The Red Feather Club 95th Bomb Group Museum
Details:
Behind the 95th BG monument.
The Museum, which is housed in the Red Feather Club buildings, is operated and managed by the 95th Bomb Group Heritage Association (95th BGHA) and it is the official UK museum of the 95th Bomb Group. All of the artifacts that are displayed are from the 95th Bomb Group alone. There is no 'filler material', exhibits have been meticulously obtained, curated, and presented to help tell the story of the men of the 95th as well as can be.
The museum is continually being updated as new additions are donated or acquired. It aims to tell the story of the 95th from their early days in the US to their return home after the end of the war, through displays, films, and the firsthand accounts of locals and servicemen.
Five interconnected rooms make up the complex as well as a separate guardroom complete with a prison cell. The former kitchen, which is now the entrance, houses a massive diorama of the airfield as it was during WW2 and the roll of honor listing all those lost.
The mural room houses original artwork painted by US serviceman S/Sgt Nathan Bindler and preserved in place by the Association. The Bar Area is a faithful recreation of the bar as it was during WW2. The museum itself used to be the Beer Hall. The former Dry Lounge – which is now called the Blue Lounge, is used extensively for 40’s style dances and events of all types.
The Red Feather Club is also the home to the 1285th Military Police Company re-enactment group who have their own guardroom, complete with a cell that can be visited.
Having been previously based at Alconbury and Framlingham, the 95th Bombardment Group (Heavy) equipped with the B-17 Flying Fortress arrived on 15th June 1943 to take up permanent residency for the duration of the war. The 95th flew their first mission from Horham on 22nd June 1943 against an industrial target at Huls in Germany, the first of a total of 300 missions that would claim a total of 133 aircraft lost while flying from Horham.
The 95th was the first US group to bomb Berlin in daylight and became the only unit to receive three Distinguished Unit Citations within the Eighth Air Force. After the cessation of hostilities, the 95th returned to the USA from June 1945.
Source of information: www.95thbg-horham.com, guide.8theast.org
Source of photos: suffolkmuseums.org, Google Maps
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