The Remarkable Flora Sandes Yudenitch

2^nd Lt Flora Sandes (Yudenitch),

4^th Company, 2^nd Infantry Regiment of the Moravia Division

Born - 22.1.1876 

Died - 25.11.1956 aged 80

Remembered at Marlesford St Andrew Church, Suffolk.

Flora Sandes was born in North Yorkshire, the daughter of a Rector. At age 9 the family moved to Suffolk and from a very early age it was already obvious that Flora (despite her privileged upbringing) was not your typical refined young lady.

In her formative years, Flora became renowned for her ability to ‘smoke, drink and drive like a man’ and she was often seen buzzing around the village roads of Suffolk. In 1907/08 Flora Joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry – a unit of female nurses trained to gallop across battlefields to rescue the wounded.

When The Great War broke out Flora was 38 and already well travelled. She enlisted as a Red Cross Volunteer and found herself in Serbia with a kindred spirit, an American called Emily Simmonds. Nicknamed Sandy and Americano, the partners in crime set about organising the First Reserve Military Hospital, a converted military barracks housing some 1200 patients. There was no running water or proper equipment and only two surgeons and eight medical orderlies. Flora and Emily returned home to launch a fundraising campaign and returned to Sarajevo with £4000 worth of medical equipment and supplies in 1915. So short of staff was the hospital that Flora and Emily soon became embroiled in carrying out surgery themselves.

Flora’s horsemanship skills were noted by a young Serbian Officer who introduced the idea of Flora joining a Field Ambulance Unit. In the blink of an eye Flora was to become the only Western woman to serve in a frontline unit during The Great War. Being so close to the action brought the obvious risks and in November 1915 Flora was wounded during an attack which saw ‘Volunteer Sergeant Sandes’ receive not only The Order of Karadorde’s Star (Serbia’s highest military gallantry award) but a promotion to Sergeant Major.

When the war ended Flora set up rehabilitation centre for Prisoners of War and was subsequently promoted to a Vodnik (2^nd Lieutenant). In1922, after seven years in the Serbian Army she was discharged back to civilian life which after all her adventures she found incredibly tough.

Flora at home with a 'fag on the go'

In 1927 Flora married a White Russian Colonel Yurie Yudenitch 13 years her junior and the couple moved to Belgrade. By 1940 Yurie’s health was failing and the couple found themselves once more in the midst of another German invasion. In an 11 day campaign the German Army overran Yugoslavia and the country, along with its army capitulated. The couple were captured by the Gestapo and although in captivity for 7 days escaped execution. In the September of 1941 Yurie died of heart failure leaving Flora destitute.

After the war, still keen to seek adventure, Flora moved to live with her cousin in Jerusalem before heading off to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) aged 70 but it wasn’t long before she returned to England to take up residence near Wickham Market and less than a mile away from where she grew up as a child. Failing in health herself but keen to maintain her independence, Flora bought an electric wheelchair to whizz about the country lanes – not nearly as quick as her old automobile but clearly this remarkable woman loved the feel of the wind in her hair.

Local folklore recalls many an occasion of Flora being ‘rescued’ when her wheelchair batteries failed between public houses she would frequent.

Interestingly the memorial at Marlesford St Andrew
has Flora's date of death as 1955...

Flora passed away peacefully aged 80 at Ipswich hospital in 1956 and was cremated at Ipswich Cemetery. A book, a film and even a street in Belgrade bear testament to this remarkable ladies life.

A photo of Marlesford St Andrew Church where Flora's memorial is proudly displayed. I Think she would approve of the noisy mode of transport parked outside....

   

Route Recce - Stages 1 & 2

Today I set out on a 136km/84 Mile Route Recce of Stages 1 & 2.

First stop on the tour was Ipswich Lawn Cemetery to pay respects to Pte Gary Barnes of 2 Para who was killed in the Warrenpoint Massacre in Nothern Ireland in 1979. As part of the tour we hope to speak to Gary's family and retell his story.

From there the next stop was a short hop to Westerfield Cemetery to see the Commonwealth War Grave of Gunner H.W Day R.A - a well tended grave.

