TF9115 : Business premises in Dereham Road (USAAF mural)
taken 10 years ago, near to Beeston, Norfolk, England
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
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.