The site is now covered in orchards but the taxiways and what was the main runway are still visible. Beside the road is a memorial with three runway lights around it. There are also loads of upside-down concrete runway light housings beside the road and piled up beside the orchard which were obviously removed when the runways were dug up. After sitting for a few minutes to reflect on what it must have been like to be standing in the spot where we were now standing 50 or so years ago with B-26s, Mustangs, Thunderbolts and Meteors blasting off we made a move, this time to the East Coast where the East Essex Aviation Society and Museum is based in a Martello Tower at Point Clear. To get to the museum you have to wind your way through a caravan park.
Entrance is free although donations are welcome.
Inside is a marvellous collection of aviation artifacts that have come from crashed aircraft in the Essex area, many of them from ditched aircraft that have sunk into the mud of the coast in this area. One treasure is the rocket motor of a V1 which was hauled out from the bottom of the sea. There is also details of the pilot and his Purple Heart medal on display. On the first floor there are everyday items from the war era while on the roof is a Shackleton wheel which apparently was brought up by hand. Nick and I met with Paul Gold who helps out at the museum and who regularly enters my quiz.