Episode 2 - Hearth and Home

Welcome to the Air War Trail’s Second Episode!

Hey everyone, welcome back to the channel! If you’re passionate about military history and want to know more of the untold stories from the front lines of the air war, in the air and on the home front, you’re in the right place.

If you are new to the Air War Trail, consider beginning at Episode 1 so that you can see all the special historical treasurers found on the Air War Trail during my over two-decade journey.

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Episode 2 Continues the Air War Trail Story

In Episode 1 you met Patricia Steggles and Jack Hayes and discovered the story of the 452nd Bomb Group stationed at Deopham Green during the war. In this second episode , continue to follow me as I interview Mary Hudgins and Gordon Dye who lived along the perimeters of the Deopham Green Airfield. Their stories contain the remarkable experiences of families who welcomed the Yanks to their homes and had an up close and personal perspective on the war and the young Americans who lived among their British hosts in rural wartime England.

Also included in Episode 2 are interviews with two air crew members who flew missions from Deopham Green on B-17 crews. Bud Haedike and Lawrence were gunners on two air crews, and their interviews contain valuable details about their wartime experiences, from their memories of the Pearl Harbor attack, training in the United States, and combat in the skies over Europe.

Burgess Meredith also appears in this episode as we see one of his many wartime film contributions, Welcome to Britain 1943. I have remastered and enhanced this film and included it in Episode 2 to get the feel of the Britain that American servicemen found for themselves, especially across rural England. Most of these soldiers, airmen, and sailors had never traveled far from their homes so Burgess Meredith offers some advice on how to live in wartime England and what to expect from the world they find among the British people.

Historian’s Video Journal - First Encounters on the Air War Trail

The Air War Trail began over two decades ago when I first came to the History Department at Abilene Christian University. I was brought to ACU to design and establish a public history program for the Department. Those early steps eventually lead to establishing a field course where students learned to do field work in historical archaeology, oral history, archival and museum operations, and preservation work . Eventually, my work with students in the field led us to World War II England in 2002 and to countless American bomber airfields and the villages around them. That work in 2002 led me to begin my own work the next year when I established the East Anglia Air War Project. My journal below tells you how it all began.

Mary Hudgins - Her Story of World War II

Mary Hudgins was in her early twenties when the first Americans arrived near her village of Little Ellingham. She lived on the family farm with her mother and father, and their house was not far from many of the living quarters of 452nd men. The Hudgins home became a home away from home for many of the ground personnel who lived nearby. Her interview is a fascinating story of how life changed for British families and offers insights into how the Americans became an important part of British families during the war. I interviewed Mary in her home at Green Farm in Little Ellingham on August 19, 2003.

Gordon Dye - Memories of War and Adventure

Gordon Dye remembers the early days when construction crews came to his village and began clearing the land and constructing the airfield. Gordon tells us about the American black soldiers came to build the concrete hardstands for the B-17s that would soon come and offers some special stories of his family and these soldiers from the American South. Later, Gordon got rides on B-17 test flights as the bomb group changed his world forever. He tells of the bonds made during the war years that were never broken. I recorded this video interview at Hill House Farm in Great Ellingham on June 10, 2005.

Lawrence O. Briggs—Memories of a Crew Chief

Lawrence O. Briggs served as a crew chief in the 452nd Bomb Group from the Group’s activation to the postwar period. In this interview, Lawrence tells us much about service on the flight line of a wartime B-17 bomb group. He also has much to tell us about the British people and life for the Yanks around Deopham Green.

Burgess Meridith - His Welcome to Britain, 1943

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Burgess Meridith and his World War II film. “A Welcome To Britain is a 1943 training film for the United States Armed Forces which was narrated [… and co-directed] by Burgess Meredith and Anthony Asquith. The film explains to United States troops being deployed to Europe for the invasion of Normandy how they should act and behave in the United Kingdom. It demonstrates appropriate behavior and depicts what is expected in given social situations. Though produced for American viewing, the film was produced by the UK’s Ministry of Information through the Strand Film Company, which specialized in making documentaries in the 1930s and ’40s. It was co-written by [Burgess Meridith and] the Hollywood writer Sam Spewack, who came to Britain with Meredith.”

Bonus Content

Every episode on the premium channel contains bonus material drawn from the Air War Archives. In Episode2, the bonus material includes a dozen, high resolution photographs for download or for viewing. These photographs are part of the more than 50,000 images that have been added to the East Anglia Air War Archives. Add these special images to your collection and use these images for personal use. If you are not currently subscribed to our Premium Plan, please subscribe now for access to the bonus material for Episode 1.

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Check us out at airwartrail.com—see you in the next episode!