The Eighth in the East

StuW;98340 wrote:

Interesting!!

Well at least someone has looked at it!! Well done, StuW.

In all seriousness Dr. Williams's work should be carefully examined by the organisers of 8th In East - they could learn some useful lessons from it.

There will in fact be an opportunity to meet the man himself on Monday 19th March, when Dr. Williams presents a film and presentation evening in a Suffolk village. Please note this is an event which is directed at a specific local community, and has been arranged at very short notice at a venue with limited capacity - therefore it would be very unfair to Dr. Williams and the community for the meeting to be 'taken over' by outsiders. However it would be a great opportunity for a small number of representatives from interested groups to learn more of the techniques he has used to achieve just what this project is trying to do.

Can I ask anyone interested to contact Me by PM in the first instance, and I will do my best to ensure you get a seat!

Tony

Education towards the local communities, recording oral histories, supporting small independent museums who remember the 8th seems to be the way forward. The £590,000 application (and thats what I discovered is actually being applied for!) is allegedly for those specific subjects. Out of the £14,500 already gained, they have to pay for a consultant - costing £10,000 - to submit the remaining bids. Plus if successful, employing of two full time staff positions and one part time Graduate post. Thats how it was pitched to me and the crowd at Horham. The survey work on surviving airfields, buildings, other sites of note and importance historically concerning the 8th AF story has been recorded before as many here already said. I see no point in spending valuable money on work towards what has already been collated. On that score, I would hope all that detailed work current existing could be incorporated into what this ''Eighth in the East'' project is trying to achieve. I understood from the speakers at the meeting that the ARG were already in discussions with those leading this project, or that's the comments made at Horham at least.

As for 1st Air Division and its separation from the Eastern Region map. I am very dismayed at the whole idea that the corner stone bedrock foundation of what the 8th AF story was and continues to be, has allegedly no ''equal'' place in what was pitched as ''The Whole Story of the 8th''. While a couple of vague comments at Horham were made that the westerly groups-airfields-museums would be included, it was not made a secret during part of the presentations that we in 1st AD in Northants were on a lesser status when placed alongside those over the remaining eastern side. I didnt care for one speaker calling Northamptonshire ''Being a problem''.

To report back such comments to my membership is not going to be easy. I'm only thankfully, that our Veterans in the 305th in 1942-43-44-45 didnt feel they were a problem, and never once considered themselves ''not equal'', when flying into flak and 20mm over Germany.

Having driven over 2 hours on an invite to represent the 305th and its membership, and one of the 8th AF fields which started the story of the 8th in WW2, I am very disappointed in the prospects of being considered as a lesser partner to all this; not that I am expecting any special treatment or a bigger slice of any funds. However, I would have expected equal status when all the chosen locations were being discussed. I am really surprised the initial background research which led to putting in the first HLF applications did not take into account the origins of the 8th AF, and by that its fundamental place in its story. Mission number one by B-17's from Grafton Underwood being the first, the bedrock upon which the 8th AF was created in the ETO. Why someone in that first pitch didnt make that point with some force to HLF when applying for the funding?

Maybe it would be a better idea for those groups outside this ''regional'' divide, to make applications to HLF.

As for the catering at Horham - I can give nothing but high praise to Jim Mutton and his team of volunteers. I was very happy to cross over to 3rd AD for the day, and felt very welcome indeed. The tea was superb, as were the sandwiches and cake! Most of all the museum atmosphere was terrific, and a huge credit to the hard work those at Horham put into it. Well done indeed.

Ian White
Vice President 305th BGMA
UK-EU Contact

It has been suggested that one of the principal aims of this project is to record the wartime experiences of members of the local populations who lived in the vicinity of 8th AF airfields.

Here is a U.S. university-based research project that has been running for the last 11 years, which was set up to do the same thing but with both USAAF personnel and the local British poulation, and examining the social bonds formed between the two.

EAST ANGLIAN AIR WAR PROJECT

www.angliaairwar.com

To quote from the site - 'A study examining the WW2 experiences of American air crew and ground personnel, their British hosts and the sense of community that held them together from 1942 - 1945. Since 2001 oral history interviews have been conducted and have become an essential part of the historical record'.

One product of this research is a growing library of films, produced both by Dr. Vernon L Williams and by his students.

FILM EVENING

At very short notice a film evening has been arranged in Suffolk at which Dr. Williams will show selected extracts from some of this work, covering Deopham Green, Thurleigh at War, Liberators Over East Anglia. Also included will be a 20 minute film on the 388th BG, a short look at the Red Cross in Wartime England and others.

