The 381st was made up of several squadrons, each with its distinctive fuselage code: the 532nd (VE), the 533rd (VP), 534th (GD), and 535th (MS). All I knew about the 381st is that it had been based at Ridgewell Airfield in England during World War II. The museum is open on the second Sunday of the month, between April and September, although sometimes it will open for group visits and for the relatives of those who served at Ridgewell. This really gives them a sense of the scale of the airfield, and they are able to see the remaining buildings and the stories connected to them.

This book tells the story of just one "Bomb Group" - the 381st, which crossed the Atlantic in May 1943. Anyone can be a detective, piecing stories together like a jigsaw puzzle, but actually forming it into a coherent narrative is much harder to do. The only parts of the base that remain today are the roads and a Nissen hut that had been the hospital. His next book, Essex: A Hidden Aviation History, uncovered the many forgotten (and oft-ignored) tales behind the county’s many memorials, museums and markers. While looking through photos on the social media site, I spotted a black and white photo identified as Lt.He is now a full-time military historian and Chairman of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. It could accommodate around 3,000 people at any one time—we don’t know exactly how many were based at Ridgewell throughout its entire existence,” he said.

Bomb Group leans heavily on his book, which was largely written as a diary during the Second World War. As chaplain of the 381st Bomb Group (and author of The Mighty Men of the 381st: Heroes All) he has become something of a hero of mine. We are always very honored and privileged when we meet veterans’ families, it is always emotional for us and more so for them.These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators were soon punching through the enemy's defenses to bomb targets vital to its war effort. I do feel there is too much emphasis placed on events like the Dambusters Raid or the Battle of Britain. I also visited facilities like the National Archives and RAF Museum, as well as the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in Savannah, Georgia.

Finally, he got permission to display his collection in a small section of the current museum building. Sometimes relationships are forged between visitors, such as the day when two American families came to visit. The land was reverted back to farm land for the most part, Bingley said, with one notable exception. From hot air balloons rising over Paris in the 19th Century, to mankind venturing to the outer reaches of space by the 21st; aviation has literally flown past in the blink of an eye.Even before I learnt any of the history of the airfield, I knew that something significant had happened on and around that land. Around 2014, Alan Steel obtained permission from the landowner to use the entirety of the Nissen hut,” Bingley said.