Rare WW2 photos at Sudbury Heritage Centre

This mass farewell on the Sudbury airfield gives some idea of the strength of the 486th  presence which was more than 3,000 men at any one time. The event is not dated but the flag is flying at half mast.

 From Monday 22^nd May, for just one week, images will be on display that give new insights into life of the 486^th US Bomb Squadron that was stationed at Chilton Airfield, north of Sudbury, during the latter years of World War ll.

Many of the photographs have never been seen in public before.  They show images of operational scenes, crashes and a massed farewell  ceremony.  The pictures come from the private collection of the late Roley Andrews of Sudbury , who, as a schoolboy made friends with the airmen stationed close to the town and spent his life collecting photographs and reports from official US military sources.

The exhibition is timed to follow this weekend’s commemoration in Lavenham of the 75^th anniversary of the arrival of the first US Army Air Force (USAAF) units in East Anglia to join the war effort.

The Sudbury Heritage Centre has a permanent display relating to the 485^th squadron which includes a narrative history, suspended models of the bombers and a display of memorabilia.  The Heritage Centre’s website tells their story at http://americans.sudburysuffolk.co.uk/

Ground crew pictured with a wheel indicates the scale of the B-17 Flying Fortress bombers which flew missions into Occupied Europe.

Photographs from Roley Andrew’s collection will be on display from Monday 22^nd May.  The Heritage Centre is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and for this week only will also open on Saturday morning from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  The entrance is at the side of the Town Hall and entry is free.