St Lawrence's Church Effingham, Surrey - Sir Barnes Wallis
 Barnes Wallis's headstone in the churchyard, possibly resembling the cross section of one of the Dams |
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN MEMORY OF BARNES
NEVILLE KT CBE FRAeS FICE FIMechE FRS ENGINEER 26 SEPTEMBER 1887 - 30 OCTOBER 1979 AND HIS WIFE MARY FRANCES 12 SEPTEMBER 1904 - 1 JANUARY 1986 |
'Sir Barnes Wallis lived with his wife Molly in the village for 49 years. His home, called White Hill House and now renamed Little Court, looks over Effingham Golf Club. It is said early bouncing bomb experiments were carried out in his garden and a close by pond.
Sir Barnes Wallis was instrumental in the founding days of the KGV playing fields at Effingham. He was Chairman of the KGV Management Committee and negotiated the landscaping of the "bowl" cricket ground. As a fanatic cricket fan he was keen to see a first class ground in his village; the County Council wanted to improve the line of the adjacent A246 Guildford road and Wallis persuaded them to cut and fill the sloping playing field to achieve the current superb flat cricket ground. At one stage it was the back-up ground to The Oval. He was the first Chairman of the Effingham Housing Association, a charity which built homes for local people; the most recent development, Barnes Wallis Close, was opened by two members of his family in 2002.
Sir Barnes Wallis died on 30 October 1979 and was
buried in St Lawrence Churchyard, just a few yards from KGV
fields. During the funeral a Vulcan bomber from 617
Squadron (the Dambusters) flew overhead as a mark of
respect.'
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effingham
Links
on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes_Wallis
Barnes Wallis Memorial Trust http://www.barneswallistrust.org/
Barnes Wallis Collection, Yorkshire Air Musuem http://www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk/collections/wallis/index.asp
Dambusters.org.uk www.dambusters.org.uk/barnes_wallis.htm
King George V Hall and Playing Fields Effingham. 'In 1938 land
was donated to the Parish of Effingham in trust for the
community. In 1964 a complex of village halls and changing rooms
was built with funds raised by public subscription, matched with
grants from the local councils and sporting bodies. Amongst
prominent local benefactors was national hero Sir Barnes Wallis -
a resident in Effingham until he died in 1979.'
http://www.effingham.co.uk/kgv/website/wallis.htm
image: Haslam, 22 Feb 2009
page added 21 Feb 09: updated 25 Mar 2009