Stateside help for Great Fransham village hall

Richard ParrGreat Fransham took on an Amercian theme on US Independence Day to help raise money for improvements to the village hall.Richard Parr

Great Fransham took on an Amercian theme on US Independence Day to help raise money for improvements to the village hall.

With the Great Fransham village hall field bathed in warm sunshine and a welcoming cooling breeze, traditional fete stalls and sideshows were positioned close to a display of US military vehicles dating back to the 1940s war years.

The American theme attracted a lot of interest from visitors to the event held to provide a summer afternoon's entertainment for village residents while also raising some cash for improvements to the village hall.

Members of the Norfolk Military Vehicles Group had taken along some of their prized privately-owned vehicles yesterday, evoking memories of when there were dozens of airfields in operation across Norfolk and the Americans were here in large numbers.

Among the vehicles on show were a 2.5-ton 'deuce-and-a-half' , a Dodge weapons carrier and tweo jeeps, one of which belonged to the Group's chairman, Ray Beck. Members were dressed in authentic American military uniforms.