Thornton Heath - Recreation Ground Prior to 1917. And the Enola Gay.

            The Postcard

A postcard that was published by Newton & Gutteridge. The card, which is a glossy real photograph, was printed in Great Britain.

The card was posted in Thornton Heath on Thursday the 18th. October 1917 to:

Mrs. E. M. Gors,
c/o Oakley,
Mill Green Road,
Beddington or
Nr. Mitcham,
Surrey.

The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:

"Dear Marion,
Hope you are all well
at home.
I am quite well now.
I am giving up the round
in a fortnight so will see
more of you then.
Love Lily".

Thornton Heath Recreation Ground

One of Croydon’s earliest recreation grounds, it was acquired by Croydon Corporation in 1884, and provided with a bandstand and drinking fountain which are long gone. 

It was a very popular park in its Victorian heyday, and cricket was played there.

Today it comprises 5.46 hectares of parkland with many recreational facilities – running trails, a bowling green and pavilion, an artificial cricket wicket, a children’s playground, an outdoor gym and two floodlit multi-games courts.

There is also an ornamental garden that opened in 1987.

The Battle of Mahiwa

So what else happened on the day that Lily posted the card?

Well, on the 18th. October 1917, a German force of 1,500 men counterattacked and repelled an attacking South African and Nigerian force of 4,900 men, inflicting 2,700 casualties. The Germans suffered between 500 and 600 casualties.

Operation Albion

Also on that day, Russian forces evacuated from Muhu in the Baltic Sea.

Robert A. Lewis

The 18th. October 1917 also marked the birth in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey of Robert A. Lewis.

Lewis was an American air force officer, and co-pilot of the Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Lewis died in 1983.
   

Taken on: January 7, 2022

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Sets appears in: • Bandstands • Croydon and Environs more » • Thornton Heath • UK « less

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