Glenn Miller Festival Twinwood Farm Bedford England August 2004 Part 4

Chris Nash. David Woodrow. Pete KIng Inside the Hanger Museum This again had been well preserved and decorated. It is now a museum and memorial where so many memories of this station are housed for the public to see. David said “while you're here you might as well have a look in the hanger.” What a great guy to suddenly stop what he was doing and start to show us around his museum and buildings even though this was not the normal opening day for the public. As the hanger doors opened our breath was taken away by what was revealed. Superb displays of what life was like for the men of the 93rd plus an AOP Auster Army co-operation spotter aircraft restored in D-Day camouflage with the D-Day recognition strips and an American Stearman training aircraft .

Poignantly, on the back wall of the hanger, was the roll of Honour to aircrew lost on operations with the 93rd B.G. from Hardwick. The 'piece de resistance' however was a magnificent USAAF P51 Mustang, beautifully restored to flying condition. Chris being a qualified pilot was really chomping at the bit at the sight of this . However I managed to restrain him and we settle for some fine photos instead ! In answer to our queries about where Glenn played, Mr. Woodrow took us back to the old airmen's mess where he had a wartime map and aerial photos of the base. It did not take him long to point out the site of the hanger where Glenn played for the 93rd.. After thanking him for making us so welcome we set off and soon found the spot. There is nothing left now apart from a few large pieces of concrete hanger base to mark the place. As we stood there on that sunny day with the breeze ruffling our hair neither of us said a word but the back of my neck prickled as I imagined how it must have been on that cold day on 12th September 1944-so cold that the band played wearing gloves, when 5000 men crowded into the hanger to enjoy the music of the AEF. We stood there in silence. Were my ears playing tricks? Did I really hear the faint strains of Moonlight Serenade, or was it the wind in the trees?

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The Music Supplied on this page by kind permission of Peter Roxburgh Pete now living in Australia arranges for the Australian Glenn Miller Tribute Band

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