<div>Fundraising to restore the largest and most intact original complex of wartime buildings on any former USAAF Heavy Bomber airfield in the UK. The ambition is to restore the site into a Living History Museum and Memorial to all of the American Servicemen and Women who served in the USAAF throughout Great Britain during 1942 - 1945.
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<div>After over three years of negotiations, a small group of credible, passionate and ambitious visionaries in England have successfully managed to gain the trust and confidence of a family farming estate on the Suffolk/Norfolk border in order to ensure the long term future of arguably the most original, complete and unmolested Army Air Force Heavy Bomber Station Communal Site anywhere within the United Kingdom. The historic <em>Site 4 </em>complex of wartime buildings, has remarkably survived the past 84 years due to a sentimental connection between the family estate and the friendships made with the American Servicemen stationed at Flixton during WWII. It is without doubt that a wartime Anglo-American relationship between a young English lady and an American Serviceman, is the underlying reason why the entire Communal Site has remarkably escaped the post-war demolition and commercial development routinely seen on all wartime Airfields across the Country. 
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<div>The site has remained virtually untouched with several examples of wartime painted wall-art still adorning the internals walls of the buildings and other than being utilised for the most basic of farming requirements (tractor and grain storage), this historic time capsule has remained largely untouched and undiscovered......right up until the recent passing of the owner. But it was her lasting desire that, if at all possible, the historic<em> Site 4 Complex</em> be saved and restored, rather than demolished and redeveloped, like so many other wartime airfields across the region have suffered.
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<div>Therefore at t <em>Site 4, Bungay Airfield, Suffolk,</em> we have an absolutely incredible and unique opportunity to save, restore and open to the public, a completely intact USAAF Communal Site - the largest such Site constructed at Flixton in WWII and one of the largest out of all the wartime American occupied airfields in the UK. We have already done an awful lot of hard work to date and can now announce that following a series of meetings over the past three years, an agreement has been reached for the USAAF Heritage Trust Registered Charity, (USAAFHT) to take possession of the Site on a long term lease. This will ensure longevity and considerable commitment from both the family estate and the USAAFHT leading the Project. 
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<div>Be under no illusion, the sheer extent of this Site, the deterioration of some of the buildings, the level of restoration required and the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the site once finished will all collectively add up to a herculean amount of time, effort and overwhelming expense. We are not talking a few thousand pounds here, we are talking hundreds of thousands of pounds....if not more....to see the complete site fully restored. But we all happen to believe that the site is so unique in its nature, so unrivalled in its authenticity and positioned in such an incredible location, that we simply couldn't just walk away from it - despite it being such a daunting task . To do so would go against every belief and ingrained passion that we collective have for the history of the United States Army Air Force and their time spent flying operations from Great Britain in World War Two. 
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<div>Presented with the opportunity, we therefore could not see this Site fall into further neglect to become an irrecoverable Project and beyond the scope of practicality and reality. In its current form, many of the buildings are incredibly solid; others have not fared so well, but none of them are irrecoverable. The unique wall art in many of the buildings have survived incredible well with just one small area suffering the long-term effects of water ingress.
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<div>But we do have a grand plan for this incredible Site given sufficient funding. What we don't need is just another Airfield Museum as East Anglia already boasts some of the finest Airfield Museums in the Country; each dedicated to the individual Combat Units that served at these Stations. We are not looking to replicate this already established format. And whilst we could not entertain restoring Site 4 without significant recognition to the resident 446th Bomb Group that called the airfield its home in WWII, we want the entire Site to be restored as a Living History Museum dedicated to the story of the USAAF in its entirety.
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<div>IWM Duxford has a fantastic array of Military hardware and countless local airfield museums do an outstanding job of telling the story of their specific airfields and the Units based upon them.....but nobody it telling the full and encompassing story of the collective Eighth &amp; Ninth Airforce whilst stationed in Great Britain. We don't just want to tell the story of the Combat Airmen who flew the missions; we want to tell the story of the vast majority of the near 3000 service personnel on each airfield who did everything else but! 
