Leonard Herman Display Now Open at Horham, England

This shot shows Len's service flimsey, his bombardier's briefcase, identification, and news articles about him saved by his family during the war.

Last summer, when I traveled to Horham, England for research on my upcoming history of the 95th Bomb Group (H), I donated, with Leonard Herman's permission, the things he had saved from his time in the 95th Bomb Group, and other items from his training. Leonard was so excited to know his stuff would be on display back in Horham, and when I visited him last summer, we talked about going over to visit this summer, even though he was ailing. Sadly, Leonard passed away in October, so he never got to see his exhibit at the museum. But I know he would have been so pleased and proud had he seen the marvelous job on the display by museum worker Ray Howlett, who put this display so lovingly and accurately. In fact, I wept with happiness when I first saw these photos today. Thanks so much, Ray, and to all our English friends who do so much to honor the legacy of the bomber boys in WWII.

This shot shows Len's stencil, escape currency, a letter from his pilot's wife to Len after pilot Johnny Johnson was killed on a mission, a crew photo, and on the far end of the case, the telegram informing his parents of his being wounded in action on the same mission Johnny Johnson was killed.
Crew photo, some of Len's chest ribbons, Len's bombardier briefcase, embossed with his name, a roll of chaff, and Len's Purple Heart License plate.
Close-up of Len's Jewish Prayer Book, issued by the U.S. Military, as well as service records.

Len and me, July 2008, Columbus, Georgia.

Liberty Belle Flies over Horham

Click on photo for a dramatic giant version!

Photo speaks for itself. From Gerald Grove.

Gerald writes: "Rob, I didn't know if you'd seen this picture of Don Brooks (president, 390th MMF & Liberty Foundation founder) & Liberty Belle over Horham ... enjoy!"

Outstanding Website Shows British Air Bases--Must See

I recently got in touch with Richard Flagg of Hoxne, England, a World War Two aviation history researcher who has built an incredible site that catalogs many of the air bases in East Anglia from World War Two. This website is a real gem, and I urge everybody with an interest in the air war and the air bases to check it out. It's extensive, well-researched, and chock-full of excellent photos.

By way of introduction, Richard writes on his site:
"Hello and welcome to my collection of Airfield & Aviation Memorial photographs. Please enjoy looking at the photographs I have taken and please leave any comments by using the button below the photograph. Feel free to rate the photographs as well (out of 10) and if you feel the urge to write to me then please do so by clicking here.

I started taking photos of airfield memorials and old airfields a few years back and the more I research the more there is still waiting to be discovered. Memorial sites are wonderful places to find as well, some of them are in the most obscure places, some of them more obvious but all are there to remember the past and those who never returned.

Old Airfields are wonderful places to visit, each one telling its own story. The power and grace, the emotion and sadness are all there still to be felt at these places. Every airfield still has an energy and a very special atmosphere that cannot be recreated in a photograph. Every airfield I have been to so far will always remain to be an airfield, regardless how time has fared.

I am always on the lookout for new places to visit and new memorial sites to see, so if you know of any that I am yet to photograph in the areas that I have been to then drop me a line here. I hope to make a comprehensive database of memorial sites and visit as many as I can when time permits. If you do decide to go and have a walk around any airfield, be warned that some are still very active places and flying will be taking place. All of the airfields I have visited I have always had permission to be there, or I have followed a public right of way and I suggest you do the same. Make sure you have gained permission to visit any site as nearly all of them are private property. Although I have disabled the 'right-click' function on this website, use of any of these images is allowed. Contact Me with your email address and I will forward them on to you. If you want to use them for commercial publication then please contact me as well.

Richard E Flagg. Suffolk, UK. "

The website can be found by clicking here: http://airfields.fotopic.net/
Bookmark it, visit often, and drop Richard a line if you have a chance. He's done a wonderful thing here.

Thanks, Richard!

DNIF: Duties Not Involving Flying--Some Photos of the 95th BG in Horham--It took a lot of Men on the Ground to Keep 'Em Flying!!

King Edmund Falls to the Vikings

The bridge under which Edmund hid, but he was betrayed by a bride passing over the bridge. To this day, wedding parties avoid the bridge as a tradition.
Another view of the bridge.
Me at the spot where King Edmund was hung, Hoxne. A tree used to be here.
Self-explanatory.
A nearby church commemorates the dastardly deed. King Edmund hides under the bridge. The bride hears him and betrays him.

