'the imjin' magazine Autumn 2019 | Page 21

101st place
Easy Going – Aldbourne’s picture-perfect village green
where the 101st Airborne were temporarily billeted
©VisitWiltshire
Take it Easy in historic Aldbourne – where the
original ‘Band of Brothers’ set up camp in the months
before D-Day Major Paul Turner
St Michael’s church contains two old
fire pumps and examples of the bells
cast in the historic foundry just 50
metres down the road. Our guide also
took great pleasure in pointing out to
our U.S. colleague that ‘the church and
some of those buried there are older
than America itself’. And I’m sure those Screaming Eagles
would approve of the traditional fish n’
chips it serves today. Airbourne!
O S
192
WIN
WEST
DO
N
STRE ET
Post Office
CAS
STRE
T H E SQUARE
S
ET
T LE
 T
While small, the centre has displays of
key events in the village’s 3,000-year
history – from the early Bronze Age to
its centuries-old tradition of casting
church bells.
Aldbourne
Heritage Centre
B4
The Blue Boar
Pub
Aldbourne Heritage Centre
(postcode SN8 2DU) is a good place
to start. It’s open at weekends, and
(for a small donation) group visits can
be booked during the week with the
curator John Dymond to include a
walking tour of the village.
The church
and some
of those
buried
there are
older than
America
itself.
Village Green
100 metres
St Michael’s
Church
Aldbourne
EASY GOING
Just over an hour’s drive south of
Gloucester, a day trip to this most
picturesque village on the northern
edge of Salisbury Plain is a rewarding
day out.
With thanks to Aldbourne Heritage
Centre aldbourneheritage.org.uk
Today the ‘Screaming Eagle’ flags
of the 101st Airborne Division fly
throughout Aldbourne – hanging
incongruously from its pubs and post
office in honour of the Allied soldiers
who were briefly stationed there.
We finished our day with a meal and
drink at The Blue Boar pub which
acted as the 101st Officers’ Mess. The
friendly pub is a mini museum in its
own right.
Billeted on the village green and even
in villagers’ homes, the American
troops largely took over the place as
they trained in England before setting
off to fight in north-west Europe.
Science fiction fans will also be
amused to learn that classic episodes
of Doctor Who were filmed here in
the 1970s, which explains the Dalek
guarding ‘The Crown’ today.
Our group were then treated to a
bespoke walking tour of the village
itself.
During the Second World War, U.S.
Army paratroopers of ‘Easy Company’,
2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute
Infantry Regiment – the famed
Band of Brothers – were based at
Aldbourne from late 1943 to mid-1944,
in preparation for D-Day.
Highlights include the village Post
Office where 1st Lieutenants Dick
Winter and Harry Welsh were billeted,
and the Easy Company Command Post
in the pub opposite. On the day our group visited
Aldbourne, we were privileged to tour
a special archaeological dig on the
Farm Lane Playing Fields. In one
corner of a football pitch, the team
had uncovered the foundations of
the Easy Company sergeants’ mess
hut. We were shown some of their
incredible finds, including an original
reserve parachute handle.
Certainly, the Band of Brothers would
recognise the village today.
TIME TEAM
There’s no greater place to lose some
time than in a timeless English country
village. And charming, picture-perfect
Aldbourne in Wiltshire has remained
largely unchanged for centuries.
M
A
R
LB
O
R
O
U
G
H
AD
RO
Farm Lane
Playing Fields
the imjin AUTUMN 2019
21