RAF Fersfield: Norfolk

During the Second World War, there were over thirty airbases located in Norfolk occupied by the US Eighth Air Force and a variety of Royal Air Force (RAF) units. These airbases were fulfilling different missions in the fight against Axis Powers. One of the most top-secret bases of the war was located just outside Fersfield, a village consisting of farm buildings, a church, and a tiny population. It was here that the brother of a future president lost his life while the RAF launched missions to help their covert intelligence operations in Europe.

The Commonwealth War Grave: Bournemouth

Anyone who studied history at school will be familiar with the sight of a Commonwealth War Grave (CWG), pristine lines of white slabs dedicated to the hundreds upon thousands of lives lost in the First and Second World Wars. These sites are commonly found on the continent, informally marking out what was once the frontline of battle. I visited several myself in school, as part of the standard British curriculum, to learn about where many soldiers in the Twentieth Century fought and were ultimatley laid to rest. It took a global pandemic for me to realise that I needn't have boarded a Ferry across the English channel to see one of these mass-graves.