parham airfield museum newsletter · complex, station commander’s hut, pumping station, squash...

Parham Airfield Museum Newsletter January 2016

390th Bombardment Group Memorial Museum & Museum of the British Resistance Organisation

Parham Airfield Museum

Newsletter

President’s Report I can report another successful year, with 5,500 visitors during the summer months and many out of hours visits

from schools, clubs and societies. Our volunteers make them welcome, show them around the museum and tell them

some of the history that is on display.

We started the year with a guided walk around the old Airfield organised by the Eighth in the East and led by Martin

Cuthbert, their archivist expert. Over 100 people turned out on a sunny January Sunday morning. The route took us

from the Control Tower around the perimeter track and past where the old briefing rooms, fuel tanks and 571st dis-

persal rings were sited. Past Moller’s Peace and the Fire Station and Guardroom down to HQ and back to the four

cross ways, noting the 569th camp site and the memorial trees planted when the veterans visited in 1995. Following

the public road to the Moat Hall Roadway we passed the old communal site with laundry buildings, officers mess

complex, Station Commander’s hut, pumping station, squash courts and sports field, Rocker Club, Military Police

and WAAF sites before coming to 571st Squadron huts and shower buildings at Moat Hall, where Martin explained

the Tudor connections with Henry VIII. Out into the countryside we noted where the 568th and 570th Squadrons

were billeted in what are now arable fields or woodland. We returned to the airfield and once again imagined where

all the planes of the 570th Squadron were parked. Homeward bound we took in the 468th motor workshops, link

trainer building and T2 hangar, all of which reminded us of what was once a very busy wartime aerodrome, bustling

with American GIs.

In May we had a visit from the Masters of the Air, a tour party from the US led by Prof Donald L Miller. They were

researching the history of the 13th Combat Wing’s part in the “Big Three” Schweinfurt, Regensburg & Munster mis-

sions that had such heavy loss of aircraft and human life. We were privileged to show them the museum, the Control

Tower and give them a short bus tour of what remained of the airfield, so they could get the feel of what life was like

here in those cold, windy, wet war years.

May also brought our Open Day, commemorating 70 years since VE Day, with trailer rides around the whole aero-

drome, BRO re-enactors, 40’s music and dancing and a BBQ, finishing with a bonfire in the evening. Maybe not quite

as boisterous as the celebrations here on June 8th 1945, when windows were broken and fireworks or flares were let

off from the top of the water tower.

In August our Tower and Barrack Room were used for some scenes in a Channel 4 TV programme about Hitler’s Su-

per Gun and the Aphrodite Mission, in which Joe Kennedy died.

The season ended with a 40’s Tea Dance and Soft Ball Games organised by Kevin and Maureen Martin-Whiles. It

proved to be a very popular and enjoyable day.

Peter Kindred


Chairman’s Report 2015 was an excellent year for the Museum, with over 5,000 visitors! Included in this number are those from

France, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Denmark, Switzerland and the United States.

The 1940’s Tea Dance was a great success, with well over 200 people attending, and the Softball game on the pre-

vious day was also well attended. I am pleased to say that both these two events have been pencilled in the diary

for 2016. Another well supported event was the VE Day Celebration with over 300 people present.

The Museum hosted the Suffolk Museums’ Training Day, which focussed on record keeping. More training days

are scheduled to take place in 2016, including a week long Airfield Recording course, organised by The 8th in the

East and run by their Field Archaeologist, Martin Cuthbert.

Another forthcoming event to mention is a visit from the Northwest School Student Theatre Group from Seattle,

Washington. They will be performing their production of “Crates of Thunder” at the Museum on Sunday 13th

March.

On site, Peter and Liam have been hard at work building the new Nissen Hut. This will provide much needed

space to display artefacts and donated items, as well as having purpose-built display units for uniforms. We have

also started the process of reorganising and up-dating our archives, some of which will now have a searchable da-

tabase for easier use.

An exciting new development is the creation of the 13th Combat Wing Heritage Trail, which will consist of the

95th, 100th and 390th Museums working together for the common good. Watch our Website and Facebook page

for updates.

