Back to the future.......An old 8th AF Bomber field, 357th

Boghopper · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:07 pm

Stopped by today at Conington, ( Glatton ). Once home to the 357th BG (H) . If you look at pictures published of this airfield during hostilities, quite often the village church is standing out proud. Well it still stands nearly 70 years since, still surrounded by a small wood.

Part of the 3 inter-crossing runways.

The farm that was smack bang in the middle of the airfield still stands and is in use today

The Church

sgt hawk · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:47 pm

I am always amased at the "respect and tradition" that seems to abound in our British cousins. If that field was in the states it would have been turned into a flea market long ago. My father flew with the 94th out of Burry St edmonds, and recently I was able to "pull up" the Rougham Tower association website and show him how they have recovered the old control tower. He's 87 and in poor health, but it made his day!

Chicoartist · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:59 pm

sgt hawk wrote:

. . . If that field was in the states it would have been turned into a flea market long ago.

No kiddin' ... LONG time ago that field would have been paved over here in the US ...

sgt hawk wrote:

My father flew with the 94th out of Bury St Edmonds

I've got a 94th BG B-17G commission on the easel now ... we're showing Lt. Arliss Watts coming home from Keil on 4th April 45. He lost two fans and almost didn't make it. His grand-nephew is my client. Arliss' diary mentions two '51s (353rd FG) coming alongside and escorting their sick Fort as far as they could before peeling off for Raydon. Over Germany, Arliss could look down and see FWs taxiing on airfields - obviously heading up to look for stragglers.

I love shots of the old airfields ... back in 2002, I visited Bassingbourn and Debden for extended tours. I pulled out the stops and really researched some good "Then & Now" shots for Debden - see here:
http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id32.html

Cheers!
Wade

bugazon · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:09 pm

Living in the S.F.Bay Area, I feel the City has really have turned their back on the History and the Vets of all wars. The city officials have been quoted as saying "We want to seperate ourselves from that War mongering image" That was said when the City was offered a chance at having the USS Iowa as a floating museum. Then they said, "They would only take it if they would put a memorial to gays and lesbians in war." It sad to see them push ajendas and not have the appriciation of the efforts of ALL involved during those hard times.

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2309

sgt hawk wrote:

My father flew with the 94th out of Burry St edmonds, and recently I was able to "pull up" the Rougham Tower association website and show him how they have recovered the old control tower. He's 87 and in poor health, but it made his day!

I lived there for 2 years. Found a German underrcarriage behind a barn one day.....

Boghopper · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:34 pm

Vintage shot showing the Airfield just behind the church

Also following the theme of old US Airfield here in England.

A few shots of famous FG fields

Steeple Morden, home to the " Yellow Jackets "

Control Tower of the " Blue Nosers " at Bodney. This is the 2nd tower constructed at the field as the 1st was destroyed when a 51 flew into it on the morning of D-Day

N3Njeff · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:07 pm

You got a typo.................Glatton was home of the 457th BG. In the late 80's, I attended their reunion that was held in Burlington. What a great bunch of guys and all of them had a good time talking to a 15 yr old that knew alot about their unit.

They felt honored and they told me so!

HogDriver44 · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:42 pm

Thank you, BogHopper, for the photos of Glatton. They brought a tear to my eye. I was based at RAF Alconbury in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and I used to enjoy visiting former and disused WWII airfields each weekend. Glatton was one of the very first ones I visited, and I remember marveling at the fact that I could simply walk into a nearby patch of trees and enter an underground bomb shelter with 50 year old wartime graffiti on the walls.

WWII history really came alive for me during my 3 years in the UK, and it was places like this that did it.

n5151ts · **Posted:** Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:17 pm

..to own that farm. another option of equal interest would be to buy and renovate the tower into a home....hummmmmmm.....

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2309

HogDriver44 wrote:

I was based at RAF Alconbury in the late 1980s and early 1990s,

Guess we were there the same time, well, for 2 days...

Me & the mrs were the only married couple on the airshow roster so they kicked some brasshat out of his room & we ended up with his digs in the " Allen Deere Suite" at the Brittania. Wandered down to the OClub a bit later to meet up with the other TFC guys & was asked "Where the hell did you two disappear to??
So we told em.. & then enquired where they were staying...only to be told "some wooden effing shack at the end of the effing runway" LOL!
We took the B25, P47 & something else..

Second Air Force · **Posted:** Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:29 am

sgt hawk wrote:

I am always amased at the "respect and tradition" that seems to abound in our British cousins. If that field was in the states it would have been turned into a flea market long ago. My father flew with the 94th out of Burry St edmonds, and recently I was able to "pull up" the Rougham Tower association website and show him how they have recovered the old control tower. He's 87 and in poor health, but it made his day!

True statement about the airfield artifacts in the U.S. being demolished/ignored. There are (or were) three WWII B-29 sized hangars torn down or in the process of being torn down in Kansas right now. They're considered liabilities to the communities that run the airports, so down they come with no thought of the men and machines that passed through during training for combat.

Thank you for the photos, Boghopper. I would love to visit East Anglia and the many airfield sites--I always feel somehow connected to the veterans when I explore the numerous training fields near where we live, walking the grounds of a combat post would be all the more fulfilling.

N3Njeff · **Posted:** Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:33 am

Second Air Force wrote:

sgt hawk wrote:

I am always amased at the "respect and tradition" that seems to abound in our British cousins. If that field was in the states it would have been turned into a flea market long ago. My father flew with the 94th out of Burry St edmonds, and recently I was able to "pull up" the Rougham Tower association website and show him how they have recovered the old control tower. He's 87 and in poor health, but it made his day!

True statement about the airfield artifacts in the U.S. being demolished/ignored. There are (or were) three WWII B-29 sized hangars torn down or in the process of being torn down in Kansas right now. They're considered liabilities to the communities that run the airports, so down they come with no thought of the men and machines that passed through during training for combat.

Thank you for the photos, Boghopper. I would love to visit East Anglia and the many airfield sites--I always feel somehow connected to the veterans when I explore the numerous training fields near where we live, walking the grounds of a combat post would be all the more fulfilling.

You got that right. Recently the old tower and training building was torn down in Hollywood Fla at N. perry. It was the oldest building in pembroke pines and they destroyed it because it sustained some damage durning the recent hurricane that went through there. My dad said that he and some other county officials tried to save it but to no avail it was torn down. I personally had some great times in that building. My 1st aviation job "1st job period at 16" our office was there and my 1st watering hole.......a bar called "Maydays"

Here is a link
http://cbs4.com/local/maydays.pembroke. ... 11142.html

bentwingbomber · **Joined:** Sun Dec 19, 2004 5:23 am **Posts:** 105

[quote="Boghopper"]

A few shots of famous FG fields

Steeple Morden, home to the " Yellow Jackets "

Nice shots Boghopper

The yellow jackets were the 361st,based at Little Warden

Steeple morden was home to the 355th FG.

Nice to see some "then and now" views.

Regards

Bwb

Team 47

Cripes A Mighty · **Posted:** Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:02 am

Ive always been fascinated at whats left over there. Thanks for sharing!

davidbray · **Posted:** Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:52 pm

Wow, great shots. I really hope that I can make it over there someday to see those sites in person.

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Back to the future.......An old 8th AF Bomber field, 357th

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