This article written by Jackie Rickenberg was in the Parish Magazine in April 2024. See also 'Wedding Belles'.
April 28, 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the death of a Thursley war hero. Robert (Bob) George Sharland DFC was one of 55,573 men who died serving in Bomber Command during World War 2. His niece, Miriam Sharland, tells his story:
Bob was born on Back Lane (now The Lane) in 1922, and moved with his family into the new council houses at Homefields in 1937.
When war came, Bob served in the home guard with his father. Perhaps inspired by the pioneering aviators who occasionally flew over the village, Bob enlisted in the RAF in 1940, despite being underage. Bob dreamt of being a pilot, but like many working-class recruits, he became a rear gunner even though, at 5’10”, he was tall for the tiny gun turret. After graduating from gunnery school, Bob joined 51 Squadron in Yorkshire, flying night-time bombing operations on Whitleys. His first ‘op’ was to Bonn in December 1941. On op nights, his mother stood in the garden at Homefields, counting the bombers out, not sleeping until she’d counted them back in and knew if it had been a bad night. In January 1942, Bob was selected for a daring mission led by Wing Commander Percy Pickard, star of the Oscar-winning Target for Tonight. The aircrews carried paratroops to Bruneval, France, to capture a German radar station that made Allied bombers vulnerable to nightfighters. This was the first mission of what became the British Paratroop Regiment. 51 Squadron was briefly transferred to Coastal Command, where Bob flew air-sea rescues and anti-submarine patrols before returning to bombing duties, now on the new heavy bomber Halifaxes. Shortly before his 20th birthday, Bob was promoted to Pilot Officer and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, becoming the first Thursley man to be decorated.
1943, Bob completed his tour of 30 bombing ops, became an instructor, and was promoted to Flying Officer. Back in Thursley on leave, at a dance in the village hall, Lieutenant Colonel Rushbrooke presented him with an inscribed silver cigarette case. The Surrey Advertiser reported that Rushbrooke “expressed the village's pride in the heroic young air-man.” Perhaps this was when Bob met Beryl Jones from Elstead. Now a Flight Gunnery Leader, Bob taught fledgling gunners before being recruited into the elite Pathfinder Force, created to improve bombing accuracy. His new squadron, 156, flew Lancasters from Warboys, Huntingdonshire. Bob wrote home that he’d lunched with the King and Queen – “the Queen looked swell” – when they visited the base.
Bob had 48 hours’ leave in April 1944 to marry Beryl at Elstead Church. Eighteen days later he flew to Friedrichshafen, an extremely successful op, with minimal casualties. Perhaps his mother counted the planes back in with relief. But the next day, a telegram arrived at Homefield: Bob’s plane had not returned. His death was later confirmed, and he now lies with his crew in Durnbach Military Cemetery, Bavaria. Bob was 21 years old.
In 2022 Miriam cycled to Bob’s airbases. She’s writing a book about her, and Bob’s, journey.
The wedding of Bob Sharland and Beryl Jones April 1944 at Elstead
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Over the years, Thursley’s history has been recorded in many ways. Family trees and stories have been passed from generation to generation, the previous occupants of and physical changes made to village houses are tales passed from seller to buyer etc. However, sometimes there is no obvious place for the information to be stored or it can get lost in the mists of times. This is how Thursley History Society has acquired a lot of the archives it stores in a locked room, somewhere in the parish (no names, no pack drill!). The majority of it, though, comes from villagers’ recollections - written, recorded and photographed, then carefully collated and stored over the years by members past and present of the Thursley History Society.
Occasionally, in times of celebrations or anniversaries, exhibitions have been curated and these precious memories are shared for everyone to enjoy; the last one being Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. And then it all gets loaded back into the bunker, never to be seen again! One such exhibition was the Wedding Belles exhibition of 2007, which is definitely worth revisiting. Originally, the brief was to examine the register of births, marriages and deaths in the church, from its conception in 1613, and explore, exhibit and display some pertinent and interesting case studies. It was very quickly realised that this was too monumental a task and a team, led by Sally Scheffers, narrowed it down to Thursley weddings 1613-2007.
It was held in the village hall over a weekend in 2007 and was hailed as a fantastic success. Looking back, the collection of photographs and stories from it was just the most comprehensive and wonderful array of wedding ceremonies and parties through the centuries. Once the timeline reached the 1960’s though, the one thing that hits home is the number of people married in the church who still live in the village – up to sixty odd years later! Richard and Anne Timberlake, Robert and Sue Ranson, Peter and Teresa Goble, Michael and Debbie Spencer, Philip and Angela Traill and Stephen and Julie Langley to name but a few. Not all of them are celebrating their diamond weddings just yet, but our past chairman, Michael O’Brien and his wife, Marian, although not married in the parish, are indeed doing so this month! Very shortly afterwards, they moved to Thursley and so imminently celebrate sixty years in the village but more on this next month. Congratulations to them both!
Below are photographs of the first and last weddings that were featured in the exhibition.
The wedding of George Warner to Edith Keen 5th June 1909
In the barn field at Pit Farm (now Punch Bowl Farm)
The wedding of Joe and Melissa (Wakeley) 23rd September 2006.
This is just one example of the fascinating insight to the past that these archives can give. And now they are available for all to see, whether for genealogy purposes, to find out how things were celebrated and marked or just to browse past village life. The History Society will launch this new website, full of archives like this, in the village hall on Saturday 1st June. We hope as many of you as possible will pop in between 6-8pm to see examples of some sensational tales and plots as well as familiar faces in hilarious and joyful photos. Look for yourself; find out what you can about houses, events and people, listen to past residents talking about their life in Thursley. It promises to be an exciting evening with a few surprises thrown in! Refreshments will be served and all are welcome – villagers past and present, children and friends. The importance of community and a shared understanding of our past is so precious, especially in these turbulent times.
The current committee have taken on the monumental task of making these documents available on the website in order that the originals can be stored safely and securely in local museums, therefore safeguarding them for future generations. We hope to see you at the Village Hall on 1st June, 2024, 6-8pm.