Tangmere, West Sussex: St. Andrews Church & Graveyard

With the commemorations for the 100th anniversary of WW1 in full swing I was reminded of the small church and graveyard at Tangmere in West Sussex. Tangmere airfield was responsible for the defence of Southampton and portsmouth during WW2 and Douglas Bader was in command for a spell. The graveyard has a mix of both aliied and German graves which are beautifully maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Within the churchyard there is a Yew tree which is thought to be older than the church itself (which dates from the 12th century) as well as a number of 18th century barrel graves. The reason for these graves is unknown but records show they cost 7/6 (about 35p) more than ordinary graves.