From time to time, people ask me what sparked off
my interest in the Twin Bases and why I started the web site,
and why I continue to maintain it.
Such enquiries, sparked off this page!
First, you should know that I am English and have no connection with the air force, neither the RAF nor the USAAF nor the USAF. I have been interested in aircraft since my boyhood friends' parents took me to several Farnborough International Air Shows in the 50s and 60s. Also, I was a member of 452 (Hornchurch) Squadron of the Air Training Corps from the late 1950s.
My wife and I moved from Brentwood, Essex, to Woodbridge in 1994. In 1995, I started a web site about the town of Woodbridge. Within a week, I received emails from ex-Bentwaters USAF personnel, asking about the base, which they had heard was up for sale. I thought "No problem, I'll put up a page or two about the sale." That sale story turned into a saga, which is now recorded in the History section with individual pages covering each of the several years of the sale of Bentwaters. I am indebted to the East Anglian Daily Times for almost all the source data on which the news pages are based.
As interest from ex-USAF people continued, and I acquired a digital camera, I took a few shots of the base, from outside the fence. From a 1997 request to find a particular house on Woodbridge base, the 'other half' of the Twin Bases started to form; the Woodbridge section. In 1998, Justyn Keeble started a society for people interested in the history of the bases. I joined. Justyn arranged an on-site tour through Vernon Drane, then responsible for site security. That was a really interesting day, from which I was able to post 50 'new' photographs from within the base.
All along, I had been sent emails from Americans asking for photgraphs, on and off-base, and asking if I could post their personal details, or information about people they were looking for. That's how the Buddies section started. It is that interaction, and contributions from mainly American ex-Twin Bases personnel, that has fuelled the growth of the site. Another major contribution of aircraft photographs was from a Brit, George Pennick, a frequent visitor to 'commie corner.'
Two important events improved access to the technical site. First, I was contacted by Doug Deas whose company was then based in the 81st TFW HQ building. Doug kindly showed me around the HQ Building. On later visits, I was given guided tours of other buildings his company used, and the adjoining Command Centre, which is now home to the Bentwaters Cold War Museum.
To cap it all, Doug was actually flying his Beagle Pup from Bentwaters, so he kindly offered opportunities to take aerial photos of the base. On my first flight, in February 2000, I completely screwed up by not wearing my specs., so did not see the "disk full" notice on my camera. For the second flight, I did not have my digital camera so quickly grabbed the disposable film camera I carry in my car's glove box. Although not photographically stunning (to be polite) the results were, nevertheless, usable for a better series of aerial photos, taken in February 2001.
It was Doug and I who first floated the idea that the 81st FWA should have their 2001 annual reunion in and around Bentwaters. The success of that reunion is really the peak, so far, in my accidental association with RAF Bentwaters. But there have been many other, only slightly smaller, peaks, as I have taken US and British visitors around the base.
That's where the second important event comes into play. Most of the technical site was purchased by the Kemballs - a local farming and business family - who wholeheartedly support the maintenance of the links with Bentwaters' past, and are hoping to create a museum on the site (which a team of volunteers has now done). The Kemballs took a key role in the events of the 2001 Reunion, and kindly allowed me to act to as 'tour guide' to many visitors, some of whom have reported their return visits under the 'Return Trips' section, while others have their own web sites - The Tanseys and Michael Baldock, to name but two - others will be found in the Links section.
Despite scaling down the level of contributed content, the growth and maintenance process continues today. Without the continued interest and contributions from my 'audience,' the site would not exist. I am grateful for the many new friends I have made, some of whom I have met. I thank you all for your support and for contributing the majority of the content, which has turned that original idea of "a page or two" into the fascinating display of photographs and rivetting reading... 363 pages and counting.
In March 2009, without the time to add more photos myself, I found a solution that allows anybody to register and post their own Twin Bases photos.
Linn Barringer, 10 December 2002
(updated 5 March 2009)