Burwell
Burwell Fen, April 1939
Spring flood, Burwell Fen near Reach, April 1939
Burwell Fen, April 1939
“Ninety-six head before breakfast” – High Town Drove End (Sport & General)
In the 1930’s Burwell Fen was run as a shoot. According to his own account in The Modern Shooter, much of the land was owned by James
Wentworth Day (right of centre in dark hat) and certainly he had the shooting rights. Eric Ennion (far left, and not looking quite as
enthusiastic about that August morning’s bag as Wentworth Day) managed the shoot with the help of the fen-keeper Ernest Parr (far right
in cap).
Wentworth Day was not the easiest man to work with. Arriving from London on a Friday afternoon, he would insist on going round the fen with
his gun and then express his disappointment when there were not as many duck as he expected on the arranged shoot the following morning. He would
often arrive needing to borrow a pair of waders or some other item of kit. A local man used to deliver sponge cakes carried in a large wicker basket
mounted on his bicycle. Once, when having tea with Eric and Dorothy Ennion, Wentworth Day remarked: “These local sponges are delicious”. Dorothy
replied: “We thought you were the local sponge!”
Images © The Estate of E A R Ennion except as credited
New Zealand, Burwell Fen
Burwell Fen, April 1939
The Engine Drain, Burwell Fen, 1939
Burwell Fen, South Corner, June 1934
High Town Drove End