This June's final sunset over the Blackdown Hills in South Somerset.

Today, June 30th, was damp, overcast, rainy, drizzly and chilly, but the sky cleared in time for the final sunset of the month.

Sunset over the Blackdown Hills in South Somerset on June 30th.  Spot the lone swift.

Sunset over South Somerset on June 30th.

The Social Democratic Party calls for an English Parliament.

As a former member of the Campaign for an English Parliament I was interested to come across the Social Democratic Party website and find that the party is also in favour of an English Parliament.  I found the SDP’s 2019 policy statement on the constitution makes very interesting reading.

It calls for an English Parliament outside the no longer English city of London, and the abolition of that over indulged institution - the House of Lords.  All elections should be held using proportional representation – much more democratic than the system currently in operation. They call for a Bill of Rights reflecting national culture, custom and traditions – I hope freedom of speech is included and given the prominence it needs and deserves. No public employee should be paid more than the Prime Minister – a much needed rule considering the vast salaries paid to those in local government administration, and the BBC.  

I hope the SDP will not mind me reproducing below their policy statement covering the constitution.  I give it 7 out of 8!

An English Parliament will be established outside London. Bids from cities in the Midlands and the North wishing to host it will be invited.

The Parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland will have powers equivalent to, or greater than, those of the current Scottish Parliament.

All public elections in the UK will be conducted under proportional representation to ensure that legislatures better reflect public opinion.

The House of Lords will be abolished.

The UK Westminster Parliament will become unicameral.  The House of Commons will have responsibility for matters affecting the whole of the UK such as foreign policy, defence, national security, and immigration.

The House of Commons will be reformed so as to increase the power of individual MP’s in relation to the government.  Select Committees will be given more power and there will be more free votes to reduce the stranglehold of the whips.

A British Bill of Rights will be introduced which reflects national culture, custom and traditions.

No public sector employee should be paid more than the Prime Minister.  Going forward, all new local government and quango employment contracts shall be subject to this limit.

The South Somerset village of Merriott and its Church of All Saints.

Merriott is a village and civil parish in South Somerset 7 miles west of Yeovil and a similar distance east of Ilminster. 

In the nineteenth and earlier centuries, due to the nearby River Parrett and its associated watermills, Merriott was prominent in the flax, canvas and sailmaking trade - all vital products in the age of sail.  Paul Newman in his Somerset Villages (Robert Hale, 1969), informs us that: “. . . the bellying sheets of HMS VICTORY were produced by local craftsmen.” 

In more modern times many residents have earned their living at Westland Helicopters in Yeovil.  The firm has changed hands many times in recent years and is now owned by Leonardo - an Italian multinational company.

On a less serious note, writing of village folklore, Paul Newman tells us: “Curiously enough the place was known as “Little Ireland” on account of an entirely baseless tradition of colonization by the Irish in the distant past and a predominance of dark hair coupled with a distinctive dialect.”

Earlier this month, on a beautiful day of sunshine and blue sky, I decided to drive over to Merriott with my camera and take some photos of the church.  I also intended to visit the four Commonwealth War Graves in the churchyard.

Edward Sutton in his Highways and Byways in Somerset (Macmillan and Co., 1912), writes of Merriott’s Church of All Saints: “. . . the church is a curious and interesting building of many ages.  The chief attractions are perhaps the old gargoyles all around the building, the pretty niche over the doorway, the curious relief over the vestry door, called the “Fighting Cocks”, and a very crude and ancient crucifix.”

It was easy to park outside the church near the lych-gate which gave entrance into what seemed a very large churchyard for a village.  I took some pleasing photographs of the church and its gargoyles.

The Church of All Saints in the South Somerset village of Merriott.

Gargoyles and battlements above the south porch of the Church of All Saints in Merriott, South Somerset.

The tower and south porch of the Church of All Saints in Merriott, South Somerset.

All Saints stands on rising ground and from the highest point in the graveyard, looking north-east, the Ham Hill war memorial can be seen on the skyline about 4 miles away. The memorial is just about visible in the photo below.

The view north-east from the churchyard of the Church of All Saints in the village of Merriott, South Somerset.  Ham Hill is on the skyline to the right of the picture.

Unfortunately, although the churchyard was extremely well maintained, I could find only one of the four war graves; that of Private H. Lawrence of the 6^th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry, who died on 22^nd January 1918.  I intend to return one day to search for the others.       

The war memorial at the Church of All Saints, Merriott, South Somerset.  It commemorates 33 men who died in World War One and 10 who died in World War Two.

A dramatic evening cloudscape in South Somerset.

A dramatic evening cloudscape in South Somerset on the 16th June after a day of heavy rain .

On this day in 1944 the 16th Infantry Regiment, First Infantry Division, US Army went ashore in Normandy. Its First Battalion is remembered in Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire.

I was going through my archives again recently and came across some photos I took in Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire back in 2016.  One of them, a memorial plaque, I could not remember taking, but it must have been somewhere near the Marine Parade.  Be that as it may, the memorial plaque commemorates the First Battalion, 16^th Infantry Regiment US Army and the time it spent in and around the town prior to D-Day 6^th June 1944.

Below are some of those photos, including the one of the memorial plaque.

Looking east along the Dorsetshire coast from Lyme Regis on 23 May 2016.

Marine Parade at Lyme Regis in Dorsetshire on 23 May 2016.

Memorial plaque in Lyme Regis, Dorsetshire commemorating the men of the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, United States Army.

The 16^th Infantry Regiment left the USA for England in April 1942.  It sailed from England to take part in Operation Torch and on November 8 1942 landed at Arzew in French Morocco and subsequently helped in the capture of Oran.

After the defeat of German forces in North Africa it then took part in the invasion of Sicily, Operation Husky, on 10 July 1943. The landing was relatively unopposed, but the regiment later took part in heavy fighting especially during the capture of Troina where it endured a 4 day battle against the 15^th Panzer Grenadier Division.

After the capture of Sicily the regiment returned to England and on 11 October 1943 left Liverpool by train for Dorchester, its First Battalion being billeted in and around Lyme Regis. The regiment then undertook intense training for Operation Overlord.

Embarking from Weymouth on 1 June 1944 and setting sail from the port during the late afternoon of June 5, the regiment went ashore at Omaha beach in Normandy on June 6. After a morning of hard fighting and heavy casualties the 16^th Infantry Regiment had fought its way off the beach by midday and had moved inland.  After D Day the regiment was placed in reserve to recuperate.  On 27 July it participated in the breakout from St. Lo in Operation Cobra.

The regiment advanced across Europe and took part in the infamous Battle of the Hurtgen Forest after which it was sent to rest camp on Dec. 12, but it had little respite as 4 days later Hitler launched the Battle of the Bulge.  The regiment was moved to a defensive position on the northern shoulder of the bulge where it held the line until 15 January 1944 when it took part in the counter offensive.

It was present at the capture of Bonn on 8 March 1945 and then, with the rest of the First Division, moved north to clear German forces from the Hartz Mountains.

On April 28 the regiment moved with the First Division to Selb in Czechoslovakia and had pushed on to Falkenau where it halted on May 7 with the end of the war in Europe imminent.
During its 443 days of combat in World War Two the 16^th Infantry Regiment lost 1,250 officers and men killed in action and a further 6,278 were wounded or missing.