Magna Carta

A Memory of Egham.

The text to the Egham photographs calls Egham uninspiring.  What it may lack in architectural merit (although there are gems if you look closely, perhaps an architect would care to enlighten the readers) is more than made up for by its place in history as the location for the signing of the Magna Carta by King John in 1215.   This took place at Runnymede.  There was a major celebration in 1965.  This took place on the field just below the American Bar Association Memorial, one of three to be found in Runnymede, the others being the RAF Memorial and the John F Kennedy Memorial.   The JFK Memorial was once damaged by the IRA who tried to blow it up.  Appropriately the Magna Carta celebrations largely took place on Runnymede itself.  There were jousting displays and various activities.   I still have my replica Magna Carta written on fake parchment.  Freddie Mills the boxer was supposed to attend.  However, he died in mysterious circumstances which made headlines for days.