Simpsons Malt Limited has partnered with The Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (ABCT) to commemorate a former Royal Air Force (RAF) airfield now used by the company to store more than 30,000 tonnes of malting barley each year.
Fersfield Grain Store, which is located ten miles from Simpsons Malt Limited’s Tivetshall Maltings in south Norfolk, was used during the latter stages of World War Two by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and RAF (April 3, 1944 – March 17, 1946).
It was renowned for being the take-off point for Operation Aphrodite missions, which involved airplanes being stripped down and packed with explosives and flown by remote control into targets in Europe after pilots had manually got the aircraft airborne and parachuted out.
One of the missions killed US Navy Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. – brother of US President John F. Kennedy and the eldest of the nine Kennedy siblings – after the aircraft he was piloting exploded prematurely over the village of Blythburgh in Suffolk in August 1944.
The Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust, a charity founded in 2006 with the aim of building memorials at each known disused airfield site in the UK to provide a permanent reminder for future generations, approached the company several years ago, with both parties keen to acknowledge the site’s contribution during World War Two.
Members of the local community were present at the memorial’s unveiling on Friday, November 8, which was conducted by Kenneth Bannerman, Director General of The Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust, alongside Graham Kendall, Operations Director at Tivetshall Maltings, and his predecessor Andrew Holding, who was involved in the early discussions with the ABCT. While at the site, attendees were able to witness a nod to the grain store’s wartime past through the four Nissen huts that remain in place.
Graham Kendall, Operations Director at Tivetshall Maltings, said: “It was wonderful to be able to welcome members of the local community to our Fersfield Grain Store for the unveiling of this ABCT memorial.
“Although we’re now 80 years on from Fersfield being an active airfield, it’s vitally important that we remember the role that it played during World War Two and we’d like to thank the ABCT for their dedicated work nationwide to ensure that airfields like Fersfield are recognised through their fitting memorials.”
Kenneth Bannerman, Director General of The Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust, said: “As the world’s first national airfield charity, we are pleased to be able to unveil another of our already very well received memorials, in this case to commemorate Fersfield Airfield plus all the brave and dedicated units and personnel who served there between 1944 and 1946.
“Fersfield played a major and, indeed, pioneering part in World War Two through use by initially the United States Army Air Forces and then Royal Air Force, and continues to assist everyday society for the betterment of all in a variety of ways.
“The ABCT would like to thank Simpsons Malt Limited for both approaching our charity now over a year ago in wishing to receive one of our memorials and its subsequent assistance to have the memorial installed and unveiled.”