East Anglia's World War Two airfield photos uncovered

US servicemen on parade through Ipswich Street and Market Place in Stowmarket - precise year unknown

Previously unseen photographs of East Anglian airfields when they were used by US forces in World War Two have been unearthed.

They include a parade of Afro-American servicemen in Stowmarket, Suffolk.

Eighth in the East has been given £500,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to document the history of 70 sites.

David Cain, project manager, said: "The images are important as they show what we have lost and what replaced these people and buildings in our landscape."

Stowmarket's Market Place seven decades later

The project is seeking a modern photograph to complement this photo of Bottisham airfield, Cambridgeshire

Some of the airfields have become airports such as Norwich, some have new commercial uses, while others have become fields again.

The public is being asked to contribute any historic photographs they have and to go out and take photos of the sites as they are now.

Eighth in the East said the images will contribute to its ongoing educational programme and a touring exhibition due to get begin later this year and into 2016.

Raydon airfield near Hadleigh in Suffolk was used by the United States November 1943-April 1945

Raydon ceased being an RAF base in 1958 and its hangers were sold for commercial or agricultural use

The Now and Then project organisers said they were particularly keen to receive old and current photos of airfields in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.