The US families celebrating Thanksgiving 5,000 miles from home

Capt Spencer Taylor (right) and his family will be welcoming about a dozen American guests to their home in Mildenhall this Thanksgiving

The fourth Thursday in November holds little significance for most Brits. But for millions of Americans, it means the world.

Thanksgiving is a chance for families to reflect on the positive things in life - things they are grateful for.

Predominantly celebrated in the United States, the annual tradition falls on 27 November this year.

More than 232,000 US-born people live in the UK, according to the latest census.

The founding of the USA has deep roots in the East of England - not least given the Mayflower ship is widely believed to have been built in Harwich in Essex - and this is not lost on the local expats who are thousands of miles from home.

The weather in Suffolk is a little different to what the Taylor family are used to in the US

There are few areas of the UK more densely packed with Americans than the Suffolk village of Mildenhall, with its Royal Air Force station home to thousands of US Air Force personnel.

Among them is Capt Spencer Taylor, chaplain of the 100th Air Refueling Wing, who moved to Mildenhall last summer.

"Thanksgiving has always been one of my favourite holidays," the 46-year-old says, reminiscing on his memories of growing up in Utah.

The dad-of-six says getting as many of his family together as possible to mark the holiday has always been a priority for him.

Living about 5,000 miles (8,046km) away from home means a slightly different Thanksgiving for the Taylors, but the family will be welcoming about a dozen American visitors to their home this year.

"We've tried to find new friends who may not have somewhere to be on the day," Capt Taylor says.

"We can be each other's family, even on a short term basis, but some of those have turned into very nice friendships."

He admits roast turkey – the staple of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner – is his least favourite part of the meal, but he is looking forward to tucking into his twist on sweet potatoes.

"I like to make them with marshmallows on top," he smiles. "It ends up being a really nice treat."

The night before Thanksgiving is equally important to the team at RAF Mildenhall which, since 1986, have organised an annual service at Ely Cathedral in Cambridgeshire.

Sherri Singleton has lived in the UK for more than 20 years

Across the border in Essex is the small coastal village of Mistley, where Los Angeles-born Sherri Singleton has lived for more than 20 years.

She has put on an annual Thanksgiving lunch at her restaurant – The Mistley Thorn – since it opened 21 years ago.

What started as something for American students at the nearby University of Essex soon became "a very popular event in the area", she says. "It's always a full house."

Mrs Singleton is expecting about 100 customers.

Ajak Barak, who owns Alec's restaurant in Brentwood, has seen a similar trend since he started marking the holiday four years ago, prompted by American diners telling him they could not find anywhere to celebrate.

"Every year, we are seeing more and more people," he says, adding that many Brits are joining their American friends around the table.

"Thanksgiving is all about family and getting everybody together and British culture is not too far from that."

Mike Sauter is from New Jersey and teaches history at the University of Suffolk

Not every US expat will be tucking into a roast turkey dinner later.

Mike Sauter, who teaches history at the University of Suffolk, has fond memories of watching American football with his family on Thanksgiving as a youngster growing up in New Jersey.

He and his wife emigrated to Mexico in the early 2000s and continued to celebrate Thanksgiving, but it has become less prominent in their lives over the years, particularly since they moved to the UK in 2019.

"We have a different friend group now, so there aren't quite as many people around that we would spend Thanksgiving with," the 58-year-old says.

He says he would like to celebrate Thanksgiving but instead focuses on marking British traditions like Guy Fawkes Night.

"When we were in Mexico, there were other Mexican celebrations we would participate in. Thanksgiving naturally recedes as your life changes."

Is there any part of it he misses?

"You might think of Thanksgiving in terms of turkey, but for those of us in the know, in the United States it's always the stuffing that matters," he says with a smile on his face.