Traces Of Lives

Echoes and artefacts of the Friendly Invasion can still be found spread across East Anglia. Where once thousands of men served and prepared for war, nature has returned to reclaim the hastily constructed buildings and runways. Each day the physical history of these American men and women disappears, fading and crumbling into decay. At first glance the surviving archaeology of these sites seems to have disappeared without trace, but under closer inspection many of the sites and buildings that were used as living quarters, cinemas, hangers, electric sub-stations, and control towers still survive, along with the roads and drainage that serviced them. Evidence of the Americans can be found in these same areas. Their names are carved into trees, etched into buildings and written into the very concrete they poured.

The race is on to document what remains from this important history. Archaeologist, historians, and archivists are documenting and collecting what remains of the Yanks and the culture they introduced to England. Most importantly, people are recording the memories of those who remember the Americans coming over during the war. Across the UK, the number of people alive during this period is dwindling every year and soon there will be none who recall the sacrifices of the Americans at all.

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