Flixton Airfield Walk

On Sunday 20th September our Community Archaeologist led a walk through history at RAF Bungay , known locally as Flixton, home to the 446th Bomb Group- the Bungay Buckaroos.

The walk was organised by the Waveney and Blyth Arts, a not-for-profit organisation, established and run by local people on a voluntary basis. Its aims are to promote the distinct cultural identity of this beautiful area of north Suffolk and south Norfolk through exciting arts projects and events, to support the work of local creative people and arts organisations, and to help build connections between people and places.

The walk began at Flixton Church home to the role of honor and memorials dedicated to the airmen who were based as Flixton. After visiting the church the group headed up to the airfield to take a look down the main runway and walk around some the surviving WW2 structures, learning what the buildings were used for during war time. Maurice Doe a volunteer from the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum and Halesworth Airfield Museum introduced us to the history of the airfield and told us some interesting social history stories about the airmen who were based there.

After this the group then headed to the extremely well preserved WW2 Communal Site where the airman ate and relaxed between missions. The Communal site is one of the best preserved sites in the country and contains some fantastic examples of World War 2 murals and wall art located on the internal walls of the structures. The walk then ended at the Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum at Flixton, who on the day were holding an Observer Corps open day with a band and flypast.

We would like to say a big thank you to the local landowners who gave us permission to access their land,  Norfolk & Suffolk Aviation Museum who supported the walk and Waveney and Blyth Arts for organising the walk, and all those who came along to share the day with us. Thank you.

We hope the gallery below provides an insight into the walk’s highlights.

The next walk is on the 4th October at Thurleigh Airfield in Bedofrdshire. If you would like to volunteer to help us deliver these community events, or would like to be kept informed of our upcoming activities, why not drop us a line for further information.

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