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.
Following advice from their legal team the Save Honey Hill group issued the following update on the 17th May. Despite the end results Horningsea really owes the hard working team thanks! The Save Honey Hill group held Anglian Water to account, and will continue to do so, on access, construction, design, and other aspects of the project that will impact Horningsea.
“As you will have undoubtedly seen the Save Honey Hill group received the Secretary of State’s response to our Pre-Action Letter and on the advice of our legal team we have concluded that there is little point in pursuing a JR any further incurring costs which might lead to a negligible outcome.
We will now spend the next few weeks winding things down from a financial point of view. We will await the invoices from our solicitors and barristers and settle our accounts forthwith.
We would like to assure you that the Save Honey Hill team will continue its duty as per our constitution to engage with Anglian Water, our Parish Councils and all other stakeholders and do our best to ensure that mitigating the detrimental effects of this project on our communities is at the forefront of their minds at all times.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support over the last five years, without it we may not have won the argument and had the agreement and support of the Planning Inspectorate in its recommendation to refuse the application.”
18.30 – 19:30 & 20.30 – 22:00 – returning to play for us again this year the fabulous band Tripwire. Enjoy a dance or chill out and listen to their music, they really are a brilliant band and there’ll be music for everyone to enjoy.
19:30 – Knobbly knees contest.
Disco to end the evening, finishing when the last person goes home!
What’s else is happening!
Coconut shy
Plant stall
Wine/bottle stall
Kids tombola
Hook a duck
Splat a rat
Bouncy castle for the little ones
Inflatable assault course for the more energetic
Beer from the pubs
Tug of war, sack races and games.
Display of classic cars and bikes
Absolutely not to be missed the hilarious knobbly knees competition!
Tripwire at Horningsea Village Day 2019
So bring the whole family and a picnic if you fancy and enjoy the community spirit. Cash/ small change for the stalls if possible
Horningsea Residents Association (HRA) is a small but very enthusiastic group of villagers who work hard to organise and run numerous events throughout the year. If you fancy knowing more about what they do or if you can spare an hour or two to help at any event please ask.
One of the highlights of the village calendar is the Horticultural Show. The Show Committee completely transform the look of the Village Hall with tables groaning under the weight of all of the exhibits.
TV shows like The Great British Bake off and The Big Allotment Challenge have re-sparked interest in the whimsy of the traditional village show. Our typical entrant now is actually atypical, there are seasoned and newer competitors. There is a good mix of entrants across the board. The children’s classes add more fun and colour and all the children receive something for entering.
This year the entry form has been updated as many classes have been updated and simplified. If you are nervous or on the fence about entering just have a go… you might surprise yourself. Or at the very least, enjoy a pleasant summer morning and some good natured competition with your fellow villagers.
We are also looking for new people to help us to run the show. It’s not a huge time commitment and many hands make light work. If you’d like to contribute to Horningsea Village events but don’t have a huge amount of time to spare then this is the one for you.
There are many event happening throughout May. The first event of the month being the VE celebrations run by the HRA and the church on Thursday 8th May.
There’s also information about the Save Honey Hill Crowdfunder for raising funds for a Judicial Review since the disappointing decision to go ahead and grant the Development Consent Order despite the Planning Inspectors’ clear recommendation to refuse the application.
Church times are in the Herald and also on the village website:
4th May – (3rd Sunday of Easter) 10.30 Holy Communion
11th May – (4th Sunday of Easter )16.00 Village Service (Commemorating VE Day) & Annual Meeting
18th May (5th Sunday of Easter) Faith & Science weekend 10.30 Holy Communion
Ringing for 80th Anniversary of VE Day
Thursday 8 May at 19.00
The church bells will ring out at 19.00 on 8th May to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of VE Day when church bells all over the country were rung for the first time in 6 years. You can come and watch, or listen from wherever you are in the Village.
The Trails of Kerala
Saturday 10 May at 19.30 at St Peter’s Church
Lindsay will show pictures and talk about Kerala and the Western Ghat mountains of southern India including the wildlife, the bio diversity hotspots, the people and the culture. The talk has been organised by The Friends of Horningsea Church, entrance is free but you are asked to give a donation.
Church Service to commemorate VE Day 80 years ago.
Sunday 11 May at 16.00 at St Peter’s Church:
No one now living in the village fought in the War but many of our older residents were children and remember life in the village in wartime. Older people had recorded their memories in the booklets produced for the 50th and 60th Anniversaries. These booklets and photographs will be on display. Do come along to commemorate the anniversary – you probably have stories told to you by your parents or grandparents. Come and share them!
Annual Meeting of the Parish
Sunday 11 May at 17.00
Stay on after the service for the annual meeting of the church. At this meeting the church wardens and Parochial Church Council will be elected, a report is given about the events and services in the last year, the plans for the fabric of the church, repairs that will take place, the church finances and other matters of importance to the church. If you are on the church electoral roll you can vote, if you are not yet on the church electoral roll, but you come to church and care about it, then ask a Liz Harrison for a form so you sign up.
An afternoon of science, climate change and faith
Saturday 17 May – 13.30 – 16.30 all afternoon at St Mary’s Fen Ditton
An afternoon run by the Faraday Institute for families with half a dozen activities about science, climate change and faith. It should be a fascinating afternoon, so do go along
Film Show: Pure Clean Water.
Sunday 18 May at 19.00 at St Peter’s Church:
This award winning film has been made by people in Cambridge concerned about the damage done to our chalk streams and the impact on the Cam. A member of the Friends of the Cam will take part in a Q & A session after the film. If you live on a boat, have a boat – kayak, paddle board- that you use for leisure, if you are one the brave people who swim in the Cam, if you fish or if you just enjoy walking on the towpath, you need to be concerned about the health of the river. Come along and watch the film. This event has been organised by The Friends of Horningsea Church. Entrance is free but you are asked to give a donation. You can reserve a ticket through Eventbrite as set out on the attached flier. Please pass this message on to anyone who might be interested.
Rogation Sunday ” beating the bounds”
Sunday 25th May
This year the traditional Rogation Day walk when we ” beat the bounds” of the Parish (or at least walk along some of the footpaths!) will start at Fen Ditton Church after the service at 10.30 and take in Biggin Abbey and Honey Hill finishing at the Jubilee Square in Marleigh at 14.00. Take a packed lunch or have something to eat at Salento’s.
Horningsea seniors enjoyed their annual lunch on Wednesday 23rd April. The HRA hosts this wonderful yearly event and this year 24 over 65’s enjoyed a sit down home cooked lunch in the village hall. The wine and conversation flowed and a speech of thanks was given by Richard Pleasants finishing with a toast to the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
The plaque has now been commissioned and is now in the process of being made.
