The Gardens of Easton Lodge has highlighted its past as a wartime airfield to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
On Thursday, June 6 - 80 years since the D-Day landings - an exhibition was displayed at Easton Lodge to commemorate the role of airmen who flew from Easton Lodge airfield, also known as Great Dunmow Airfield.
Dancing on the lawn at Easton Lodge in 1944 (Image: The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust)
In 1939, the Easton Lodge estate was requisitioned for use by the army and Home Guard, and between 1942 and 1943 thousands of trees on the estate were felled and blown up to create an airfield.
The airfield was built by the US Army's 818th Engineer Battalion (Aviation), alongside British contractors, and the US Air Force took up residence in September 1943.
These included the B-26 Marauders of the 386th Bomber Group, along with four medium bomb squadrons.
The airfield at Easton Lodge (Image: The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust)
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who at the time was Supreme Allied Commander and later became President of the United States, made an official visit to the airfield in April 1944.
The D-Day landings took place on June 6 that year, and during the Normandy invasion the 386th Bomber Group targeted bridges and Luftwaffe airfields, coastal batteries, fuel and munitions supplies.
They preceded the allied forces as they moved inland - supporting ground troops at Caen and St Lo - and earned a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for their actions.
A US airman at the lily pond at Easton Lodge (Image: The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust)
In October 1944, the airfield was handed over to RAF Squadrons 190 and 620, who were involved in various operations for the Special Operations Executive (SOE).
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These included the dropping of agents and supplies behind enemy lines to resistance forces in occupied territories.
On March 20, 1945, Stirling LK116 - a bomber plane - was shot down over Great Dunmow Airfield.
Aircraft flew from the requisitioned airfield at the Gardens of Easton Lodge (Image: The Gardens of Easton Lodge Preservation Trust)
After VE Day, the RAF squadrons moved on to Aqir in Palestine. The airfield then became a holding and repair bay for thousands of military vehicles.
Finally, the airfield was abandoned in 1948, and in 1950 the Easton Lodge estate was returned to its owner Maynard Greville.
The Anglo-American Goodwill Association erected a memorial on the southern edge of the site to the crews that once flew from the airfield.
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