Vintage Minor Register
Welcome to the VMR 2008 Summer Rally
Our Salute to the Bloody Hundredth*!
Friday 11th July to Sunday 13th July
*The 100th Bomb Group (Heavy) operated from Thorpe Abbotts airfield between 1942 and 1945.
The group flew the B-17G Flying Fortresses as part of the Eighth Air Force's strategic bombing campaign.
In 1943, the average life of an 8th Air Force B-17 crew was eleven missions. In 1943-1945, the 100th lost 177 aircraft missing in action
plus 52 lost due to operational accidents, making a total of 229. The 100th was not the Group with the highest losses in the 8th, but
since its losses often came many at a time, it soon acquired the reputation of a hard-luck outfit and the name “The Bloody Hundredth.”
It lost 9 crews on the August 17, 1943, Regensburg-to-Africa shuttle. It lost seven over Bremen on October 8, 1943,
with its lead plane being shot out of formation over the target and then returning alone on the deck
before crash-landing on the shore of East Anglia. It lost 12 over Munster on October 10, 1943, with one plane,
Royal Flush, with the legendary Robert Rosenthal as its pilot being the only one to return.
It lost 15 over Berlin on March 6, 1944, and nine there on May 24.
It lost 14 over Ruhland on September 11, 1944, and 12 over Hamburg on December 31, 1944.
With all
its bad luck, the 100th still earned an enviable record during its time
in England. It lead the bombing of Trondheim, Norway,
which delayed the manufacture
of heavy water for the German atomic bomb, stiffened Norwegian underground
resistance,
and earned the Group citations
by the Norway government-in-exile, and the British. It participated in
all three BAF shuttle missions,
twice to Russia and once
to Africa. For its part in the liberation of France and for mercy missions
dropping food to the French Resistance
the 100th was awarded the
French Croix de Guerre twice.
For dropping food to Warsaw the Group earned a special medal
from the Polish Government
in exile. It also received two Presidential Citations.
In spite of its losses, the
100th never once went off operations. As Jimmy Doolittle once said,
“The 100th was always ready”.
With thanks
to Harry H. Crosby, Editor of the 100th Bomb Group Magazine.
Where are you, Charlie?
9,600 hp of Wright Cyclone in action - that's about 1,200 Morris Minors!
Enjoy a weekend
of nostalgia, memories, wartime experiences and entertainment
as you step
back to the 1940's with our salute to the airmen and airwomen who
gave so much,
that we should be free today.
Download your Entry Form here!
Welcome to our 2008 Summer Rally Webpage!
Here we hope you will find all the Rally information you need to make your weekend a most enjoyable one.
This year’s
Rally will be centred on Thorpe Abbotts in the Fens - the home of the 100th
Bomb Group, 1942 to 1945.
The weekend
will have a distinct Forties theme, the Rally Headquartes being the 100th
Bomb Group Memorial Museum
on the old
Thorpe Abbotts airfield, near Diss in Norfolk.
The restored control tower at Thorpe Abbotts
The Rally Itinerary
Friday Evening
Informal Reception at the Swan at Hoxne
The Swan Inn is one of the
best known public houses and restaurants in Suffolk
renowned for its good beer,
good food and wealth of history.
The Swan is situated in
the beautiful village of Hoxne, on the Suffolk/Norfolk Border.
Saturday
Scramble for the Bombing Run Scenic Tour!
The Scenic Tour will start
from Thorpe Abbotts airfield and take in some sixty miles
of Fenland scenery, calling
in at numerous disused World War Two airfields and memorials en route.
There will be a lunch stop
at Horham airfield and Vintage Picnics may be ordered in advancce,
to be delivered to the airfield
on the day.
Download the Vintage Picnic
order form here.
intage ,picnics may be ordered
and will be deliverd
The afternoon will conclude
with Cream Teas and Results at The Forge Tea Rooms, Thornham Magna.
The Forge Tea Rooms, Thornton Magna. Results, anyone?
Saturday Evening
Fiona Harrison has been booked for us for Saturday evening
The highlight of the weekend
will be a Forties Night at the airfield, complete with swing music
and fresh Lowestoft Fish
and Chips supplied by The Codfather!
(Forties dress is suggested
but not obligatory - but please - no anoraks or baseball caps!)
And don't forget to bring your sweetheart!
Sunday Morning
Your Mission - to set course for the coast!
A scenic run to the coastal
village of Southwold.
Southwold is a charming
north Suffolk seaside town on the Suffolk Heritage Coast.
Almost an island, being
bounded by the North Sea to the East, by the River Blyth and Southwold
harbour to the South-West
and by Buss Creek to the
North, there is just the one road in to and out of Southwold, so you shouldn't
get lost!
Lunch will be taken at a
suitable pub on the way back to Thorpe Abbotts for the afternoon festivities.
Sunday Afternoon
The afternoon
will be spent at the 100th Bomb Group Museum at Thorpe Abbots airfield.
We are planning
a variety of activities, including driving tests on poart of the old airfield
peritrack.
The Lewis
& Nicholson Trophy will be awarded to the winning team from the
Minors and Austin Sevens.
Among other awards over
the weekend will be the Sports &
Vintage Cup, awarded to
the most meritorious member
in the last year.
Sunday Evening
A Farewell Sortie to the Four Horseshoes, Thornham Magna
The Four Horseshoes is a
charming 12th century inn situated in the beautiful Suffolk village of
Thornham Magna.
It is the quintessential
picture postcard country pub.
And, of course, it serves
Greene King ales.
Accommodation
May we suggest that you consider
booking your accommodation as soon as possible,
as suitable accommodation
in the area is at a premium in the summer.
Check out the Rally accomodation page here.
Maps
...
Two OS maps will be required this year:
Landranger
Map 144 (Thetford & Diss), Edition B2
and
Landranger
Map 156 (Saxmundham), Edition B1
Order your map here.
Where is the Rally?
Thorpe Abbotts is located 5 miles east of Diss, Norfolk.
2008 Yearbook and Rally Handbook
The Vintage
Minor Register will publish its 2008 Yearbook in June.
It will include
a selection of the best articles from the Vintage Minor Register Magazine
together with
a wealth of previously unpublished material and contemporary photographs
many in colour
- a first for the VMR Yearbook.
Each Yearbook
comes with a CD containing a full colour edition of the Yearbook,
original graphics
images, a CD edition of the Summer 2008 VMR Magazine,
a complete
VMR website snapshot and more.
Once again,
the Yearbook will also double as a Summer Rally Handbook,
providing
full details of our 2008 Summer Rally weekend in the Fens.
You can reserve your copy on your Rally Entry Form.
Lt. Bob Shoens and his crew at Thorpe Abbotts
They shall
not grow old as we that are left grow old:
Age shall
not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the
going down of the sun and in the morning
We will
remember them.
And finally, my all-time favourite World War 2 aviation video!