When 617 Squadron (initially known as Squadron X) was formed in March 1943, Lancaster squadrons Bomber Command were requested to donate suitable aircrew for a special operation. It seems that crews volunteered or were recommended, either as full crews or as individual crew members. The following list gives the 133 names of the aircrew that … More RAF Squadrons that provided crews to 617 Dambuster Squadron
The complete year of articles for the bi-monthly Inside Marple glossy magazine JANUARY – FEBRUARY 2022 Welcome to my regular feature on the life of the honeybee. Hopefully it will give you an insight into the world of the amazing honeybee as we progress through the year. In each edition I will be giving a … More Honeybee Diary for the Inside Marple Magazine
This blog appeared in an article for the Inside Marple Magazine’s November-December 2022 edition. Mellor Tennis Club is now 100 years old and retains its long standing traditions of being a local community hub. It was originally formed in the 1920s together with Mellor Cricket Club on what is now the recreation ground near the … More Mellor Tennis Club
Hyde Lane CollieryHistorically Manchester was in Lancashire but to the east in nearby Hyde, which in those days was across the county border in Cheshire, was Hyde Lane Colliery. It was located alongside the Lower Peak Forest Canal and what is now known as Manchester Road. It started extracting coal about 1794 following the completion … More A very early Manchester football derby in support of a local mining disaster
Mellor, a small village established during the cotton revolution, sitting in the foothills of the Pennines is arguably the remotest village in Greater Manchester. Historically it was in Derbyshire, incorporated into Cheshire in 1936, and finally gobbled up by Greater Manchester in 1974. Though it is an ancient village, the main road through it, Longhurst … More What’s in the name of a house? – YEGORYEVSK, Longhurst Lane, Mellor
The small village of Mellor’s early history is complex and unclear but had from the Middle Ages been part of Forest of Peak under the jurisdiction of the Duchy of Lancaster. By the 1640s the land around Mellor had been surveyed and divided under a process of ‘enclosure’ whereby common land was consolidated into individually … More Mellor village historical sites
Discussions about attacking dams in Germany in the event of conflict in Europe had started before WW2. In late 1940 Wallis had taken his idea of attacking the Möhne and Eder Dams to the Building Research Establishment (BRE), or as it was known at that time the Building Research Station (BRS) near Watford where engineering … More All the Dambuster Dams
A minute-by-minute account of the famous Dambuster Raid by 19 special Avro Lancaster bombers and their ‘Bouncing Bombs’ which took place during the evening of 16 – 17 May 1943. My book, with some unique documents, gives the true storey of the Flight Engineer of Dambuster Z-Zebra. My book which includes some unique documents – … More Operation Chastise – The Dambusters a minute-by-minute account
By popular demand! a series of maps showing some of the historic locations with Mellor parish boundary. I will add more over time, but please feel free to comment or correct. Mills Coal Mines Football pitches Pubs present and past Marple Bridge historical sites Links Ludworth Moor Collieryhttps://pleszak.blog/2021/12/13/ludworth-moor-colliery/ Rod Thackray paintingshttps://pleszak.blog/2021/11/13/rod-thackray-paintings-n-e-w/ Oldknow’s Seathttps://pleszak.blog/2021/08/18/oldknows-seat/ MELLOR – … More Mellor History Maps
A chance discussion with my neighbour Norma when I bumped into her on a dog walk turned into an incredible journey of discovery into what really happened during the most famous of all wartime stories – The Dambusters. Norma’s uncle, Jack Marriott was one of the Dambusters, the Flight Engineer of AJ-Z who was sadly, … More THE HIGH PEAK DAMBUSTER
PLESZAK 