A trip down memory lane.

Last week found me back in my childhood city of Sheffield. I decided that I would nip down to Endcliffe Park, where I regularly played, fed the ducks, swang on the swings, enjoyed the bonfire night and its funfair, to have a look at the memorial tucked away in the trees, to the airmen who sadly lost their lives in 1944.

http://www.endcliffepark.co.uk

This was recently brought to the front of the news due to the 75th anniversary of the occasion. Tony Foulds was a child playing in the park in a group of children the pilot of the American plane, the Mi Amigo avoided, consequently crashing the aeroplane in the woods nearby losing the lives of everyone on board. As a child, I used to play around the memorial that was simply a very large stone with a plaque on it on the opposite side of the river from the large area of grass, cafe and play areas.

Tony has tended the memorial for all these years as a thank you for saving his life. It was a poignant moment going back as really for the last 75 years very little has been done to recognise the occasion. The reporter, Dan Walker heard about Tony and organised something to recognise his efforts. A flypast was organised for him on the 75th anniversary of the tragedy. If you have seen the footage in the news I think it brought a tear to everybody’s eyes. I am so pleased to read he has just been added to Sheffield’s walk of fame.

https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2019-03-07/tony-foulds-to-get-star-on-sheffields-walk-of-fame/

I was transformed back to my childhood in the park at the Stepping Stones next to the memorial: my friends and I used to spend many a happy hour crossing the Stepping Stones very bravely, running around the memorial (which had none of the steps and paving area that are there now) and then cross the Stepping Stones once again. It was most exciting when the river ( the Porter Brook) was in full flow. Simple pleasures in those days.