During
the last part of 2010 word has reached us of the sad
passing of pilot John Aranyos and crew chief Frank Gyidik,
both of the 63rd FS, and November also saw the passing
of Bernard Matthews.
The name Bernard Matthews will be very familiar to subscribers
from the UK from Bernard Matthews Turkeys, but what
many people won’t realise is the connection to
the 8th USAAF and Halesworth airfield in particular.
The huts lining the runways at Halesworth and the factory
which occupies much of what was once the technical site
are part of the Bernard Matthews multinational food
business.
Bernard contributed to many charities and local causes,
including the rebuilding of the 2nd Air Division Memorial
Library in Norwich after the original library was destroyed
by fire in 1994, and was also the President of the Halesworth
(Holton) Memorial Museum, contributing much to enable
it to become the fabulous memorial to the 56thFG, 489thBG,
and 5th ERS that it is today. He will be sadly missed.
The 56th Fighter Group Museum were very pleased to welcome
Christine Albert, her sister Susan and Christine’s
husband Roger when they visited the area in October
for the dedication of the newly sited memorial to Richard
Albert and Roger Phillips who lost their lives in a
mid-air collision over the village of Wangford in February
1944. |
