Just as we got off the motorway (freeway) at the exit for Bury St Edmonds we were met by some of the 447th GB (the 447th's "Great Britain" supporters) organization driving a convoy of restored US military vehicles. We got us a convoy!They drove us through the little towns and microscopic country roads to the field, Richard showing his skill with the 7 speed standard transmission coach once again. We got to Rattlesden airfield but were let off only to take a quick toilet break then back on the bus to drive a couple hundred yards to another part of the airfield where the 447th GB had a mini- museum and a slide show for us.

The Old Control Tower

The 447th GB is an organization of local people, many of whose families had ties of some sort with the personnel of the 447th Bomb Group stationed at Rattlesden during the War. Some of them had been kids and remembered watching the big bombers take off and land at the airfield; others' parents had owned the land that had been confiscated by the British government to build the airfields. Some of their mothers and aunts had done laundry for the airmen of the 447th ("Remember when we first got here we could use the 100 octane aviation gas for drycleaning our uniforms? Then they added lead and we couldn't do that any more!"); some of their fathers had worked side by side with some airmen who volunteered to help out in the fields when on standown between missions. Some of their female relatives had married airmen and either gone to the States after the War, or the GI had come back to England to live on, and inherit, his new family's farm.


The dominant sentiment over the weekend was good bonhommie and sincere gratitude all around; among the Brits for the US literally saving their country from Nazi domination, and among the US vets for the Brits having been so gracious, generous and supportive during the War (and during these biennial reunions since the 1980's), without whom the US would not have been able to do what they did. Genuine affection was expressed between the parties, well deserved honors exchanged between the Brits and the Yanks. The 447th GB people did many very generous things for the vets, completely unasked and refusing any reward.

447GB Museum Display

The slide show was essentially a roll call of all the ships (the planes) and crews of the 447th Bomb Group that were known to the 447th GB people. The crew of each ship was listed, its history given and any pictures available were displayed. Several times a vet would see his or a buddy's ship or crew displayed and stand up to recount some story about it. Daddy argued gently, briefly, with Russ Chase about some technical point of a ship in the squadron; it was poignant to see these old men trying to get their memories in agreement. The show paused til they were done, then continued. Except for those unscripted additions, the only sounds heard during the show were the nervous stumbling monotone of the farmer- announcer and the clicking of the slide projector.

Restored Ack Ack TrucksAfter the show they opened up the 447th GB's museum. I wandered around the area photographing some of the old 447th buildings while Daddy and the rest of the vets hobnobbed with the 447th GB folks. He also FINALLY, for the first time since the War, ran into Bill Rudisil his crew chief ("Rudi" in the diary) and I wasn't there to get a picture! Damn! Daddy and he chatted for quite a while but Rudi left before I got back to meet him! Doubledamn! But he was going to be at the events tomorrow so I'd catch him there.

WWII HD
Back on the bus to go to a community museum, full of WWII Lend Lease tractors that had been cared for so well they'd won 2nd place in a county fair somewhere just a few years ago; a collection of all the handtools left by the area's last basket weaver when he died in 1985, and newspaper clippings of the area's activities since the 1800's. We were channelled through a gift shop both entering and leaving the museum, so I bought a card and some nice English lavender soap for Daryle, then stood outside and wrote in the card till everybody was done.

The HD Restorer

Back to Rattlesden airfield! The glider club that had taken over the field after the RAF finally returned the property to the farmers in the '60's, had a cookout getting ready for us and free glider rides for anybody who wanted one. Daddy expressed interest so I lined up a ride, but the tour organizer said we had to wait til a "surprise" arrived. We stood around for 1/2 hr, then low over the horizon a rumbling dot appeared. Many of the old vets' heads snapped around to face the sound and minutes later the rest of us could see a large plane approaching. It was a B-17 that belonged to a nearby air museum... the owner had consented to have it fly past this field for these vets on its way back from an airshow. The ship roared low overhead, smoke streaming from one engine (just for show!), turning as soon as it could for another pass, then another [click to see it here NB: it's low resolution mobile video!]. Five times it rumbled over. Tears sprang from some vets' eyes, other vets just started talking and couldn't stop.
The club pilot and Daddy
After that, Daddy took his little 10 minute "plane ride", which turned into a 45 minute flight with the pilot flying to Ipswitch and Daddy flying back!

A couple hours or so later during the cookout, whispered word went through the crowd that another "surpise" was on its way. Another surprise? People watched the sky between swills of beer and bites of sausage. Abruptly a P-51 Mustang dropped out of the sun and flashed overhead- those things are FAST! I could barely even keep it in the camera viewfinder! [See here ] He turned, buzzed us 3 times and disappeared. Cheers all around for the plane many bomber crews had called 'Little Friend' for protecting them in the skies over Germany.

Jeeze, what a day! Daddy was close to exhausted but I was wound up so after we got back to the Gonville he went to crash and I went to look at Cambridge on my own. I went back to the Eagle for a couple beers and talked with some of the vets from our group who I found there, then left and just walked around Cambridge taking pictures.

Round Church

I asked every employee of every booze- type establishment I could find for barleywine but no joy: I got referred up and down the streets of the old part of town but no off license stores (stores whose liquor license permitted taking it off premises) carried it. I had a couple interesting conversations with 2 of the only 4 actual street people I saw in the city, ate supper in a Thai restaurant (pretty good flavor but bland) and headed back to the hotel.

Except that I missed my turn and spent the next three hours wandering round and round in circles in the residential and industrial part of Cambridge. One piece of property was even for sale!

For Sale In Cambridge

The housing I saw was mostly nice older duplexes but since there are regulations of building styles that can be used, and the town is many hundreds of years old, who knows what era they were from. Streets upon streets lined with rows of box- like duplexes, each with its postage stamp front yard, none bigger than 20' x 20' with a waist high wall around it. Only 2 couples on the street at that time of night (1230am, or 0030 hrs) and none of them spoke English. I feared I might never meet another person until daybreak so with the second couple I used the universal sign of unfolding my city map. The man responded with unfolding his own map... to the panel showing the part of town beyond the edge of my map. Sigh. It was only another hour walk back to the hotel, but at least I knew where I was going. And I slept well that night.



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