Village Bobby

A Memory of Lamberhurst.

As village 'Bobby' in the late 1960's early 70's, we, my wife and two daughters, lived in the Police House in Furnace Lane. Sometime about 1970 I called into the village shop (I think it was Fuller's) and the lady there asked me if I would take a gun off her! She said that they had recently gone into the roof space when having a clear out and found a pearl handled revolver with belt and holster. She went on to explain that during World War II they had American troops billeted in the village and some in her mothers shop. She recalls that at the time there was an armed robbery at a bank in Tunbridge Wells and she seems to think the Yanks billeted at the shop may have been responsible. The gun appears to have been hidden in the roof in case they should be searched. They obviously moved on, probably for D-Day and did not have the opportunity to remove the gun. I retrieved it and forwarded it to the fireams department at Maidstone where it would, along with other surrendered weapons have been destroyed. Such a shame as it was a very valuable collectors piece even then.

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