USAF gives TLC to Wretton church

All Saint's Church of Wretton with Stoke Ferry has been receiving help from the United States Air Force (USAF) volunteers based at RAF Feltwell.

The airfield is used as a housing estate for USAF personnel at RAF Mildenhall. It also contains the Mathies Airman Leadership School for USAF personnel in the UK.

Over the last few years, volunteers from Mathies have been helping with improving the 12th century All Saints Church, which has been a focal part of the village life and needed a great deal of work undertaken.

Anthony Moore said: "The USAF volunteers greatly assisted in lime washing the inside walls and the work clearing centuries of plant invasion on the graves, many over 150 Old.

"During their work last Saturday they uncovered the grave of Charles Vader a major pioneer in eye surgery in the mid 1800s.

"Another work party of 16 volunteers from the USAF will be with us on Saturday, September 11. We hope they will be able to clear the guttering, paint the grave cast iron fencing and clear centuries of detritus from the graves, and cut back encroaching tree branches.

"I would like to say, without their help, our parish volunteers would have been overwhelmed by the amount of work needing to be undertaken."