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<div>The cooks in the Combat Mess who worked incredibly unsociable hours, the Armourers who hauled the bombs &amp; ordnance out to the aircraft, the gasoline truck drivers who spent their entire war transporting Aviation Fuel from the docks &amp; supply depots to the airfields. The men who worked in the Motor Pool, the Black Afro-American Construction Engineers who built, maintained and were responsible for all airfield defence - Who is currently telling their story? - A body of 21,000 men that received scant recognition at the time and that the Supreme Allied Commander General Eisenhower cited in his post-war publication as "Some of the most important soldiers we had in the entire European War."
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<div>The scope of the Project is wide ranging and our ambitions are unquestionably grand....but saying that, we have been looking for just such a site for a USAAF Heritage Centre for over five years.......and we have now been presented with the biggest site we could have ever dared imagine! This achievement in its own right is a significant milestone along the journey.
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<div>It is also worthy of mention, that we each come to the table of this project with years and decades of previous interest and passion for the USAAF, both individually and collectively. This is not an idea or concept that we have just cooked-up in the pub over a few drinks - This type of project and opportunity has been something we have been actively wanting to undertake for years.
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<div>But on something quite this vast, we cannot entertain doing it alone. This needs to be a community based project as it is way beyond the scope of any single individual or small body of individuals. The site is too big, the work load too great and the sheer amount of requirements (administrative and physical) just too demanding. The Plan is to stage the restoration of the site in designated Phases, with fund-raising for each one. 
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<div>The first Phase will be in making the entire site secure and a safe working environment, removing any hazardous materials and establishing some key utilities back to the long redundant Site. The stabilisation of the <em>Aero Club </em>complex, which contains the majority of the wall art, will need also to be done fairly early on to make these historic buildings water tight. Once the restoration of this initial phase is completed the Art Club building will then become in essence our 'Show-Home' and a secure facility to organise future fund-raising activities, talks, presentations, wartime dances - you name it.
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<div>The timing of our launch is intentional - We have not picked January 2024 (which sees the release of the largest period drama series on the USAAF ever made) just by chance......and we are optimistic that the surge of interest in the US Eighth Air Force as a result of the Spielberg &amp; Hanks Apple TV Mini-Series 'Masters of the Air' will assist the Project in gaining greater traction and a wider circle of interest.
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<div>Sorry this has been a long-winded opener, but its pretty difficult to ask for financial support of the Project without providing a reasonable understanding of what we are aiming to achieve. We hope to start work on the Site in due course, but we cannot do that without money or manpower.....both of which are currently in modest supply! Please view our FaceBook Group Page - <em>USAAF Heritage Trust </em>for updates, historic information and articles on the USAAF in England and notification of proposed activities.
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<div>If this Project 'strikes a chord', then we would love for you to make contact and/or a contribution towards us achieving our objectives. We know we need a lot of money, we understand that and significant funding will ultimately need to come from a variety of sources that we will need to tap into. But for here and now, we are kick-starting this campaign in the hope that we can raise a realistic sum prior to work commencing. Any support you can offer, large or small, will go 100% towards the Project and the sites ultimate restoration.
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<div>This is early doors here folks. Rome was not built in a day, nor was the Black Country Museum in Dudley, the Great Central Steam Railway in Loughborough, the Imperial War Museum at Duxford or any of the other outstanding Airfield museums in the East Anglian region. Bungay Airfield and Site 4 will be no exception to that rule. It's going to be an incredible journey and they'll no doubt be a few bomb craters along the way to negotiate.....but we'd love you to come along for the ride regardless.
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<div>Clive D Stevens (scribe) - Eye, Suffolk
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<div>Dave Pratt - Leicestershire
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<div>Chris Warne - Bishops Stortford, Herts
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<div>Kerry Wilmot - Bungay, Suffolk
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<div>Andrew Hadingham - Halesworth, Suffolk
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David Alexander

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USAAF Heritage Trust - WWII Airfield Restoration

USAAF Heritage Trust - WWII Airfield Restoration

Still £81,541 to go. Help us build momentum.