Venue: Barningham Village Hall, Suffolk (12 miles NE Bury St.Edmunds) IP31 1BX
Date: Monday 19th March
Cost: £1

This could be a good opportunity to understand what might potentially be achieved from the Eighth In The East project if it can capture enough recollections of local folk before it is too late.

EITE Newsletter Number 3 attached;

Newsletter No. 3 July 2012.pdf

I received this via email yesterday;

The Eighth In The East

You will recall our meeting at Horham in February 2012. Since then a small but dedicated team has been hard at work putting together a pitch to Heritage Lottery Fund in Cambridge. Despite a generous grant of £15,000 from HLF much of this work has been done free of charge. The results of our efforts were delivered in March and the meeting to decide whether we will receive funding is on Thursday 6th June (D-Day!).

Over the past year we have been in touch with many of you individually and we would like to thank you for your support. To those that we might have appeared to forget, sorry – but we do want you on board!

Our focus is very much on the people and places that got the planes into the air and our vision is to create a network of museum hubs throughout the Eastern Counties so that we can better explore and interpret the archaeology and social history of the Eighth Air Force.

If we secure funding we will be: organising community archaeology and oral history programmes; investing in 8th AF museum development throughout the region; creating a web site so that we can alert people to what is going on and share best practice. We intend developing digital guides and interpretation and helping to teach photographic and video skills through this important history. In short, we seek to build on the brilliant work that’s been done at places such as Flixton, Parham, Horham... so that we can encourage the next generation of enthusiasts to keep this history alive.

We have secured the support of the University of East Anglia, the East Anglian Film Archive, the Norfolk Sound Archive (at the Norfolk Record Office), Norfolk Historic Environment Service, Eastern Angles, the Airfield Research Group and the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library. We are grateful for the support from the USAF at RAF Mildenhall & RAF Lakenheath. We have agreed museum partnerships with Thorpe Abbotts and Horham. We are actively engaged with Boxted and Bassingbourn and will be creating a ‘hub’ in mid Norfolk which will be centred on Gressenhall. During the course of the project we shall be seeking a fifth museum partner too.

We do not seek to exclude anyone but we have to focus our efforts on these key hubs so that we can more effectively cover the region.

We have found it difficult to put together the bid AND communicate with everyone who has shown an interest. If we secure funding we will be able to put that right via a management team, a website and regular newsletters.

So, thank you for your support, your patience and your hard work (you know who you are).

Nick Patrick

From the Eighth in the East Twitter feed today: "We did it! £575k Heritage Lottery Fund grant to 'record and make accessible' the history of the 8th in the Eastern Counties in WW2".
There will also be a piece on Look East this evening at 1800.

Story now on BBC Website.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24116597

Mike

And my apologies to all - it seems there will be a report on BBC's Look East this evening from 6pm.

October 2013


Welcome...
... to the very first newsletter of the 8th in the East project. Over the next three years we hope to bring you an insight into the work of our Heritage Lottery Funded programme of archaeology, oral history and museum development which will keep alive the momentous story of what’s become known as the ‘friendly invasion’ of World War II.

To better introduce you to our work we want to tell you a little more about who we are and what we are doing. Here, Nick Patrick - Project Leader - shares his path to the project.

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Concrete



How many Heritage Lottery Funded projects begin with concrete? Well, for me, that’s probably where this project does begin. I grew up close to the airfields at Metfield, Flixton and Halesworth in Suffolk, and like all of my mates who spent long summers cycling and exploring the disused expanse of brick buildings and taxi-ways, I thought I knew the story of the USAAF.

But one day, hitch-hiking along the A143 to Diss I had an epiphany... Continue reading Nick's blog here

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People and Places
We want this to be your space in future editions of our newsletter.

If you have a new discovery that you can't wait to share with others, have heard an interesting story about one of our regions's airfields, or just want to let others know what working with the 8th in the East means to you, then please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the project team.

We have received some excellent press coverage for the project. You can discover more about us on the BBC website

And here is an article from The Times about our work from 19 October 2013 (may require subscription)

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For the diary

11th November - Closing date for applications to Learning Officer role with 8th in the East. Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for an application pack.

2nd December - Final date for entries to 8th in the East Logo Commission. For further details This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. the project team.

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Picture of the month



Here's our first 8th in the East Picture of the Month. We think this image taken at our press launch, at the Red Feathers Club, 95th Bomb Group Museum Horham, captures the real spirit of remembering the past, creating the present.

Click here to see the picture gallery from our press launch event (Photo credit Peter Everard-Smith)

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Anyone going to the EITE event at Shipdham later today?
www.8theast.org/8th-in-the-east-community-open-day/

Interesting to see their website is now up and running.