Heigham Holmes
Heigham Holmes is a national nature reserve located within the Norfolk Broads in the English county of Norfolk. The reserve is, in effect, an island, being surrounded by the river channels, drainage ditches and wetland areas of the Broads. It is only accessible by an unusual floating swing bridge across the River Thurne from the village of Martham. The reserve is owned by the National Trust and is within the Broads National Park and the civil parish of Potter Heigham. It is only opened to the public for one day a year. It has been suggested that Heigham Holmes was used by the Special Operations Executive as a secret airfield between 1940 and 1944, with Lysander aircraft operating from the airfield to ferry agents to occupied Europe. However, no evidence of an airfield has been found in any records (military or local), maps or on aerial photographs, and any military-type structures that may have existed would appear to have been removed by the end of the Second World War, there ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heigham Holmes (National Trust) - Geograph
Heigham Holmes is a national nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserve located within the Norfolk Broads in the England, English county of Norfolk. The reserve is, in effect, an island, being surrounded by the river channels, drainage ditches and wetland areas of the Broads. It is only accessible by an unusual floating swing bridge across the River Thurne from the village of Martham. The reserve is owned by the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, National Trust and is within the Broads National Park and the civil parish of Potter Heigham. It is only opened to the public for one day a year. It has been suggested that Heigham Holmes was used by the Special Operations Executive as a secret airfield between 1940 and 1944, with Westland Lysander, Lysander aircraft operating from the airfield to ferry agents to occupied Europe. However, no evidence of an airfield has been found in any records (military or local), maps or on aerial photograph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National Trust For Places Of Historic Interest Or Natural Beauty
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and independent National Trust for Scotland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements (including buildings) of beauty or historic interest". It was given statutory powers, starting with the National Trust Act 1907. Historically, the Trust acquired land by gift and sometimes by public subscription and appeal, but after World War II the loss of country houses resulted in many such properties being acquired either by gift from the former owners or through the National Land Fund. Country houses and estates still make up a significant part of its holdings, but it is also known for its protection of wild lands ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Secret Britain
''Secret Britain'' is a BBC documentary series which has aired on BBC One since 15 August 2010. The series explores some of the United Kingdom's hidden corners such as deserted beaches and tumbling waterfalls, showcasing the very best of what the British countryside has to offer. The show focuses on a variety of areas of the British countryside, with a few minutes dedicated to each particular area of interest. As of the third series, the programme is presented by Ellie Harrison, Chris Hollins and Denise Lewis Denise Lewis (born 27 August 1972) is a British sports presenter and former track and field athlete, who specialised in the heptathlon. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was twice Commonwealth Games champion, .... Episodes Transmissions Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 References External links * BBC television documentaries BBC high definition shows Nature educational television series 2010 British television series de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's short-field performance enabled clandestine missions using small, improvised airstrips behind enemy lines to place or recover agents, particularly in occupied France with the help of the French Resistance. Royal Air Force army co-operation aircraft were named after mythical or historical military leaders; in this case the Spartan admiral Lysander was chosen. Design and development In 1934 the Air Ministry issued Specification A.39/34 for an army co-operation aircraft to replace the Hawker Hector. Initially Hawker Aircraft, Avro and Bristol were invited to submit designs, but after some debate within the Ministry, a submission from Westland was invited as well. The Westland design, internally designated P. 8, was the work of Arthur ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its purpose was to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in occupied Europe (and later, also in occupied Southeast Asia) against the Axis powers, and to aid local resistance movements. Few people were aware of SOE's existence. Those who were part of it or liaised with it were sometimes referred to as the "Baker Street Irregulars", after the location of its London headquarters. It was also known as "Churchill's Secret Army" or the "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare". Its various branches, and sometimes the organisation as a whole, were concealed for security purposes behind names such as the "Joint Technical Board" or the "Inter-Service Research Bureau", or fictitious branches of the Air Ministry, Admiralty or War Office. SOE operated ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Potter Heigham
Potter Heigham is a village and civil parish on the River Thurne in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated north-east of the city of Norwich on the A149 road, and within the Broads. The village is known for its mediaeval bridge and the Church of St Nicholas. There are two national nature reserves within the parish; the Ludham - Potter Heigham NNR is to the west of the village whilst the Heigham Holmes NNR is to the east. The Weavers Way, a long distance footpath, also passes through the village on its way from Cromer to Great Yarmouth. History The village's name means 'Hatch homestead/village' or perhaps, 'hedge homestead/village'. There is evidence for Romano-British pottery industry here hence the 'Potter' addition. The parish of Potter Heigham (pronounced locally as Ham) has a number of features related to the World Wars. Hickling Broad, to the north of the parish, was used as a seaplane base during World War I. Part of Ludham Airstrip, a now shrunken remnant of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Broads National Park
The Broads (known for marketing purposes as The Broads National Park) is a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Although the terms "Norfolk Broads" and "Suffolk Broads" are correctly used to identify specific areas within the two counties respectively, the whole area is frequently referred to as the Norfolk Broads. The lakes, known as broads, were formed by the flooding of peat workings. The Broads, and some surrounding land, were constituted as a special area with a level of protection similar to a national park by the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act 1988. The Broads Authority, a special statutory authority responsible for managing the area, became operational in 1989. The area is , most of which is in Norfolk, with over of navigable waterways. There are seven rivers and 63 broads, mostly less than deep. Thirteen broads are generally open to navigation, with a further three having navigable channels. Some broads have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Martham
Martham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated some north-west of the town of Great Yarmouth and north-east of the city of Norwich. The villages name means 'marten homestead/village' or 'weasel/marten hemmed-in land'. The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 3,126 in 1,267 households, the population including Cess and increasing at the 2011 Census to 3,569. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of Great Yarmouth. In recent years the population has expanded with considerable housing being constructed. Bus service to Great Yarmouth is regular. There was a station in the village adjacent to a level crossing on Rollesby Road Martham railway station, but this closed in 1959, when the entire line from Great Yarmouth to North Walsham was eliminated. The station buildings stood for another 30 years. Education is available in the village from Early Years to aged 16. Martha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The River Thurne - Geograph
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pron ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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River Thurne
The River Thurne is a river in Norfolk, England in The Broads. Just long, it rises from the coast near Martham Broad and is navigable from West Somerton. It flows southwest and is linked by Candle Dyke and Heigham Sound to both Horsey Mere and Hickling Broad. It continues southwest and flows through Potter Heigham (passing under its medieval bridge) and enters the River Bure just south of Thurne dyke, near St Benet's Abbey. Navigation Much of the River Thurne system is navigable, but there are a number of restrictions to the size of boats that can use it. The most famous is the medieval bridge at Potter Heigham. Most road traffic now uses the A149 Bypass, slightly to the north, but the narrow central arch restricts passage to boats needing headroom of less than , and is the lowest bridge on the Broads. In addition, the river is still tidal here, and although the rise and fall is only about , currents through the bridge are quite strong. It is a requirement that all hire craft ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Swing Bridge
A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot. In its closed position, a swing bridge carrying a road or railway over a river or canal, for example, allows traffic to cross. When a water vessel needs to pass the bridge, road traffic is stopped (usually by traffic signals and barriers), and then motors rotate the bridge horizontally about its pivot point. The typical swing bridge will rotate approximately 90 degrees, or one-quarter turn; however, a bridge which intersects the navigation channel at an oblique angle may be built to rotate only 45 degrees, or ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |