‘An Introduction to the USAAF in Essex – and how to build an airfield’ is encapsulated in this early 1944 image of a Martin Marauder at Boreham airfield.
It also the title of the South Woodham Ferrers Local History Society’s last talk before the summer break, a talk being presented by Neil Wiffen, an archive assistant at the Essex Record Office and self-confessed Martin Marauder enthusiast.
Boreham was built by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) in just nine months using civil engineering equipment such as cranes, earthmovers and dumper trucks brought from the USA together with 560 workers from that country. The operation included removal of orchards and a 86-acre wood on the site, the construction of three runways, underground aviation fuel tanks, two large hangars and more than 200 NIssen huts. It was a really impressive undertaking with work being carried out under the supervision of Lt. Col. Stanley Lomax in 12-hour shifts day and night, 7 days a week. And this was just one of twenty-three operational airfields available in Essex alone for use on D-Day on 6th June 1944.
The pivotal role that the USAAF played in Essex will be covered by Neil in his talk which will be illustrated by images from USAAF archives and other sources. It will serve as a reminder of the enormous efforts and sacrifices made during the Second World War. Stanley Lomax himself, having masterminded the remarkable efforts at Boreham, did not survive the war – he sadly died on the day before D-Day having suffered a breakdown in health possibly caused by pressure of work.
Neil Wiffen’s presentation ‘An Introduction to the USAAF in Essex and how to build an airfield’ will will be in two parts, before and after a short coffee break. The meeting will be held on Wednesday 7th May at Champions Manor Hall Community Centre in Hullbridge Road CM3 5LJ and will start at 8.15 pm. Visitors are welcome to attend (£3 admission). If further information is required please contact the society’s secretary Roy Bradnam on 01245 328714 or its chairman John Frankland on 01245 321518.
