2014

TF9115 : Business premises in Dereham Road (USAAF mural)

taken 10 years ago, near to Beeston, Norfolk, England

Business premises in Dereham Road (USAAF mural)
Business premises in Dereham Road (USAAF mural)
The former Combat officers' mess, now a Jaguar car parts store > Link contains some significant USAAF murals such as this one which is believed to depict the American dancer and actress Rita Hayworth. The murals were created when RAF Wendling was an active airfield during WW2.
RAF Wendling (USAAF Station 118)

RAF Wendling (Station 118) was opened in 1943 and occupied by the four squadrons of the 392nd Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the United States Army Air Forces' (USAAF) Eighth Air Force, and it was part of the 14th Combat Wing. Due to the fact that the flying field was in close proximity of Beeston village and that all the dispersed campsites were situated in the village, the aerodrome was locally always known as Beeston airfield.

Much of what remains of the airfield can be seen by travelling along the roads skirting it. A small number of buildings have survived on several of the business premises in the village's industrial area which is strung out along the southern end of Dereham Road. See also: Link

WW2 USAAF graffiti and artwork

During WW2 the US Army Air Force (USAAF) occupied many of the aerodromes in East Anglia. In their spare time some of the servicemen decorated the walls of the buildings they lived and spent some time in with graffiti and murals. The 'noses' of many of their aircraft too were often embellished with paintings and, presumably to boost morale, bombing missions flown and downed enemy aircraft were recorded by either painting bombs or swastikas, often several rows of them, onto their aircraft. Others drew personal mission boards onto the walls of their barracks huts. Skillfully executed paintings depicting aircraft, semi-clad women, cartoon characters or landscape scenes have also been recorded. Some of this wartime artwork has been preserved in restored buildings and some has been extracted and is now on display in museums, but much remains in situ, often unrecorded, deteriorating in decades-old damp buildings and sadly, a lot has already been lost.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Evelyn Simak and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Historic sites and artefacts
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Contains some Significant USAAF Murals [3] Title Clusters: · Business premises in Dereham Road (USAAF mural) [5] ·
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TF9115, 24 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Evelyn Simak   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Thursday, 31 July, 2014   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 1 August, 2014
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 9122 1551 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:42.2086N 0:49.7262E
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! TF 9121 1550
View Direction
Northeast (about 45 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Supplemental image
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