Service for US airmen that died flying in WW2

There were 18 US Army Air Force bases across Norfolk which became fully operational in 1943

A memorial service will be held this weekend to mark 80 years since United States airmen first started flying missions out of Norfolk during World War Two.

Hundreds of US airmen lost their lives after their units became fully operational in 1943.

Between 1942 and 1945, about 50,000 United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) personnel served at 18 bases across the county.

A service will be held in Beeston on Remembrance Sunday, close to the former RAF Wendling, where the 392nd Bomb Group was based.

From there, four squadrons of B-24 Liberator bombers conducted raids over Germany and occupied Europe, flying 285 missions, and losing 832 men and 127 aircraft.

This crew of the 392 Bomber Group, 578th Squadron based at RAF Wendling where all killed in action during a mission to bomb a heavy water plant in occupied Norway

Local historian Stephen Olley said people in Beeston were initially wary of the sudden influx of strangers, with unfamiliar accents and manners.

But as the young airmen and locals got to know each other, friendships and relationships blossomed.

"It wasn't a case of they were there and the villagers had nothing to do with them," Mr Olley said.

"They were part of the community so everybody worried what had happened to them."

Mr Olley said that young women in the village often had anxious waits if their boyfriends or fiancés were deployed on missions.

RAF Wendling also brought some celebrities to the village near Dereham, most notably the US bandleader Glenn Miller, whose photograph still hangs in the local pub, The Ploughshare.

It is believed his last performance before his ill-fated flight to France was at the base.

After the war, friendships and relationships between locals and US airmen continued, even after the station was shut down.

Before their units left, the US had a memorial created at RAF Wendling.

The marble memorial is close to the former base hospital where many men died or were treated for injuries

The upkeep of the memorial is paid for by an association linked to the former bomb group

Since 1945, there has been a 392nd Group Association which has maintained its links with Beeston and Wendling.

It helped to pay for the upkeep of the memorial.

Over the years, many USAAF veterans have returned to Norfolk, although as time passes Mr Olley says it is more often their children and grandchildren.

On Remembrance Sunday, a memorial service will be held at Beeston church and then at the memorial, where the names of those who lost their lives flying from RAF Wendling are inscribed.