Finally, I would like to express my grateful thanks to all the volunteers, whose hard work and enthusiasm made

our events so successful and who continue to give their time to ensure that the Museum will be ready for the com-

ing season. Thanks also to all our members and visitors for their continued support and donations, both of money

and artefacts, they are greatly appreciated. Together I am sure we can look forward to another vibrant and suc-

cessful season in 2016.

Tim Brett

The interior of the Nissen hut Liam at work


Annual General Meeting


Treasurer’s Report In preparing the accounts for the AGM in March, I can report a successful year. The shop, under the guidance and

good management of Caroline Curtis and her team of volunteers, has shown a good return, selling an attractive array

of merchandise and thousands of cups of tea. Our sales total has been boltstered by the on-line PayPal orders run by

Lydia Kirk and advertised on our website.

We have received many individual donations through the post, PayPal and the collection boxes at the Museum. To all

of these generous and mostly anonymous donors—thank you. The cash donations in the boxes have been enhanced

by Gift-Aid claims and the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme which enable us to claim an additional 20-28% back

from HMRC.

Fund raising events have been many and varied. The VE Open Day with airfield trailer rides, BBQ and Aux Units dis-

plays brought in £1,000. The October Tea Dance organised by the “Yoxford Boys” netted £700. Talks by our mem-

bers and visits out of regular opening times have created a lot of goodwill and made people aware of some of Par-

ham’s wartime history and helped increase Museum funds.

Amongst the many individual donations as mentioned above we have received two donations in memory of Lt Col H

Hayes Alexander, USAFR (ret) (390th BG/568th Bom b Squadron 1943 -44) and Dorothy M Alexander.

These donations were made by their son and his wife—Mr and Mrs Ben L Alexander and their Granddaughter and

her husband—Ms Haley Martin and Mr Dan Wilkes. We are grateful for the donations, and the photographs and cor-

respondence sent by Robert W Alexander. Lt Col H Hayes Alexander flew 25 missions as bombardier with the Stutz-

man crew.

Through donations, shop profit, fundraising and the annual income from the Moller Foundation, we have been able

to:

Cover our running expenses.

Repay one third of the loan for the new Moller Building.

Carry out some minor improvements to the display area by increasing the size of the Barrack Room Nissen hut

by 20 feet, making room for a host of American wartime artefacts that have been promised.

With high visitor numbers, many educational visits from school children and a firm financial situation, it has been a

successful year!

Kathleen Kindred

A visit from the Framlingham Beavers in November 2015


Curator’s Curios

Sgt Harry M Chard,

nose art artist and

his coveralls, on

which several of the

many colours of

paint used can be

seen

US Army Issue New Testament

Bible and a Prayer Book for Soli-

diers and Sailors belonging to Al

Buehler

A meter for testing the H2X

equipment in B17s. It is as issued

by the factory, complete with

original silica gel bags

Uniform badges found by Trevor Baker’s father in the

Brandleston area, where the Americans disposed of

old equipment and uniforms during WWW2

Luftwaffe Crewman A wartime wedding dress

made from parachute silk

“Billy Street” the wartime evacuee, cre-

ated by Barry and Lena

Knife donated by Mrs Dana Taylor believed to have

been found by her father Jan Steiskai while out met-

al detecting. A.C.Co 1917 is stamped on the reverse


British Resistance Organisation

A very suspicious re-enactor (Gerry) leaving the Base!

Coleshill 1940s Open Day - 19th September 2015

I was delighted to be able to pay my second visit to Coleshill on the occasion of its Open Day. There was plenty for

the around 2,000 visitors to see and many of them came in 1940’s period costume. Entertainment was provided

by bands and singers and there were, of course, the ubiquitous food stalls. CART had a comprehensive stall with

plenty of weaponry, books and literature for the visitors to peruse. It was a great opportunity for me to catch up

with many of the CART volunteers who we liaise with, but rarely get the chance to meet. Bill King and I each gave

a talk on different aspects of the Auxiliary Units, which appeared to go down well. I also had the opportunity, as

did the visitors, of going into the new underground Operational Base. Going down the shaft was rather different

from opening the door of our Base at Parham!

