On the front wall of the building.

A small, rectangular, blue, cast bronze plaque inscribed in English in raised lettering. On the center of the plaque is the dedication message while on the left and right sides are depictions of the Ordnance Branch and 8^th Air Force insignias. During World War II, the house was occupied for a time by the United States Air Corps. It housed a photographic unit and at least 100 G.I.s who slept in the long gallery on the second floor. It was also a place of entertainment in their leisure time for the American troops in the area. Glenn Miller and his band played there on a number of occasions before his disappearance on a flight to France in 1944. At the top of the park and in the woods beyond, bombs were stored, which at the end of the war were destroyed on the spot and the sites surrounded by iron railings. This plaque tells that the building was home to the 2003rd Ordnance Maintenance Company during their stay in the area during World War II.

Source of information: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register, www.rushdenheritage.co.uk

Source of photo: Imperial War Museum War Memorials Register

HOME OF THE

2003RD ORDNANCE MAINTENANCE CO.

8TH AIR FORCE SERVICE COMMAND

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

STATION 572 - MELCHBOURNE PARK,

BEDFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND

AUGUST 1943 TO DECEMBER 1945