
against the foe. There were difficulties to be ironed out nearer home with an
Anglo-American brains trust called in Bottisham Village College to discuss
differences between the new Allies. Very soon villagers got used to the sight of
the aircraft taking off, banking, landing and crashing, whilst farmers elsewhere
found the occasional addition to their cropping rotation with the unexpected
arrival of a pranged plane in their fields.