From Westerfield it was the B roads and the short trip to 493rd Bomb Group Museum at Debach and the associated war memorial in Debach itself. Sadly the museum isn't open midweek, but driving along the old battered runway you were able to get a feel for a typical Airbase.

The memorial to 493rd BG at Debach. Very lovely spot.

Trundling through the back roads the next leg took me down through Melton & Woodbridge out through Shottisham to Alderton before trekking down to Bawdsey for a well deserved ice-cream. Inside Alderton St Andrew Church there is an interesting memorial to HMS Defence sunk at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. The church is well kept however I was appalled to not how poorly kept the grass is around one half of the cemetery. It was so bad I could have easily missed one of the two Commonwealth War Graves. Able Seaman C Gibson's grave is practically overgrown - by contrast the grave of V Andrews of the RAF still clearly receives visitors.

Memorial to Captain S.V Ellis of HMS Defence sunk at the Battle of Jutland 1916

A poorly tended CWWG - grass all around waist thigh high
I nearly missed the grave.

By contrast, this grave is still clearly visited

 Bawdsey Radar Station is located on private property and is undergoing a major development so I was unable to get access to the site, but the ice-cream at Felixstowe Ferry made up for the disappointment.

The white houses in the background are ex Married Quarters!

The view over to Felixstowe Ferry

The coastal road up through Hollesley and Butley to Orford was good fun. The recent rain and wind has driven sand across the road in various places which made riding 'interesting'
.
Bypassing Hollesley Church and having difficulty finding Butley Church I ploughed on to Orford and had a really interesting discussion with the National Trust team at the Harbour who gave me loads of local info about an 89 yer old lady who lives locally and was on the development team for Barnes Wallis's Bouncing Bomb. I must track her down! We also discussed the Atomic Warfare Research Establishment on the Ness and I now have a direct contact to the team that are helping to preserve the site - one to add to the tour of sites indeed.

AWRE Orford Ness. Only accessible by foot ferry. You can just make out the Pagodas on the horizon.
The site is popular with photographers and wildlife lovers. Organised tours of the site can be arranged for tourists.

Leaving Orford behind and with a belly beginning to rumble, I again followed the back roads through Tunstall Forest down to the very lovely church at Campsea Ashe. Frustratingly I couldn't find the solitary Commonwealth War Grave even though the churchyard is well kept, but I did find some interesting memorials inside. The Church has compiled a series of background stories of the men of the Parish who fought in the Great War as a Centenery commemoration which was a lovely touch.

Clearly there were a few Scotsmen in Campsea Ashe - and quite clearly Scottish Gentry!

It was on the very narrow winding road between Campsea Ashe and Marlesford where I very nearly met my maker. The road is treacherous and a 14T HGV rattling along the road whose driver was head down looking at his mobile nearly made mincemeat of me. I might need to adjust that bit of the route...

After a lovely lunch at Marlesford Cafe on the A12 I headed out on the last leg of the journey - through to Marlesford Church and then onto Parham Airfield Museum. At Marlesford Church I had a long chat with a resident who was tending his parents grave and he showed me around the beautiful church including the memorial to the legendary Flora Sandes whose story we will tell as part of the tour.

The Memorial to Flora Sandes - more on this remarkable lady during the tour

I think Flora would approve. She had a reputation for
buzzing around the lanes locally.

Parham Airfield was also closed but I had a good nosy around. Again just standing outside the control tower you get a real feel for the airfield as it was - the great open expanses that were needed for the USAF Bombers. The museum looks well laid out with separate 'wings' for the airfile aspect but also an interesting room that is set aside to commemorate the British Resistance Organisation. I am looking forward to visiting Parham.

The Control Tower with commanding views of the area.
Wish I could have clambered up there....

Looking forward to visiting this little known museum

A memorial to the BG using a downed
Bombers Rotor Blade. Poignant.

The journey home flew by and thankfully without incident. I even managed to make it all the way to Westerfield before the British Summer threw a torrential downpour at me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the rideout even though the museums were not open I've been able to get a grasp of what a logistical nightmare is facing us on the tour.

