Outside the Air Ministry Works Department - Resident Engineer's base
These two pictures are from 1944, and believed to be the Wykes sisters.
Dances were held at the American airbases and the local girls were invited - this one comes from nearby Podington A A F 109
A dance reservation card kept with this ticket declares "An Evening's Fun with the 1755th Ordnance Supply and Maintenance Co. Avn." The card lists the staff:-
Squadron Staff
Committee
Guests
Capt M A Armstrong
1st Lt. H W Shelp
1st Lt. G H Orloff
1st Lt. R E O'Connor
1st Lt. C R Southern
1st Sgt. R J Beauchemin
T/Sgt. W B Belekewicz
S/Sgt. H P Bartkowski
Sgt. M De Santis
Pfc. M. Flaherty
Col. J W Wilson
Lt-Col. R P Riordan
Maj. W V Croak
Capt. M W Stevenson
Dance Ticket from 1945
Rushden Echo & Argus, 15the June 1945
U.S. Airmen Won 1,550 Local Brides Cupid has been working overtime with the Americans in this district. The winning ways of the Air Personnel at eight of our U.S. Aerodromes have won them no fewer than 1,550 English brides. The Anglo-American marriage stakes table is as follows:
Molesworth
400
Polebrook
250
Podington
205
Chelveston
175
Grafton Underwood
155
Thurleigh
148
Harrington
117
Benefield
100
Four medics lived at Wheels Den. They were: George Teague, Ray Widstrom, Tom Jones and one other. The sickbay at the base, a brick building on the road to Caldecot, had 22 beds, was 24 feet by 64 feet, with asbestos roof, and was located outside the airfield proper.
This building was called Wheels Den by the four men who lived there.
The barbers shop for the USAF men opened from 08.00hours till 1900.
Les Collins from Rushden, often visited the base at Chelveston with his taxi in the late 1950s
