VISIT BILLERICAY LIBRARY AND MEET THE AUTHORS - SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2-4 PM

Brentwood Writers' Circle members invite you to come to our MEET THE AUTHORS book event at BILLERICAY LIBRARY on SATURDAY 12 NOVEMBER from 2 - 4pm.

We are delighted that novelists Frances Clamp, Maggie Ford, Dawn Knox, Jim Reeve and yours truly who will be signing books (and selling at reduced price) and talking about our books which all have a World War One theme. 

This is also an opportunity to  launch the Cater Museum's new title BILLERICAY'S ZEPPELIN which traces the sad story of how 23-year-old Second Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey in his tiny biplane, shot down the mighty German L32 Zeppelin. Exactly one hundred years later, on 24 September 2016, a commemoration stone was erected by Billericay Town Council as near to the crash site as possible in Greens Farm Lane, Billericay.

Among those invited to attend the unveiling of the stone were Air Marshal Sir Freddie Sowrey  son of the Royal Flying Corps Second Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey and his family, the Lord Petre, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, Air Commodore Dean Andrew, Stephen Horncastle RAF VR (T) who, with his ATC cadets from 2393 (Billericay), provided a very smart Colour Party and numerous other guests. 

Jim Devlin Billericay Town Council Chairman and his councillors also welcomed Dan Pierce of St John the Divine Church, Billericay, who gave the unveiling address. The Town Council were pleased to receive the visit of Ralf Borttscheller, nephew of Karl Borttscheller, wireless operator of the Zeppelin L32 crew.

Second Lieutenant Frederick Sowrey with his colleagues at Sutton's Farm Hornchurch 1916  © Sowrey Private Collection