Earls Colne is a stunning village near Colchester, where its residents live a peaceful and tight-knit lifestyle. Complete with many independent businesses and lots of green space, the village is an idyllic place to live – but its history is arguably the most fascinating thing about it.
Earls Colne Heritage Museum is a museum of village life and is housed in a Victorian water tower, and is very important to the village’s identity. The museum and its volunteers have some very interesting stories and facts about Earls Colne – particularly its importance during WWII.
EssexLive were very lucky to speak to Gordon Brown, the chair of the museum. He told us all about the village’s role in the war, particularly its airfield, as we edge closer to the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Read more: The Essex area with rapidly falling house prices and stunning coastal views
Read more: Sainsbury’s store in Essex temporarily closed after ‘extreme weather’ causes damage
The airfield at Earls Colne was constructed in response to World War 2 and, in particular, the arrival of the United States Army Air Force following the entry into the war of the USA. The Eighth Air Force was formed in January 1942 as a component of the USAAF and the initial aim of the Allies was to move 60 combat groups across the Atlantic to Britain by April 1943.
Eight airfields already in use by the RAF were assigned for American use and construction of suitable new air bases kicked-off under the Bolero programme. The airfield site would have been selected initially by planners searching for a large flat plateau with suitable soil strength, free from physical obstructions and meteorological problems.
The first American personnel arrived at Earls Colne on October 8 1942 as part of a 600-strong service unit. The incomplete airfield reportedly received its first USAAF aircraft the very next day when a B-17F from Chelveston made an unscheduled landing on the way home from a mission to Lille.
Construction was finally completed by Spring 1943 but, aside from visits by Lockheed F-5 Lightning photographic ships, the first operational aircraft didn’t arrive at ‘Station 358’ until the B-17 Flying Fortresses of USAAF’s 94th Bomb Group touched-down on May 27th 1943. On June 4 1942, following the designation of the base as a USAAF heavy bomber station, a further 16 loop (sometimes called ‘spectacle’) hard standings were added
Two T2 hangars were erected and remain in place today – demonstrating what large and useful structures they are. The airfield also provided accommodation for 2750 personnel at several sites dispersed largely in the woods leading towards Markshall.
This included mess halls, ablutions and air raid shelters, some built from brick and others constructed from corrugated iron and concrete. This number of billets catered for sightly less than the number of personnel needed to run a USAAF base (2800) but was greater than provided at most RAF Bomber Command bases (2400).
Today, Earls Colne Airfield is a general aviation aerodrome. It is also home to the Essex Air Ambulance. In March, Earls Colne Heritage Museum is holding many different events speaking about the different roles that the village played during WWII. You can find out more about them here.