Grockles Gumbo East: D-Day in
Droxford
By Omally
N50 57.633 W1 08.279
This cache is part of a series set by The
Grockles
(a.k.a. Pharisee, The Merman, Motley Crew and
Omally).
The other caches in this series are:
Grockles Gumbo North : Where Ravens Feed
Grockles Gumbo South : "The World's
Greatest"
Grockles Gumbo West : UFOs in Botley
Wood?
And the final stage:
Grockles Gumbo : Here Be Treasure!
A
picturesque circular walk near the peaceful little Hampshire
village of Droxford. It was this very village that the Rt Hon
Winston Churchill, along with his war cabinet, chose to meet with
Allied Commanders to finalise plans for Operation Overlord, the
invasion of Europe on the 6th of June 1944. You'll find a memorial
bench by the phone box near the car park.
The train carrying Churchill and his war cabinet arrived at
Droxford and Southwick Station (which is now a private residence)
on the 2nd of June 1944. They spent two days meeting troops and
having last-minute talks with the Overlord commanders. Droxford was
chosen because of its nearby railway tunnel: the train used for
meetings along with all its passengers could be driven there to
safety in the event of an air-raid.
For a bit more info, take a look at Hampshire Cam and Station
Conversions.
Park at the co-ordinates above and walk towards the
churchyard.
Answer the simple questions below to complete the co-ordinates for
the final cache:
N50 57.ABC W001 07.DEF
If (May + Smith) / Garland = 8
A= (Garland x Nettleton) - Pickett
Now go to:
N50 57.603 W1 08.131
Look at the years of birth on these gravestones:
B = (HMB - MEB) + C
With your back to the church, head to your left and follow the
path through the field, past the old mill and over the bridge until
you get to
N50 57.828 W1 07.896
F = How many letter M's can you see around a yellow
arrow?
D = Number of R's x Number of S's
Now head along the path into the woods, turn left and follow
your nose (and your GPS!) to the old station at
N50 57.832 W001 07.757.
Then walk along the old railway line to the bridge at
N50 57.606 W001 07.845.
You'll find that
C = The number of Iron brackets fitted under the bridge.
And that
E = Number of iron brackets - A
That's all you need to go find the cache. Hope you enjoyed the
walk! ;)