355th Fighter Group Steeple Morden

Six years on I made a return visit today without realising it was exactly the same month as before.
Such an atmospheric former airfield and so peaceful.

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I got hold of a nice copy of ‘Angels,Bulldogs and Dragons’ by Bill Marshall, well worth a look if you are a 355th fan.

Thanks for that Nige. It sure is a nice piece!

Just found this lovely pic of a 355th P51 apparently at SM. Also can anyone confirm that the memorial propeller is genuine and not a replica?

Hi,

The picture, I think, is actually taken at Gablingen in Germany where the 355th went after the war.

The prop. is definitely genuine, presented by the Israelis for the memorial (and not flightworthy), as is the spinner. The cowling is fibre-glass moulded from a pattern made by my father. The pattern used borrowed bits of ‘Miss Helen’ whilst that was being rebuilt many years ago. Dad also did the drawings for the memorial construction.

Regards,
Nige

Thanks for that PaulHP. Had never really noticed before the P51’s bottom right on the neighbouring Litlington village sign!

Litlington village sign:

Mustangs – Litlington Village Sign by PaulHP, on Flickr

Donated – 355th Fighter Group USAAF by PaulHP, on Flickr

The Bump – You could be right as i found it on wiki, although it said at SM.

Wellington285 – Didn’t know about the Crown pub and its displays either, thanks Ian. Sounds like one or two good reasons for a visit!

Hi Rob
The Crown pub in Litlington is well worth a visit, not just for the fine ales and food they have on sale, but for the photos and artifacts they have on the walls in the bar from the airfield and surrounding area. Did meet some 355th veterens many years ago in the pub when they all met up and on to a slap up meal in the Village hall.
Ian

Completely agree about the atmosphere of SM.
I’m sure the gorgeous P-51 photo was taken at Gablingen in Germany, it was part of the occupation forces, hence the orange and yellow band around the fuselage.

Here are a couple Rob, the window is in the near by church and the village sign i had to include.

Thanks for those Steve. Have obviously seen the village sign before but the church window is new to me.. and very impressive!

As i recall the farm buildings have been used for 355th vet reunions before. A fitting use in my opinion.

Just found this lovely pic of a 355th P51 apparently at SM. Also can anyone confirm that the memorial propeller is genuine and not a replica?

I think one of the best memorials in the country..nice pics..glad to see it`s not been vandalised.

Here are a couple Rob, the window is in the near by church and the village sign i had to include.

This was presented to a Vet during one of the early reunions at the Airfield. Comes off a Willys Jeep.

It was too big for the Vet’s hand luggage so now hangs in my Jeep workshop 🙂

There was a super show in the year Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the FA Cup (when was that?). Prince Bernhardt of the Netherlands was there and the flying programme had some real gems in it.

I was there! It must have been 1988 – I was working at Stansted and stopped off when I finished my shift at 2pm. Glorious weather, good flying, fantastic atmosphere!

Incidentally many thanks to the JP pilot who flew over there yesterday whilst heading NW :).

I think possibly that was Tony Haig-Thomas.
A JP turned up at OW yesterday (early afternoon) and did a nice display, everyone turned out in the sunshine to watch.
A little while later I was informed that it was THT.
We now expect a missive from the Essex direction about 1) Why everyone was outside and not working. 2) The cars were badly parked in the car park c) something else spotted from a low flying JP..! :);):)

Looked nice though.

Andy

Unfortunately the memorial has been damaged in the recent past but it has now been repaired. I don’t think we will ever see flying there again as there was a super show in the year Wimbledon beat Liverpool in the FA Cup (when was that?). Prince Bernhardt of the Netherlands was there and the flying programme had some real gems in it. Allegedly quite a few air display rules were, shall we say, infringed that day. Did I see a (very) low flying Corsair or was it the lunchtime Greene King IPA? However it does remain a rather special place.

A really striking memorial, I do so hope that it is never targeted by ‘individuals’ who see its value as something other than historic.

As I drove to Flying Legends a month ago, I was struck by sheer the density of aerodromes as one edges into East Anglia. Steeple Morden, then after a few miles, Bassingbourn, then Fowlmere, then Duxford. I think if you are tuned in to it, they all have a brooding, simmering, atmosphere, quite peaceful, but still compelling,