Record Breakers Summer Reading Challenge

The Memorial Library is again partnering with the Children’s Library to host
activities for the Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge. This year the theme is Record Breakers, and we’ll be celebrating some American pioneers, from space travel to aviation, as well as throwing in a tall tale celebrating a woman who may not have been real, but certainly broke some records!

Our first event on 22 July will (almost) coincide with the 44th anniversary of the moon landing.  Children will learn about some of the first animals in space, the Apollo missions and what it was like to be the first humans on the moon. We even found a copy of the customs form the Apollo 11 crew had to submit when they returned to Hawaii! We’ll be writing some space-themed poetry, and maybe even a limerick or two.

The following week, 29 July, we’ll be hosting a paper airplane competition! First things first though, and we’ll talk about lift and how planes stay in the air and
some of the early aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Once that is covered, kids will have a chance to fold and fly paper airplanes, with prizes for the plane that flies the furthest, the longest and is the most creative!

On 19 August, we’ll be reading the story of Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett by Stephen Kellogg. Although she is a tall tale, Sally Ann set records throughout the frontier, from wrestling alligators and out-screaming eagles to out-grinning bears. Kids will learn about the different elements of a story and have the chance to write their own tale of a character who could out-do everyone around, even when it was not expected of them.

We’ll be posting some pictures of the events and the poetry, planes and tales so keep an eye out over the next month! If you (or your child) is 8-12 and you’d like to attend any of these events call us at 01603 774747 to reserve your place today!

WWII Fighter Pilot Who Flew Through the Eiffel Tower to Take Down a German Plane Dies in Virginia Aged 92.

William Overstreet Jr., a former captain in the U.S. Air Corps, passed away on Sunday at a hospital in Roanoke,Virgina. He famously flew his plane beneath the Eiffel Tower in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944, lifting the spirits of French troops on the ground.

World War II Aviator Bill Overstreet Jr. pictured in his military days.

Overstreet Flies Through the Eiffel Tower in Pursuit of a German Plane

Overstreet was presented with France’s Legion of Honour in 2009. Before the ceremony, Overstreet had previously said that, if he lived long enough to receive the Legion of Honor, he would be accepting it in memory of his fallen brothers. In particular, he wanted to pay tribute to a friend, Eddy Simpson, who died fighting the Nazis on the ground so his comrades, including Overstreet, could escape.After the award was pinned to his lapel, Overstreet said: ‘If I said, “Thank you,” it wouldn’t be enough,’ before adding: ‘What more
than “thank you” do you need?’

Overstreet is pictured in 1943 with his cherished 1938 Buick in California, where he trained

The wreckage of his Bell P-39 Airacobra which spun out of control mid-air as he completed combat training in 1943. He managed to force his way out of the craft and walked away unhurt.

Overstreet was born in Clifton Forge, Virginia in 1921 and after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Air Corps as a fighter pilot. By February 1942, he was a private and sent to California for flight training.

He is remembered as someone who ‘was always humble.’ ‘Whenever the press interviewed him, he said, “I didn’t do anything, we were a team.”‘ We at the Memorial Library express our deepest condolences to the Overstreet family. RIP Bill Overstreet.