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Hunstanton (or Little America) and our special relationship with The Night Owls




In his weekly Turnstone column, Hunstanton writer John Maiden discusses the 72nd anniversary of the floods of 1952…

It is not easy to explain the very special relationship that exists between my hometown and the USAF 67th Special Operations Squadron, often referred to as the Night Owls. This squadron was originally known as the 67th Air Rescue Squadron when it was first activated at RAF Sculthorpe on November 14, 1952.

Its members must have been as amazed as the local population was when they received news of serious tidal flooding on the evening of Saturday, January 31, 1953, but it was the 67th which led volunteer members of other squadrons in efforts to rescue English and American families living in bungalows along Hunstanton's South Beach Road.

Freeman A Kilpatrick Way in January 2022
Freeman A Kilpatrick Way in January 2022
Flood memorial in April 2022. Picture: David Jones
Flood memorial in April 2022. Picture: David Jones

In the end, it was not USAF boats and other equipment that made the difference as the bitterly cold night wore on, but the courage of one airman from the 67th by the name of Reis Leming. He simply put on an anti-exposure suit and saved the lives of 27 people marooned in their badly damaged homes.

He achieved this by dragging a rubber life raft on three journeys into what was unknown territory for him, before a torn anti-exposure suit brought an end to his exploits and might easily have resulted in his death, had it not been for the prompt action of local members of the St John's Ambulance Brigade.

It should surprise no one that Reis was awarded the George Medal for his courage, and in June 1953 he came back to Hunstanton, where he was married to his American sweetheart at our Catholic Church in Sandringham Road by the Bishop of Northampton. As one of the altar boys on this happy occasion, I had the honour of carrying the bishop's crozier. Unfortunately, I fell from grace at the wedding reception in the good old Kat Kat, when I put away too many champagne cocktails, being unaware of their alcohol content...

Debra Ross, Kathy and Michael Leming on Reis Leming Way in 2013
Debra Ross, Kathy and Michael Leming on Reis Leming Way in 2013
Twinning sign on Redgate Hill
Twinning sign on Redgate Hill

It was nearly 60 years later that I received a phone call from Mark Service, the official historian of the 67th, asking me if the town of Hunstanton would be interested in helping the 67th to celebrate its 60th anniversary.

At the time I was not only an elected town councillor, I was also a member of the Civic Society committee. As such, and having been around in the 1950s, when Hunstanton was affectionately known by Members of the USAF as Little America, I had no reason to think that anyone would oppose the renewal of our very special friendship with the USAF in general and the Night Owls in particular. This is why the 67th and members of Reis Leming's family were granted the Freedom of Hunstanton in 2014, and why Hunstanton became twinned with the squadron in 2016.

At this point, I must thank Ian Brown, founder and curator of the RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre, for his help in getting a footpath named in honour of Freeman A Kilpatrick, the other George Medal recipient. Freeman was a sergeant in a USAF communications squadron who was a South Beach Road resident in January 1953. He realised the impending disaster was about to happen and instead of staying indoors, he saved the lives of 18 people by warning his neighbours of the coming storm.

Ian Brown also deserves credit for getting Freeman's son Alex to the naming of Freeman A Kilpatrick Way in 2023. He also introduced Jackie Hartley to Alex Kilpatrick because her mother, Joyce Stubbins, the Kilpatrick's babysitter, was saved from the 1953 Floods by Freeman. Sadly the names of Joyce's father, a brother and a sister are on the Flood Memorial in the Esplanade Gardens, where prayers will be said and wreaths laid at 11am today (Friday).

John Maiden and the Commander of the USAF 67th SOS in November 2012
John Maiden and the Commander of the USAF 67th SOS in November 2012
John Maiden and Alex Kilpatrick with his father's George Medal, in January 29, 2023
John Maiden and Alex Kilpatrick with his father's George Medal, in January 29, 2023
Lt Col Michael Bien and Jackie Hartley at RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre on November 13 2022
Lt Col Michael Bien and Jackie Hartley at RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre on November 13 2022

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