Having a great time in Long Beach, Hemsby, again in the caravan. There is something about Norfolk that draws us back all the time. They do great chips! Doggers Plaice in Caister-on-Sea make possibly the best cod and chips this side of Whitby. And there’s miles of unspoilt beach to walk on between Great Yarmouth and Horsey. This week, we got up early and walked to the Dunes Café in Winterton-on-Sea for a Norfolk Shortbread and coffee breakfast. We always walk the beach to the café, and then stroll back to Hemsby over the dunes and along the valley behind it. You pass the pill boxes and the abandoned life boat station. On the ground in some grass I found an old 9mm cartridge case (bullet case).
The Bullet and the STEN
I examined the shell casing and it was marked with its year of manufacture – 1942. With some knowledge of world war weapons, I deduced it must have been fired from a STEN gun, which was the only UK weapon chambered to fire 9mm ammo. The STEN was the cheap and dirty weapon of WWII produced by the British in a desperate attempt to arm its troops against German invasion. The STEN was prone to jamming and being a bit unstable but could be produced in makeshift workshops and was really cheap to produce.
Poppylands
We walked back to Longbeach campsite to take a trip out in the car. Following a great visit to see the seals at Horsey we stopped for lunch at the WWII-themed café, Poppylands. Poppylands is a great place for lunch or breakfast – they have a themed menu, a 1940s museum and a 1940s gift and sweet shop.
The proprietor of the café is Darren Stride, who is an expert on the 1940s and a super fan of Dads Army. (For those who are interested, Thetford in Norfolk was where Dads Army was filmed.) Poppylands’ bread pudding is superb – we definitely recommend it. They also allow dogs in the upstairs tea room and their meals are superb.
The Detective Story
I have been to Poppylands before and, on this visit, I mentioned to Darren about the 9mm shell casing. He then unveiled a real STEN gun that had belonged to the Winterton-on-Sea home guard. This, he said, is the gun that fired the very bullet we found during a training exercise!
So, we had found the shell casing on the Winterton dunes and the gun that fired it in the same day! What are the odds of that? Toby had a great time posing with the STEN gun and also a Colt .45 1911 automatic pistol. This has suddenly brought all his Call of Duty WWII games to life!
You wicked piece of vicious tin!
Call you a gun? Don’t make me grin.
You’re just a bloated piece of pipe.
You couldn’t hit a hunk of tripe.
But when you’re with me in the night, I’ll tell you, pal, you’re just alright!
“Ode to a Sten Gun” by S.N. Teed
