I was delighted to be the instigator of Pat Carty’s visit to Long Marston on 21st April. Though all I did was pass on his email address following the articles about Pat that we produced for our website.
Just when you think that one book about the second world war could never be matched, another one comes along.
Pat Carty, author of the book the ‘Secret Squadrons of the Eighth’ has agreed to come and do another talk of the history of ‘Cheddington Airfield’ on Friday 21st April at 7pm.
In August 1944, the 36th Bomb Squadron was formed and came to Cheddington/Marsworth Airfield.
In February 1945 Mike Tomlinson was just seven years old, and lived with his mother (his father was away serving in the RAF) in Astrope Lane, which leads down from the Queens Head pub at the crossroads in Long Marston.
The story behind the memorial to remember the crew. by Peter Walker
Most of the early work on our new local history website – Tringruralhistory.co.uk – has focused on the 20th century and in particular World War II. A number of stories mentioned the use of the local Airfield by the American Airforce and the impact on our communities at the time.
This article follows on from our website’s recent review of Pat Carty’s book – Secret Squadrons of the Eighth – by interviewing the author and finding out more about the motivation that led to such a well-researched publication. The interview with the author also leads to some interesting new facts about the occupation of Cheddington Airfield during the Second World War.
This is the first of a number of book reviews to be posted on Tringruralhistory.co.uk; yet another example of our desire to share local history. The reviews are intended both to share knowledge and to encourage others to read the chosen books.
Excerpts from a transcript of the tape by Arthur Reeve (1907-1989) relating to Marsworth Airfield. The tape was produced in November 1984 by Arthur Reeve of Townfield Farm and Joan Dutton of Vicarage Road, Marsworth.
Send in your photos, stories, documents and we’ll get them added!