A highlight for me was the opportunity to meet, once again, Trevor Miners, an Auxilier from the Perranporth Pa-

trol. Trevor was in excellent form and many of the visitors were able to hear true stories from someone who actu-

ally did it! Trevor had the honour of opening the new Observation Post located not far from the Operational Base.

During my previous visit I had been unable to visit the row of Memorial Trees planted in remembrance of those

auxiliers who, in their subsequent roles with the Special Air Service, paid the ultimate price. In a quiet time I was

able to put this right.

An example of a plaque that adorns each tree

I was busy manning the ‘shop’ I had brought with me, so was unable to witness the various ‘bangs’ created by the

re-enactors, who, once again, came from all over the country and greatly enhanced the day.

As well as the CART volunteers, I also had the opportunity to catch up with Liza and the National Trust volun-

teers, who are doing so much to ensure that Coleshill and the Auxiliary Units are not forgotten.

Chris Pratt

Acting Curator

A copy of the latest British Resistance Organisation newsletter is attached to this newsletter.


Gallery 2015

Ernie Feibusch was a Right Waist Gunner with the

571st Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomb Group. He was

shot down on his 25th mission and interned in Swe-

den for 5 months before returning to England. Ernie

now lives in Los Angeles

Cpt Jared Williams USAF from the 67th Spe-

cial Operations Squadron , RAF Mildenhall,

meeting Leroy during his visit

Members of 95th Bomb Group Veteran’s families

The Tea Dance held at the Museum

VE Day celebrations at the Museum

Wreath laying on the 95th Bomb Group Memorial

Ron Harris, whose father Cpt Richard Har-

ris, was a pilot in the 390th with museum

volunteer Richard on the tower


Gallery 2015 continued

Re-enactors on the Tower

Museum volunteer Gerry celebrates his 86th

birthday at the museum with a cake made

by Kath Kindred

Cadets from Framlingham College laying a

wreath at the Tower

390th veteran, Leroy Keeping, enjoying the

sun at the Tea Dance

Friend of the Museum, Flt Lt Peter Howard (right) was

a crew member on the occasion of the last rescue mis-

sion flown by the RAF on 4 October

Leroy and family The Jeep Run to Parham by members of the

95th Bomb Group Museum, Horham



Museum volunteer Richard, who together

with Claire and Charlotte, attended the Me-

morial Day Ceremony at Madingley Ameri-

can Cemetery on behalf of the

Museum

390th veteran Carl Crisp with his award of

the French Legion of Honour

BRO Veteran Brian Mower

Luc and Marlene from Belgium

Visitors who flew in from former RAF Wickenby

in Lincolnshire

Norfolk and District Aviation Group

Tom Reynolds II, whose father TJ Reynolds, flew 35 missions

with the 568th Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomb Group



Children & staff from the Avocet School

David Buehler whose father, 1st Lt Albert

Buehler flew 30 missions with the 568th

Bomb Squadron

David Stresing, whose father Captain Percy

Stresing, flew 34 missions with the 569th

Bomb Squadron

92 year old RAF Bomber Command veteran

Desmond, who flew 32 operations with 625

Squadron RAF, as a bomb aimer

Frank Leek from Hoorn, Holland, presenting

a photograph of the Hoorn Memorial to

Chairman, Tim Brett

University graduate Tanis, who used the

facilities of our library to research her work

returned to present a copy of her thesis

“Friendly Invaders” to the Museum


Obituaries Memories of Bill MacVicar

It is with much sadness that I have to report the death of Bill MacVicar, on 13th December 2015. I first met Bill when

we attended a Tucson Reunion some years ago. He immediately came across as a very welcoming and humble veter-

an who had done so much for the veteran community. More recently in 2012, I found myself going to Oregon on a

grass seed growers “fact finding tour” and immediately I was invited to stay with Bill and Kathy. To my surprise Bill,

himself at the age of 89, collected me from Portland Airport, driving through the busy lanes of congested traffic to his

home as he casually said, “once you have piloted a B17 you always learn to keep your eyes open all around you”. He

was so interested to find out about what we were doing at the Museum at Parham and so pleased to talk of his war-

time experiences. He said many times over, that he just could not believe that at the age of only twenty, he had flown

his missions, managed to miraculously survive the war and was flying his B17 back to America—even through a very

difficult cloud base to 10,000 feet on that final take-off from England! He said he had spent two years of his life

training and in active service and the rest of his 70 odd years talking about those experiences. Just a few of those I

would like to repeat.

