Thorpe Abbotts and the Bloody Hundredth
After a restful night at the Bedford Lodge in Newmarket, our entourage enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading off to Thorpe Abbotts.
Thorpe Abbotts was the home of the “Bloody Hundredth” bomb group, established in 1943. The bus wound around back roads and tall hedges before turning onto the base’s old taxiway and driving down to the restored control tour. As soon as we disembarked from the bus we were greeted by several fly-bys of a biplane, as well as the caretaker and a 100th Refueling Wing historian. The veterans and cadets marched in formation down a sidewalk to a courtyard and seating area beside the control tower and Quonset huts. Once everyone was seated there was a commemoration event honoring the men of the Army Air Corps who fought and sacrificed so much during WWII, in addition to readings of veterans’ accounts and the Air Force Song by cadets Brack Duvall, Sam Roller, and Aaron Daggit, veterans and ex-POWs Art Meyers and Richard Carroll shared some of their experiences of the war. Meyers spoke briefly about his last mission, and what it was like to have to bail out of his plane, then to be captured and taken to prison camp. Carroll spoke about some of his missions over Austria and Ploesti, the planes he saw explode or get shot down, and the true horrors of having to participate in war. He truly drove home the simple fact that life is an extremely valuable thing, made extremely cheap in times of war.
Immediately following the commemoration by The Greatest generations Foundation, some personnel from RAF Mildenhall and members of the 100th Refueling Wing celebrated their Heritage Day by sharing more stories of veterans from the 100th Bomb Group. Following this presentation, we had a brief opportunity to explore the grounds at Thorpe Abbotts and to see their beautifully restored control towers and Quonset huts that have in the past 30 years been converted to a museum dedicated to preserving the stories and heritage of the 100th Bomb Group. The various exhibits were arranged quite well, and it was a splendid time to be able to see collections of various weapons, bomber jackets, plane parts, and paintings as well as other items significant to the air men of WWII. Once we had taken some pictures of the cadets and veterans with some nicely restored WWII jeeps, we continued down the road to some of the old staff quarters and other overgrown buildings once significant to the 100th.
Following a short lunch we proceeded to Horham, home of the 95th Bomb Group and location of the Red Feather Club. At this particular base a small collection of the Quonset huts have been restored to accommodate not only a museum dedicated to the 95th Bomb Group, but a small venue for local gathers and social events. We spent some time here, enjoying some refreshments and each other’s company. Having had a relaxing afternoon at Horham, we continued on to RAF Mildenhall and the Bird in Hand pub where everybody enjoyed a nice traditional dinner of fish and chips.
Throughout today’s program I have had the privilege of speaking with several veterans and cadets, all have which have indicated to me their abundant satisfaction with the opportunity to see the airfields and bomb bases here in East England, as well as the unique opportunity to interact with a generation, otherwise quite removed from their own. I have also been once again sobered by the eloquent and profound accounts these men give about their personal experiences in the service, and just how priceless life is compared to how quickly it can be extinguished in the name of freedom and fraternity through the horrific nature of war. May their experiences and exhortations live on with their legacies.
Please Remember Those Who Served
The Greatest Generations Foundation
www.tggf.us
