
The whole country celebrated with George V for his Silver Jubilee. On 6th May 1935 Miss Ann Brown, assisted by her sister and brothers, planted a pink horse chestnut tree by the pond in Aldbourne. As I type this, the ‘candlesticks’ that will become blossoms are just starting to appear.
Ann’s brother, Flight Lieutenant Guy Richard Brown, DFC RAF died, aged 24, on 6th September 1945, three weeks after the Japanese surrender. He is buried in Heliopolis War Cemetery, Cairo, Egypt. He was awarded the DFC for his service in 50 operational missions over Egypt and Libya leading to the capture of Tripoli. Thereafter he flew for an electronic countermeasures unit. At the time of his death he was serving in an air ferry unit. The bus shelter was built as a memorial to him, just yards away from the tree he helped to plant in 1935.
With thanks to William and Ann Brown.
Additional information sourced from http://www.theobservationpost.com ‘Aldbourne’s War Dead and Easy Company’s Band of Brothers’ (June 2017)