While visiting in East Anglia, my friends Alan Johnson and James Mutton took me by Bury St. Edmunds and Hoxne, where we saw the bridge where King Edmund was captured and, nearby, the spot where he was killed. Here are some photos I took of this historic area, plus a history of the good king himself.

The 20th of November 869 AD, Saxon King Edmund martyred by the Vikings

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Little is known for sure of the life of the East Anglian king Edmund, but there are many legends associated with him, especially his death and subsequent miraculous events.One story has Saxon Edmund born in Nuremburg, but the most credible stories have him as descended from a line of English Saxon kings, his father being Aethelweard, who died in 854 when Edmund was still a boy of 14. Edmund was said to have been crowned by St Humbert on Christmas day 854, possibly in Bures St Mary in Suffolk.Edmund’s piety is well recorded, seen in his just treatment of his subjects, and in the story that he went into retreat at Hunstanton for a year, during which time he learned the Psalter by heart, a feat that in its day would have been considered a considerable display of learning.But it is Edmund’s death which is the most remarkable element of his life. The Danes in 869 marched south from York through Mercia (the Midlands) and into East Anglia, where they took Thetford and used it as a base. According to one version of the tale Edmund refused to fight them, giving himself up to his enemies in accordance with Christ’s turning the other cheek. In another he engages the Danes in a bloody battle.The stories of Edmund’s death on November 20 869 are various too. Some have him dying in battle. Others, the majority, have him captured by the brutal Ubbe Ragnarsson and Ivar the Boneless. Refusing to renounce his religion Edmund is said to have undergone horrific treatment, either used for target practice by Danish bowmen, or even more horribly made a ‘blood eagle’ sacrifice, his ribs separated from his spine and his lungs pulled from his living body. Yet still he refused to renounce Christ, and was decapitated by the Danes in exasperation. Edmund’s head was said to have been guarded by a wolf for weeks before his followers recovered it, a story that lead to his being the patron saint of wolves, although whether they knew this before they were wiped out in England is unclear.After his death Edmund quickly became accepted as a saint and a martyr. His body when seen years after his death was intact and without signs of decay, and even more miraculously was healed of its wounds, only a thin red line around his neck showing the brutality of his end. Miracles were attributed to him, including one where his spirit appeared to the last heathen Danish king in England, Sweyen, causing the latter to fall from his horse and die in convulsions.His shrine at Beadoriceworth became an important point of pilgrimage in early medieval England, the town changing its name to Bury St Edmunds (town of St Edmund). For a time St Edmund was England’s patron saint, until St George replaced him, and there is a campaign afoot today to reinstate the martyr king to that position.

More English Air Base Photos

Road to Bomb Dump, Horham. (Most of these photos will supersize if you double-click them. You'll get a lot more detail.)
95th Bomb Group Hospital, Horham.
Perimeter Taxiway, Horham.
34th BG Indian on Bomb, a piece of wall removed and displayed at the 95th Museum.
Singing farmer, on display at 390th Base.

'Tony' Anthony, (L) who was an RAF officer at Horham during the war, poses with his beautifully restored American staff car. My good friend Alan Johnson, whom I stayed with in Horham, is at right.
Inside a bomb shelter, Horham.
Hospital CO's office, 95th BG Base Hospital, Horham.
Old 100th buildings, Thorpe Abbotts.

100th Bomb Group hut.
390th Bomb Group Theater.
390th Bomb Group Tower.
100th Bomb Group Operations Office.
Bomb Shelter.

Favorite Photos From Trip: Places and Objects

Favorite photos of places and objects. Double-click to super-size.390th Control Tower, Framlingham.
Church door, Horham. This Norman church was built in 1312.

Ancient House, Horham. Built in the 13th century. Town store on left. Stayed in this house with Alan Johnson while in Horham.
Old graves in Horham Churchyard.
View of Horham village from church steeple.
Edinburgh Castle.

Window, old 95th base hospital, Horham.
Garden, Scottish Borders.
Poppies on old 95th hardstand.
Scottish Borders from walls of Hume Castle.

Dingle Harbor, County Kerry, Ireland.

Old base theater, Framlingham.
Nature re-takes the main runway at Horham (modified).

Hume Castle, Scottish Borders
Scott's Lookout, Scottish Borders

Tree Tunnel, Scottish Borders (modified)