The proposed tour

So today I set about narrowing down a comprehensive list of possibilities into a more manageable schedule. It was whilst researching possible sites of interest that I began to realise just how many sites there are in the area. It was always unlikely that I would be able to visit every single site I found or had suggested to me, so I found it helpful to remind my self of the purpose of the trip as my starting point.

"To conduct a 500 mile, 8 day Ride of Remembrance Scooter & Motorcycle Tour of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire raising funds on behalf of Combat Stress visiting Military Museums and sites of military interest on route including many of the rural Churchyards where there are hidden Commonwealth War Graves and conducting Acts of remembrance at sites along the route." 

Most sites are run by volunteers and as such are very restricted in their opening times which made the task quite cumbersome. To cut a long story short, the following outline will no doubt change as planning continues but in essence this is what the tour looks like as I write.

Day One

Starting in Ipswich, the Tour gets off to a gentle start heading to the first three sites of military interest, the 493^rd Bomb Group Museum near Debach, Bawdsey Radar Museum and the redundant Cold War Atomic Weapons  Research Establishment site at Orford Ness. The touring party will lay Wreaths at Debach[1] and Bawdsey[2] before camping overnight in Rendlesham Forest.

Day Two

From Rendlesham the touring party will visit Bentwaters Cold War Museum and Parham Airfield Museum which is home to the 390^th Bomb Group Memorial and the Museum of the British Resistance Organisation. Wreaths will be laid at both Museums[3]. Overnight the touring party will be camping near Saxmundham.

Day Three

Leaving Saxmundham, the group will make the short journey to Flixton to visit the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum where a wreath will be laid[4]. The party will head for the Norfolk coast in the afternoon spending the evening at the seaside.

Days Four & Five

Taking in the North Norfolk Coast and Countryside the tourists will visit the RAF Radar Defence Museum[5] and The Muckleburgh Collection[6] on day four and Langham Dome[7] and the City of Norwich Aviation Museum[8]. Wreaths will again be laid at each of the sites visited. The party will spend the night in beds with real sheets and creature comforts at a hotel or B&B in Norwich!

Day Six

Day six will see the tourists begin to head South again to Old Buckenham, home of the 453^rd Bomb Group[9]. The tour is hoping to take in RAF/USAFE Lakenheath[10] as part of the tour, but should this not come off Snetterton Race Track is close by as is the Cold War RAF Base at Barnham which is now an industrial site with some interesting cold war bunkers. Wreaths will be laid at each site before the tourists set up camp on the STANTA training area.

 Day Seven

Whilst in the Thetford area two more visits will take place. The Dads Army Museum will be visited first before the tourists will pay their respects at the Desert Rats Memorial in Thetford Forest[11]. Members of the Home Guard and Land Defence Volunteers will be remembered as will members of the 7^th Armoured Brigade of World War 2 and their more recent members who fought in the Gulf War of 1991.

Day Eight

On the final day of the tour a very personal visit will be paid to the Royal Engineers Museum at Waterbeach[12] where two of the touring party served. A wreath will be laid remembering both the Royal Engineers and the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers. The tours final destination will be Madingley American Cemetery[13] near Cambridge before the tourists will make their journey home back to Suffolk.

As can be seen by the references, I am still considering several options of memorial and remembrance at some of the sites.

---

[1] ??

[2] Battle of Britain??

[3] The first Spitfire Sqn to fly from Bentwaters (1944) and The British Resistance Organisation

[4] The Royal Observer Corps and 22 Sqn/Air Sea Rescue Crews

[5] ??

[6] ??

[7] 16 Group, Coastal Command

[8] The Falklands War (at the Vulcan XM612 site)

[9] B24 Liberator Crews??

[10]British & American Servicemen and Women of the post Cold War era, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan

[11] The Home Guard and LDV, 7^th Armd Bde (from WW2 and the first Gulf War)

[12] The Royal Engineers and The Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers

[13] ??