Bill, having completed his flying training and managing to convince the authorities that he was below the regulation

6ft 3ins in height, arrived at Parham in November 1944 with the Walt Monit crew as co-pilot. As was normal practice

his first mission, on November 29th as co-pilot, was with an experienced crew (Philips). Having successfully passed

his first mission, the very next day Bill joined up with his regular crew to fly on that notorious mission to Merseburg

to bomb the valuable Luena Oil Plant. The mission had a very long exposure to very intense and accurate flak and, to

quote his words, “I have seen over the years many pictures of flak, but nothing matches my memory of what I wit-

nessed that day”. On final approach to the target they were hit by flak right through the cockpit. Bill was rendered

unconscious for a while, with a serious injury to his right shoulder and a loss of oxygen supply. Fortunately Monit

managed to avoid enemy fighter attack and fly home. With no hydraulics they made an emergency landing at RAF

Woodbridge and Bill was sent to the American Hospital by ambulance. Sadly, the entire Philips crew was killed in

action on this same mission. Bill commented that he was one of the lucky ones for he spent a few weeks in hospital

and returned to base on December 31st, only to find that the rest of his crew piloted by Monit with a replacement co-

pilot had gone down over Hamburg that very day. At this part of the story Bill became very emotional reflecting on

his extraordinary luck and wondered “Why me?” and “Why Walt Monit and his crew?”

Bill flew a further 14 missions with Mel Myers and crew, which included Buck “Iron Man” Dunn, who during this

time became the first and only man to ever complete 100 heavy bomber missions over Europe. Not without incident

and a little bit of humour, these missions were overshadowed by his most memorable Chow Hound missions; drop-

ping much needed food supplies to the starving Dutch. The sheer pleasure Bill had in re-living those memories of

flying at just a few hundred feet above the waving and cheering Dutch folk, was a joy for me to witness.

Bill so often commented on how lucky he had been during those war experiences and concluded that he was very for-

tunate to have been assigned to a good crew and was grateful for all the support he had received. He said he was

blessed to have flown with a man of the qualities of Mel Myers.

It can also be said that my family and I are so lucky to be here today. One of Bill’s reminiscences is when he was in

the pilot’s seat for take-off and a cross wind caused the plane to go out of control. Mel Myers took over command

from the co-pilot’s seat and Bill claimed they just missed hitting the trees surrounding the Bomb Dump by a “leaf and

a half!” It is likely that we would all have been blown up, even on the other side of the airfield!

It has been a privilege to have known Bill and I am so pleased that we kept in touch over recent years, either by

phone or his humorous emails. He did so much for the veterans’ association and I am sure his memory will live on.

Peter Kindred


Obituaries continued Paul Kovitz

We recently heard of the passing of 1st Lt Paul Kovitz, who was Assistant Engineering Officer with 569BS. His job

was to assist Capt Louis M Clay with the day to day planning to keep the Squadron aircraft flying from the hard-

stands 10-22. His work huts were situated between Hs16 and Hs19. In a newsletter Paul described the difficulties in

obtaining the correct spares, oil coolers, pressure regulators etc. To overcome this they would go to other airfields

“moonlighting”; posing as engineering staff on that airbase to get what they wanted from other Squadrons. They

came to grief at Woodbridge airbase and were caught red handed by the MP and had to return the parts they had

raided from the hangar queens.

Paul married Hilda Edwards, from Ipswich, in December 1944 and, somewhat unusually, then rented a couple of

rooms in a house in Parham till the end of the war, preferring not to live on base. Paul and Hilda did a lot to help

plan and organise the reunions in the 1990s and early 2000s. He frequently told the story of his journey to England.

