Ramsbury at War

My Interest

Two then and now photographs, the first showing men of the 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division marching past Littlecote House (506th H.Q.) near Hungerford in 1944 (J. Reeder), followed by the house as it looks today.

My interest in wartime Ramsbury began at an early age, and I soon discovered that an airfield had been built about half a mile south of the village high upon the hill which dominates this part of the Kennet Valley.

The more questions I asked about its history, the more I came to realise that very few people living in the village had any idea of the important role it played during the war.

I later learned that an RAF training unit had been stationed there for a while and that when they left an American Troop Carrier Group, flying Douglas C-47 aircraft, moved in. Many locals also told me about American paratroopers who had been billeted with families in the village.

Armed with these pieces of information I set out to record the history of the Ramsbury area during the 1939-45 conflict. The result of this research has been the publication of my book Ramsbury at War. The book has over 180 pages and 115 illustrations and is crammed with information about the effects war had on a typical English village, including the airfield, the Home Guard and ARP, the friendly American invasion, farming and Prisoners of War.

roger@ramsburyatwar.com

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