Croughton defenders help local medieval-era parish

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joel Mease
  • 501st Combat Support Wing Public Affairs
TINGEWICK, United Kingdom --  Giving back to the community is a common theme for all Airmen; however, five Airmen at RAF Croughton had the uncommon opportunity to repair a 12th-century church.

The church, located in Tingewick, was built in 1150 and was in need of hard labor to clear the centuries old French-style drainage system and other needed repairs.

Tech. Sgt. Edward Nelson, 422nd Security Forces Squadron, discovered the problem after visiting the church for Sunday service. He said it was difficult to see such a historic church face problems that were damaging the building, but could be easily fixed by a little hard work.

"There was water seeping into the church because the drain was blocked by overgrown vegetation, and the vicar was uncomfortable going up into the bell tower because the ladder was no longer stable," Nelson said. "After I asked if I could help out, I asked some of the Airmen in our squadron if they were willing to help in the project."

Even though the work to get the church in better shape was going to be extremely labor intensive, it wasn't hard to find volunteers. It's not often you get to work on something older than your country, Nelson said.

"I think it's just cool to work on a piece of history," said Staff Sgt. Mark Sullivan, 422nd SFS. "That is the great thing about living in England; you get to be around history all the time."

In all, the five defenders helped save the church more than £1,000 pounds in maintenance costs for working on the drainage system, and were able to install a new ladder in the bell tower after removing a 100-pound wooden ladder.

"It was hard work, but I think the guys who volunteered took some pride in the way things turned out for the church," Nelson said.