Bombs away! The November walk

Yesterday was the occasion of the monthly Humbleyard Hoofers walk. This time it was our turn to plan the route, so a few weeks ago Jan and I recced an area around Hethel in Norfolk. On this recce we came across some old buildings from the time when Hethel was home to a second world war American air base. A small group of volunteers have preserved the chapel and created a small museum in the old gym. One of the volunteers was there and kindly opened up for us to have a look around, even though it wasn't an "official" opening day. It was amazing! A small, very friendly place, with bits and pieces of wartime paraphernalia. Fascinating. We'd known that Lotus Cars uses the old airfield as a test track but we'd had no idea these other buildings were here.

Right, we thought, we'll include this on our walk.


Back to yesterday. 14 of us (and Jo, the dog) set off from the Bird in Hand pub in Wreningham on a cool November morning. Fortunately the overnight rain had stopped and the sun was now shining: excellent walking weather. Three miles into the walk, having passed the Hethel Engineering Centre near the Lotus Cars factory (Hethel's main claim to fame these days), I directed our group towards the museum. None of the others had been there before, and we were all delighted when, again, a volunteer opened up especially for us.


The chapel had a preserved mural, and lots of artefacts.




There was more in the former gym. The 389th Bombardment Group with B-24 Liberator bombers was based here from 1943 to 1945.

Is this a B-24 propellor and engine? I was told but now I can't remember.


The caption in the photo below reads "Bits and pieces from a B24 Liberator".


I think these shells were waiting to go into a display cabinet.


I like the way lots of things are not encased, though. And the slightly haphazard arrangement leads to surprises when browsing. I could have spent all day here!

That's enough photos for this post. I'll have to continue the write-up of the walk another time.