The Mildenhall Treasure Published July 27, 2007 By Vicky Stayton 100th Air Refueling Wing RAF MILDENHALL, England -- The Mildenhall Treasure The Year 1942 In 1942, England was heavily immersed in World War II. The drone of bombers taking off from RAF Mildenhall, and the dull crump of enemy aircraft bombing the airfield, were commonplace. Farm work was classed among the 'reserved occupations', agricultural workers being exempt from military service. Their expertise was sorely needed at home. Britain needed every inch of land for food production. Where was the Treasure Found and by Who! Gordon Butcher was one such worker, an independent Mildenhall man who owned his own tractor, and worked for local farmers under contract. He owned his home, and lived with his wife and two daughters. One winter's morning, in a bitter wind and with snow threatening, he biked to West Row, to the home of a man called Sydney Ford, where he'd left his tractor the night before. Ford was an agricultural engineer, comfortably off, with a family. He also hired out his person and farm vehicles to local farmers. On this occasion, a local farmer called Rolfe had hired Ford to do some ploughing for him. Ford, being busy with other work, had sub-contracted the job out to Butcher. Driving his tractor out to Gage Farm, Gordon Butcher started to plough Mr Rolfe's four and a half acres. He'd been told to plough deep, as deep as twelve inches, as sugar beet was to be planted there. Deep ploughing was unusual, as cereal crops were normally planted there and they only needed a depth of four inches. A man with a horse-drawn plough couldn't get to a depth of twelve inches, and it was only since the motor-driven tractors had come along that a twelve inch dig had become possible. Butcher ploughed all morning in the bitter wind, up and down, up and down the field, stopping only briefly to eat some bread and cheese, when at around 3 o'clock his plough struck something hard in the soil. Dismounting and digging right into the earth with his hands, he came upon the rounded edge of a large piece of metal. Butcher paused. It was no rare occurrence for farm workers to find ancient objects, Mildenhall having been settled by all manner of peoples from time immemorial. The portion of the object revealed to Butcher thus far was encrusted with a blue-green deposit, sure sign of a very old metal artefact. Butcher briefly pondered over his unexpected discovery, before setting off to ask Sydney Ford's advice. The Treasure Ford had a keen interest in ancient artefacts and occasionally sold his discoveries, mostly arrowheads and the like, to Dr Hugh Fawcett, a keen archaeologist. Ford also knew that, ten years previously, an archaeological team from Cambridge University had unearthed a Roman villa at Gage Farm. Ford took a spade and returned to the field with Butcher. The first few flakes of snow whirled around them on the cutting wind as they began to dig. Eventually, with care and persistence, they unearthed the object. It proved to be a huge dish, fully twenty-four inches in diameter, and weighing around eighteen pounds. Poking around a bit more, they found the hard edge of a second object, which, when unearthed, proved to be a second dish, more bowl-shaped than the first, but encrusted with the same blue-green deposit. Ford knew then that they'd come upon Roman treasure, probably pure silver, judging by the weight and the blue-green colour produced by oxidation. The snow now started to come down in earnest, as the two men got back on their knees and dug determinedly. After an hour they'd unearthed thirty-four separate pieces, all tarnished in the same way, and were all but frozen stiff. Butcher carefully loaded the objects into a large sack, which Ford then took. English Law He was now in a tricky position as the law in England concerning the discovery of buried treasure is very old indeed, but is still strictly enforced. It says, in effect, that anyone digging up anything, anywhere, that's made of gold or silver, must report it to the authorities immediately and not to do so is a criminal offence. Those reporting their discovery at once are entitled to receive, from the government, its full market value. What they did next Butcher, anxious to get home and warm up, let Ford take the treasure home, and left him to deal with it as he thought fit. Ford kept the treasure at home, and spent the rest of the war gradually cleaning it up. It was stunning. It gleamed with life, and was covered with marvellous figures of people and mythical creatures. In addition to the huge dish, there was a second almost as large, six smaller, deeper dishes, a large fluted bowl, two small platters, two goblets, some wine cups, five ladles, and several spoons. Ford and his family loved the collection. They used it on special occasions, and the huge round dish was displayed on the mantelpiece, where it gleamed and flickered in the firelight. The games was up!! In 1946, the war over, the archaeologist, Dr Fawcett, turned up unexpectedly at Ford's home after an absence of seven years. He was hoping that Ford had found some more interesting old implements that he might buy. The minute he saw the silver, the game was up. Ford was now in a serious position. He had never reported his find, still less that the finder had been Gordon Butcher. Urged by Fawcett, Sydney Ford went to Mildenhall police station and reported the find. The police collected the silver, and sent it under guard to the British Museum where it has been ever since. It's the most important collection of Roman treasure ever found in the UK, and of almost incalculable value. At the official enquiry, Ford gave as his defence his belief that the collection was made of pewter, and did not have to be declared. The jury accepted his statement. Ford and Butcher were later awarded one thousand pounds each as compensation, a large sum for those days, but only a fraction of the full market value that would have been paid had the silver been declared immediately. Mildenhall Museum Mildenhall Museum, as its Millennium project, commissioned exact replicas of the treasure to be made, in silver plate, to be put on permanent exhibition. Local individuals and organisations contributed handsomely to the cost, including our base British-American Community Relations Committee. The museum also has displays involving RAF Mildenhall down the years. It's housed in a flint house exactly opposite Bussens and Parkins store in Mildenhall, and admission hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 1430 through 1630, and Fri from 1100 through 1430. Admission is free, but donations are always gratefully accepted. You can call them on 01638 716970. Festivals and Carnivals Fancy something new! Well, why don't you try one of the many festivals, carnivals and rallies taking place throughout the year in the U.K.? They can range from one to three days to week long events. Below is a small selection of those events from music to children's puppet festivals. Go on try something new! 1 - 30 Sept - THE FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE - (Bath) - The Bath Festival of Children's Literature is a 10-day celebration of children's books and reading, and will feature some of the biggest and most creative names from the world of children's publishing. It will be one of the largest literary festivals in the UK. For more information call: - 01225 463 362 or online www.bathfestivalofchildrensliterature.co.uk 9 Nov - BRIDGEWATER GUY FAWKES CARNIVAL - Bridgewater Squibs (Giant Fireworks display) a parade of all singing all dancing carnival floats. For more information call: - 01278 421795 or on line at www.bridgwatercarnival.org.uk 23 - 25 Nov - BEDWORTH FOLK FESTIVAL (Bedworth) In it's 30th year this is the U.K.'s biggest annual winter folk event. Song Music and Dance for all tastes. Concerts, Workshops, Singarounds, Ceilidhs, Storytelling, Meet-the-Artiste, and Comprehensive Guest list, also a chance to participate it's a festival to get involved in. "Indoor" camping for those staying overnight. For more information call: - 024 7654 5568 or on-line at www.bedworth-festival.info For further festival information go online to: www.entsweb.co.uk/festivals Compiled by Vicky Stayton Team Mildenhall community relations adviser. No federal endorsement is intended or implied.