The village pages provide information and news on the villages of Ridgewell, Ashen, Ovington,Tilbury Green and Tilbury-Juxta-Clare along with Ridgewell Airfield. These Villages surround Ridgewell Airfield and Weather Station.

lPlease click on the Calendar icon above to view the local events diary.

You can also add your own events to the diary (go to dayview and click 'add event') but please be aware that inappropriate entries will be removed.

         Ridgewell Airman honoured                    - after 62 years

On April 11th 1944 several 8th Airforce bomb groups attacked the German aero-plants at Cottus and Sorau, near Berlin. Despite flak and strong fighter opposition, Ridgewell's 381st fought their way through and were the only group who managed to hit the primary target. One of  the 381st bomb group's aircraft was lost during the mission - a Boeing B-17 (42-31497), under the command of Lt. Hesse, lost two of it's engines near the target area and was last seen by the group going down under control. All the crew  managed to bail-out. Among them was  2nd Lt. Leo Bach. "I was just floating down, quiet as hell, and then hit the ground hard", he recalls, having badly injured his leg. "Fifty miles southeast of Berlin, a Jew wandering around Germany," he said of his situation, "scared the hell out of  me".

He was soon captured, spending 13 months in a POW camp, receiving no medical attention and no record of his injury for which he should have been awarded the Purple Heart. Now  aged 86, the great-grandfather, has written a memoir of his war years and still has a limp sustained from the injury after his bail-out. "I hobble around like an old man." he says.

After  62 years, the US military had finally recognised that he had been wounded in action, and awarded the Purple Heart to him in a ceremony at Travis Air Force base, California on 21st April 2006.

            Ridgewell Garden Society

Thank you for all your support last year and we hope you will like our programme of events for the forthcoming year (see the calender above - ed). Our events in 2005 were much enjoyed and well attended. We will continue to hold two interesting talks which are FREE to members and non members are more than welcome to attend for a small entry fee. This year we have two very good speakers booked so please do come along. To avoid clashing with other local events we have put our fun filled Summer Show back by one week we hope you will all be able to attend. Our trip this year is to Hatfield House for their Flower Festival on Sunday June 11th.

We want to encourage everyone to enter into our shows - you don't need to be experts to participate or even to win. Schedules will be delivered in May, however, you don't need to be a member to enter so if you would like a copy please contact David Bennett nearer the date.

If you are not yet a member or have not as yet renewed your subscription, why not join us? Membership is only £2 per person per year and entitles you to:

 * Entry into the draw for two free tickets to the Chelsea Flower Show

 * Purchase of goods at discounted prices eg. 40% on seeds

 * Lower priced tickets for Society events

To be eligible for the draw for Chelsea tickets, you need to pay your subscription by Thursday 9 March 2006.

If you have any comments, queries or ideas regarding the Society, please contact a Committee Member.

David Bennett (show sec)     785643               Jane Bennett                              785682

Sil Clay                               785729               Sarah Goodridge (membership                                                                                                  secretary)     788705

Peter Jay                           785909                Nick Rouse (Chair)                       785681

Sue Rouse                         785681                Paul Sadler                                 704277

Mollie Sellors                      785413                Nikki Sharp                                  788677

Nicola Williams (secretary)     785204

      Neighbourhood Watch

Sat-Nav Systems are a tempting target

Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinator Clive Stewart reports that there have been a spate of cars being broken into and badly damaged during the daytime in various local areas in Essex in the past few weeks! The damage is caused because the person committing the act could not find what they were looking for in the car and were frustrated!

This recent activity's main reason is that the owners of the cars are leaving on show the holders of their Sat/Navigation systems (even though the items themselves may have been taken with the owner).

Leaving the holder on view is an invitation to certain people to break the window and search for the Sat/Nav system which may have been left in the glove compartment or in the boot! (Some owners do not actually take it with them!).

Please let your residents know  that it is recommended that anyone who owns a Sat/Nav system that they remove the holder (as well as the system) and take it with them.

It may be inconvenient but think of the inconvenience of buying another system, the cost and also the actions of having to report it to the local Police Station!

Clive has spoken to a Senior Manager of a major Retailer who said that the holders can easily be removed from the dashboard!

  Disclaimer                                                        © 2006 - 2007  www.ridgewellweather.com