He arrived aboard the luxury liner James Parker, docking in Liverpool on 27 July 1943, then travelled by train to

Wickham Market before being trucked to Parham Aerodrome. After the war he remained in the USAAF and then

took a job troubleshooting with Pratt and Witney Aero Engines, travelling all around the world.

Paul has been a very good friend to and supporter of the 390th Memorial Air Museum at Parham.

Audrey, Lady Ironside

Audrey, Lady Ironside died on 3rd December 2015. Her funeral was held at The Church of St Andrew, Hingham, on

Thursday 17th December. For some 10 years, she had been a patron of Parham Airfield Museum, with a notable in-

terest in the Museum of the British Resistance Organisation.

She was a grand-daughter of Lady Kinloss and in 1950, she was married to Edmund, 2nd Baron Ironside, who sur-

vives and remains a patron of our museum.

Much of her later years were devoted to the foundation of Radiotherapy Action Group Exposure (RAGE), a charity

dedicated to oversee the interests of women who suffered excessive radiation during treatment for cancer.

Lord Ironside, also has a special interest in the GHQ Auxiliary Units, as a result of his father’s, the late Field Marshall

Lord Ironside, whose career was in parallel, but senior to, Colin McVean Gubbins, from as early as 1917 when they

served together in the North Russian Campaign. It is also most probable that it was Field Marshal himself who, in

1940, placed before Winston Churchill, Gubbins’ ideas for the Auxiliary Units.

Our sympathy is sent to Lord Ironside and their son and daughter at this sad time.

Donations may be sent to the Church of St Andrew at Hingham.

Long serving museum volunteer Graham Jones,

who sadly died in 2015


Telephone: 01728 621373

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.parhamairfieldmuseum.co.uk

Facebook: Parham Airfield Museum

Twitter: @ParhamMuseum

President: Peter Kindred

Chairman: Tim Brett

Parham Airfield Museum

Parham

Framlingham

Suffolk

IP13 9AF

Opening Hours:

Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday from first

Sunday in April to last Sunday in October from

11.00 to 17.00

Wednesday in June, July & August from 11.00

to 16.00

Admission: Free

‘Tis a Small World A recent visitor to the Museum wrote to say that a few years ago, she had brought her American friends to the Tower

only to find it closed. She was pleased to say that a volunteer was working there and had taken the trouble to show

them around. They commented that it had been an interesting week, as the previous day, Patricia O’Neal, the wife of

Roald Dahl, had visited!

This year when she visited, Mrs G Welton purchased a couple of cards with World War Two scenes. She sent one to

their friends in Maine, USA at Christmas. These friends sent a reply that they particularly liked their card, because a

friend of theirs had written a booklet about his boyhood schoolmate in Jefferson, named Darryl Grady. It seems Dar-

ryl had joined the USAAF and was posted to Station 153, Framlingham.

Sgt Darryl Grady, 390th Bombardment Group H, 569th Squadron, 8th Air Force.

A Waist Gunner, his regular B17 was 231603 “Belle of the Brawl”. He was killed in action on his 22nd Birthday, 8th

May 1944, when he was in the lead plane on a mission with six other B17s to La Glacerie. They ran into very heavy

flak, which resulted in seven crew being killed in action and just two becoming POW. This was the only plane lost on

that mission in an attempt to finally knock out the V1 rocket site before the D-Day landing invasion.

Darryl lived all his life in Jefferson, Maine, USA 1922-1944.

Darryl Grady is recorded on the 390th Memorial Board at the Control Tower Museum, together with the other 739

Americans who gave their lives from this airbase. We have a short Service of Remembrance lead by the Chaplain of

Framlingham College and the RAF Cadet Students each year on 11th November, Armistice Day.

Our thanks to Mrs Welton for writing. It is indeed “a small world”. However, it reminds us there must be so many

families and communities across the USA who lost school friends and sons in those years to 1945.

An evocative photograph of the tower taken by

Curator Barry Walton

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