Old Buckenham Airfield Opens a Second Museum

Old Buckenham Airfield

Old Buckenham Airfield is delighted to announce the opening, on Remembrance Sunday 2017, of its second Museum; the 8th Air Force Heritage Gallery.
This new addition to the Airfield has been designed as a complement to the 2015built 453rd Bombardment Group Museum which houses the largest collection of 453rd memorabilia in existence.

The new Gallery showcases some of the extensive collection of James Clarey. His collection, combined with that of the late Pat Ramm, is partly on display in the 453rd Museum, of which he is also Curator. James, however, did not limit his collecting to the 453rd and has so many exhibits relating to the 8th Air Force (of which the 453rd was a part) that the decision was made to create the 8th Air Force Heritage Gallery, in order to provide a place where they can be on public display.

Based in the Airfield’s ‘Small Blister Hangar’ the Gallery contains a host of displays and exhibits. At its heart is a faithful recreation of the Post Exchange which was a key feature of the lives of all the servicemen at Old Buckenham during the War. The Post Exchange, as the name suggests, was the place for parcels and letters to go back and forth between England and the U.S. and for most servicemen would have been the most tangible link with home. Post Exchanges also served as a shop and social centre on the base.

Remembrance Sunday will also see the unveiling of a new ornamental railing enclosure for the Memorial Garden. Built in house by the airfield, the railings required over a thousand fixings and took over a week to complete. A brand new LED lighting system completes this latest update, the first major improvement since the Garden was created in 2012.

Fittingly, the 8th Air Force Heritage Gallery will be formally opened following the traditional Remembrance Sunday Service, held at 1055 at the War Memorial. The United States will be represented by a senior officer from Lakenheath Air Base.

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