It is a village mystery that has endured since the Second World War. But now, a dig in East Harling may have solved the riddle for good. ANTHONY CARROLL reports on a subterranean saga worthy of television's Time Team
Like many East Anglian villages, East Harling found itself in the shadow of a nearby air force base during the Second World War.
And ever since, rumours and anecdotes have persisted that American airmen based at Snetterton Heath had used a spot on the outskirts of the village to dump detritus from their battle-scarred aircraft, as well as other objects.
Finally, decades later, the site has been unearthed, and dozens of items recovered. Among them are rusted and burnt-out remains of vehicles, aircraft and everyday United States Army Air forces objects that were dumped by airmen from Snetterton Heath, which was home to B-17 bombers.
The remains were uncovered by a small team of history hunters led by battlefield detective Malcolm Weale, who lives in the area.
The team used a digger to excavate the area where the rubbish dump was believed to be and they soon struck gold as they found a mound of American relics from the war, including the remains of a truck, a coke bottle, aircraft parts, motorbikes and radar jamming equipment.
The discovery confirms local rumours about the dump. As part of the research, resident John Riseborough was interviewed by Mr Weale and he remembered, as a child, searching the area to see what the Americans had dumped.
Mr Weale, who is looking to research other dump areas in the region, said: 'It was our mission to prove the Americans did in fact bury artefacts there.' After the war the site was used as a village dump and the dig also unearthed post-war items.
Snetterton Heath
Initially intended to be a base for RAF bombers, construction of Snetterton Heath started in autumn 1942.
In 1943, it was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces and was first occupied by the 386th Bomb Group, equipped with B-26s.
That unit was soon replaced by the 96th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force – with B-17s – which flew more than 300 missions from the base.
The group was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations: for bombing an aircraft factory at Regensburg in August 1943 under intense pressure from enemy fighters and for leading the 45th Bomb Wing in difficult weather conditions and anti-aircraft fire to drop their payload on aircraft components factories at Poznan in April 1944. After the Americans left, the station was handed over to the RAF and kept in operational condition until it closed in the late 1940s. It was bought privately in 1952 for development as a racing circuit, a use it retains to this day.
Are you involved in a project to unearth part of our region's past? Email anthony.carroll@archant.co.uk
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