Commemorative frames – St George and Dragon ceiling.

Beautiful stain glass commemorative window 1939 to 1945 WW2 in St Peters Church Budleigh Salterton.Featuring St George and the Dragon.

COMMEMORATIVE FRAMES – ST GEORGE AND DRAGON INN.

Most of the ceiling panels, made of thin pressed cardboard, were in a very fragile and dilapidated state when we acquired them in 2010.We recorded approximately 200 signatures from various squadrons and forces personnel based in the Exeter area .Of these 200 signatures we were able, with care, to save 60% on actual pieces of the celing. These together with background research collected over the years have now been preserved in frames and under glass. Further signatures were preserved from the beautiful scroll designed by 310 Sqn and presented to Harold Lobb and proudly displayed behind the bar during the war years.

Most of the signatures were in pencil and very hard to preserve.However we were fortunate to have impressive drawings painstakingly drawn by members of Flight 1426(EAC).

Here are photographs of a few (10 in number) of our frames which contain pieces of the original ceiling. They still give us goose bumps when we look at them even after all these years of being very well acquainted with them. As we stand in front of the frames we are aware that a pilot signed his name hoping perhaps to one day return and revisit his autograph. The pilots must have had the feeling that in writing their names on the ceiling, it may have brought them a little bit of luck. My father felt that his little Lincoln Imp brought him luck while on his missions in the cramped Lancaster rear turret. We all need a little bit of luck and good fortune don’t we.