Lest we forget

It may be my advancing years or my current mental state (but more than likely a combination of both) as of late I have found myself compiling list after list of things 'to do'.

Somehow The Lest We Forget remembrance theme seems very appropriate. I may even nab that title as the project title........

Here's the list as it stands after the first few days of project planning.

1. Create blog to record the tour
2. Tour itinerary - WIP
3. Route maps, stage mileage, fuel stops - WIP 
4. Potential camp sites - WIP
5. Contact Combat Stress about fundraising
6. Create a list of potential memorial item options
7. Tour T-Shirt
8. Contact museums on visit list 
9. Identify tour resources
10. Packing list

Cunning plans and dastardly dilemmas

So armed with a few ideas I came up with the basis of a Cunning Plan: For want of a better name, lets just call this cunning plan:

The Three Counties Ride of Remembrance 2018. 

Rather than just a rather nice jolly for me to lighten my mood, I want the Road Trip to be meaningful, not just for me, but also to do some good along the way. Of all the forces charities out there, Combat Stress has always struck me as the one forces charity that just quietly gets on with doing what it says it does. No pomp, no ceremony. It does what it says on the tin. That decision was the easy bit.

Next I needed to roughly outline what the cunning plan might look like. What do I hope to achieve? In true K.I.S.S style (Keep It Simple Stupid), I have kept the outline simple. 

• To conduct a 7 day motorcycle road trip of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire taking in 11 or more military museums to fundraise for Combat Stress.

• Visit other sites of Military Interest along the route including War Memorials, Graveyards containing Commonwealth War Graves and other potential sites of interest.

• Lay items of remembrance & memorial at each of the museums and military interest sites on route. 

• Create a Blog, chronicling the trip and share the photos and stories on EAB and AFSC Facebook pages.

Dastardly Dilemmas

No sooner had my very simple Cunning Plan been committed to paper did I begin to perceive several Dastardly Dilemmas.

Dastardly Dilemma No1:

I own both a Vespa PX125 and a Suzuki Van Van. Which to take on the Road Trip?

• Having done a few rallies on the Vespa, she is more than capable of carrying everything I need to sustain me for a week on 2 wheels....

• The Vespa is adorned with symbols of a military connection

• The Van Van lacks luggage space but will be a more comfortable ride....

Dastardly Dilemma No2:

I'm a member of The East Anglian Bikers, The Armed Forces Scooter Club and the Ipswich Crusaders Scooter Club. Under whose banner do I conduct the road trip? 

Of all three Clubs the AFSC naturally calls out to be the most appropriate given its obvious affiliation to the military...... 

but there is also a strong contingent of ex-servicemen and supporters within the East Anglian Bikers. 

I will probably undertake the ride under the banner of both given they're both equally important to me.

Finding Inspiration

I've been seeking inspiration lately. Recent events have left me in a weird place; a place I haven't been to in quite a while. My career with the Ambulance Service has stalled and there is little likelihood of any career advancement. Some would say I'm at a crossroads, others that it's my midlife crisis. Me? It's my Black Dog day. Actually it's been a Black Dog couple of months.

It was whilst attending the Passchendaele 100 Years Remembrance that it dawned upon me that what I needed was something to get my drive back. Normally I'm kitted out in a slightly more modern version of the British Legion garb - a tweed jacket with jeans and gongs, but for this event I had used my Vespa to get there so was in my Armed Forces Scooter Club 'uniform'.

For as many stares as I received, I also noted that I was receiving quite a bit of attention both of those present and the official photographer. Most present didn't realise  there was an Armed Forces Scooter Club. Few knew a biker or two that was a Veteran.

I posted photos of the day on the AFSC Facebook page and was genuinely surprised at the number of 'likes' and comments posted. Using one of the pictures as a 'profile pic' for 24 hours also got a lot of attention.

In the days that followed the event, particularly in the evenings when I have being finding it hard to get to sleep, I began to form an idea of combining my hobby with something that is very personal to me - that of the act of remembrance.

An idea. A road trip, on two wheels, taking in three counties, 11 museums and numerous sites of military interest began to develop.