I’ve been trying to find out exactly when Grizedale Hall was demolished without success, I do have books on the subject but it’s too cold to root around the boxes in the garage to find them.
Last year I visited the newly restored Carnforth station to see the famous clock and refreshment room as featured in ‘Close Encounter’ and worth seeing to. There is a rumour that following his escape from Grizedale, Von Werra called in at this station for something to eat, but it is thought unlikely and that his only ‘close encounter’ with Carnforth was passing through on the way to Derby.
When I was a kid and Codnor Park station was closed and derelict, some of the old station signs remained in situ, we had a go at removing one of these with a hacksaw, but failed miserably, I wonder what happened to it.
My brother lives just down the road from Ripley and we did once find the Swanwick camp and have a wander around the outside, it always seemed an unlikely spot for a POW camp.
I noticed that in the scene where Von Werra was attempting to get to the Hurricane, there was another example in the hangar behind him or would this have been clever use of the same one.
Well, it’s a very pleasant day, I keep looking out of the window expecting the Spitfires to come over any moment on their way to Southampton.