Ships to Shields: Return to Thorpe Abbotts.
By Haybag Maddie
With the recent ending of the series ‘Masters of the Air’, Mr Gibbs and I felt it best to head up country and back into the sleepy depths of Suffolk to revisit one of our – and now the worlds’ – favourite USAAF stations, Thorpe Abbotts. When we arrived, we were greeted by glorious sunshine. The fallen conkers from the winter before that used to line the drive, and had previously crunched underfoot, were now all but disappeared and, in their place, small cherry tree blossom petals littered the path.
Climbing out in our kit, we were warmly greeted by one of Thorpes’ volunteer explainers. They greeted us like old friends, and of course asked for our thoughts on ‘Masters’. We spoke at length about how well Thorpes was represented, and we were so pleased to see how many visitors were in the museum and exploring the control tower – there was a great sense of life back in the old place.
Read on for more
Climbing out in our kit, we were warmly greeted by one of Thorpes’ volunteer explainers. They greeted us like old friends, and of course asked for our thoughts on ‘Masters’. We spoke at length about how well Thorpes was represented, and we were so pleased to see how many visitors were in the museum and exploring the control tower – there was a great sense of life back in the old place.
Revisiting Thrope Abbotts after watching the exploits of the Bloody Hundredth was even more humbling than it had been previously. Thorpe Abbots’ control tower museum houses some incredible pieces, Class Rings belonging to both Egan and Cleven as well as Robert ‘Rosie’ Rosenthal’s full Dress uniform, alongside innumerable unique and irreplaceable artifacts of the 100th’s time in England.
A particularly important room in the control Tower to me and the Haybag Maddie studio, is the fantastic A2 Room. Thirteen hand-painted A2’s, each named to a crew member of various ships stationed at Thorpe Abbotts. The Legendary ‘Chapel in the Flak’ A2 hangs in quiet modesty at the back of this room, alongside a vast array of colourful, time-worn designs.
A particular favourite of mine being ‘Kleen Sweep’, worn by Cpl Pete Yarnot, a ball turret gunner in the B-17 of the same nickname. This design is not only beautiful, but the wider jacket is unique, as it displays ‘Old Glory’ on its arm as opposed to the usual Army Air Forces patch. A very special variation indeed. After drinking in the A2 goodness, we made our way to the Ops room at the top of the tower – clinging to that precarious grey staircase we know all too well.
Standing at the railings at the top of the control tower, we scanned the horizon like thousands before us, listening to the woodpeckers in the woods beyond and squinting into the sunshine. Quite a contrast to eighty-odd years ago, where air armadas flew in convoys hundreds of miles long and darkened those vast, grey Suffolk skies. There are stills traces of that runway if you know where to look, hardstandings still litter the lanes and tracks that lead away from the control tower.
We went to leave, walking down the control tower’s main internal staircase where the walls are covered in all sorts of pieces found in the local area which have a connection to the eighth. Boards painted with various Elvgren women, once having been used as a fireguard and signed by the men of Thorpes. …/continue reading
‘The lightbulb came on in my mind and my salvaged shield’s fate was sealed’
Something that particularly caught my eye on that wall are two small sepia photographs, both depicting the 100th sign which used to hang at the entrance to Thrope Abbotts.
The sign is in the shape of a shield and has had two incarnations: one being painted lettering on plain wood and the other being a fully white shield with letter overtop of it. As it happens, lurking in the depths of the Haybag Maddie Studio is a large oaken shield of identical shape and size, that I fished out of local antique shop a few months back.
As you can imagine, the lightbulb came on in my mind and the fate of my salvaged oaken shield was sealed. This will be my next project over the coming weeks, so be sure to look out for progress shots and videos as I recreate this iconic piece and pay a proper tribute to the men and women of the eighth!
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