On August 27, 1979, the nation was left in a state of shock.

Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and the last Viceroy of India, had been assassinated by the IRA while holidaying on the Mullaghmore Peninsula in Ireland.

In the days that followed, the UK went into mourning. Across towns and villages, flags were lowered to half-mast in tribute, including in Farnham and its surrounding parishes.

But in Badshot Lea, that solemn act of remembrance was cruelly interrupted. On the evening of August 31, just days after Mountbatten’s murder, the tribute flag flying over St George’s Church was stolen.

It was not the first time the parish had been targeted. In the space of two years, four flags had disappeared from the church, with one even being ripped down from its pole. But this theft was especially painful, coming at a moment when the village was united in mourning.

Michael Probert, churchwarden at St George’s, expressed the congregation’s dismay.

“The flag of St George was specifically made for the church to commemorate the visit in 1978 of HRH Princess Alice of Athlone the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria,” he said.

“The flag has been flying at half-mast since the death of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, It has been the custom at St George’s that the flag remains on the flagpole for the entire duration of any festivity or period of mourning.

“To have it removed when it was indicating to the passer-by that the village of Badshot Lea was mourning the loss of a great man serves to underline the lack of feeling on the part of those responsible for the theft of the flag.

“Now we must considerably consider whether we can afford to ‘fly the flag’ any longer.”