What a bus’tastic summer we’re having! This month go have a Teddy Bears’ picnic at the church or watch a boat flotilla protest the poor state of our river and canal network down by the river.
There’s more information about our new bus service from the Parish Council with links to the MyTrip phone app with live tracking and timetables (the tracking does work very well). There’s a lot more news from our Parish Council too who deserve praise for the often thankless work they do for us.
There’s photos from last month’s Village Day which went very well! Thanks to the HRA who did a wonderful job in organising a day of fun for the rest of us.
There’s a beer festival at the Plough and Fleece over the bank holiday weekend.
The rain kept away and the sun even put in a brief appearance for this year’s Village day on Saturday 5th July.
The day kicked off with delicious tea and cakes and ended many hours later with dancing on the village green. Tripwire were fantastic and played 2 sets playing late into the evening. Fired up pizzas kept everyone well fed with delicious homemade pizzas and there were many stalls and games including tug of war and welly wanging.
Thanks to all those that bought their pets along to the pet show. Ponies, Jack and Bodie were entered and many dogs competed with many rosettes being awarded.
Paddy won cutest puppy, Snoopy was our golden oldie, Fizz lived up to his award of waggiest tail and Lola was definitely worthy of 1st in the small & cute category. Pip and Jasper were beautifully dressed up and won fancy dress rosettes. There were prizes for many with Wilf winning best dog with a bit of goat in him! Woolly Bully won big and beautiful and was a well-deserved winner of best in show. Best prize of the day was awarded to Fizz for having the scruffiest owner – chrChris !! Thanks to everyone who bought their pets along and helped make this a special day in the Horningsea calendar.
Thanks to Chris, Helen and Hayley for the photos.
Thank you to all of those that helped tidy up and put chairs and tables away at the end of the day.
Date for your diary — next year’s village day is Saturday 4th July 2026
Wednesday 21 August at 20.30 Late evening service of Compline. Come and spend a short time in a quiet, contemplative service at the end of a busy day.
Sunday 31 August: Joint Service of Holy Communion at 10.30
Teddy Bears’ picnic Sunday 3rd August
On Sunday 3 August at 12 noon come along to St Peter’s churchyard with your Teddy to join in a Teddy Bears’ picnic! No age limit so bring your parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters! If it is rainy we will have the picnic inside the church. The picnic will include jam and marmalade sandwiches, carrot sticks, baby tomatoes, breadsticks, bananas, raisins and little cakes!
New Bus service 100 – Next Monday (7th July) Horningsea’s brand new bus service starts. Buses run every 30 mins between 6:00 to 23:35 to Cambridge. The timetable is below plus more details inside.
Horningsea Village Day sees the return of the Horningsea Pet Show. Bring your pet for the cutest puppy, the largest dog, the waggiest tail, the best dressed pet and more!
But for this month we have a concert and two pub quizzes. The regular one at the Plough and Fleece and a one off at the Crown and Punchbowl to raise funds for Fen Ditton Primary School. The Plough and Fleece have many other events too (flyer attached) and the AGM of the Horningsea CIC will be on the 24th June in the PnF.
Petertide: Joint Service at St Peter’s Horningsea on 29 June 10.30 followed by a bring and share picnic
The Patronal Festival at St Peter’s Church on 29 June at 10.30 will be followed by a bring and share picnic in the churchyard – if the weather is good you can sit in the churchyard and look down towards the river … if the weather is not good the picnic will be inside!
Memorial to Captain James M Farmer
Saturday 19 July 2025 14.00 – 16.30 at St Peter’s Church Horningsea On the 19th July 2025 a plaque will be unveiled in St Peter’s Church, Horningsea dedicated to James M Farmer who tragically lost his life in Quy Fen a mile from the centre of the village of Horningsea on 19 July 1945. (Read More…)
Saturday 19 July 2025 14.00 – 16.30 at St Peter’s Church Horningsea
Captain James M. Farmer.
On 19th July 2025 a plaque will be unveiled in St Peter’s Church, Horningsea dedicated to James M Farmer who tragically lost his life in Quy Fen a mile from the centre of the village of Horningsea on 19 July 1945.
The 19th of July will be exactly eighty years since his death. Even though Victory in Europe had been declared on 8 May 1945, the war in the Far East was continuing as VJ Day did not happen until August 1945. There were still a large number of American pilots based in the UK. Captain James Farmer was a distinguished P 51 Pilot with the USAAF based at Duxford on a training flight that day. During his service in the USAAF he had been awarded a number of medals for bravery in action – the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 8 Oak Leaf Clusters.
John Wilson of Horningsea has been researching James’ life and the circumstances under which his plane crashed. His plane went into a spin and he bailed out, but his parachute failed to open properly. Two men from the village were first on the site by Crooked Drain where they were working, however he died before further help arrived. One elderly lady who used to live in Horningsea recalls that his body was brought into the church before it was removed back to the Base.
John has been in touch with the USAAF museum at Duxford and with the curator Hettie Hearn. With her help he has made contact with James’ great niece, Barbara, in the States. She is overjoyed that we are remembering him with this tribute. We will Zoom the event so she can watch it in the USA.
John has found photographs of part of the crashed plane and Jeff Crosby found remnants of the plane still buried in the Fen. The exhibition will include the photographs if not the remnants of the plane.
James M Farmer (Wade Meyers collection)
Two airmen from the USAF based at Lakenheath will come along and lay a wreath. Hattie Hearn from Duxford Imperial War Museum will unveil the plaque. Weather permitting, it is hoped that there will be a fly past of vintage planes at about 3pm during the afternoon.
The plaque has been funded by the Parish Council, the Horningsea Residents Association and the Village Green and Hall Trust. Peter Halford has worked with John Wilson to design the plaque. It has been a real village project.
As a number of the “small boys and girls” who remember the plane going down were pupils at Horningsea School it is a good opportunity to hold the Horningsea School reunion at the same time.
The event will take place at St Peter’s Horningsea between 14.00 and 16.30 on Saturday 19th July : the unveiling of the plaque in memory of James M Farmer; view an exhibition about him and Horningsea in War Time; meet up with old school friends, listen to the stories and recollections – and enjoy tea and cakes!
The Timetable for the Day
14.00 – 14.30: The Church Bells will ring (as they did 80 years ago for VE and VJ Day)
14.30 – 15.00: Ceremony: Unveiling of the plaque and Laying of the Wreath
15.00 (weather permitting): Fly over by Vintage planes
15.30: reading of the “ghost story” of the American Pilot at Eye Hall Fen written by Peter Crosby
All afternoon: Exhibition; Tea and scones and chatter!
The plaque has now been commissioned and is now in the process of being made.
Horningsea marked VE Day with lighting of the beacon on the Village green on 8th May. Prosecco was enjoyed as we listened to the ringing of the church bells and music from the 1940’s.
Thanks to the Horningsea Residents Association for organising.
The plaque has now been commissioned and is now in the process of being made.
