Brome memorial planned to honour those who died in Thorpe Abbotts air disaster

A war memorial dedicated to the worst aviation tragedy to have ever unfolded in mid-Suffolk will be unveiled next month.

The memorial, in Brome, will pay tribute to the British civilians and American airmen killed in a tragic aircraft accident in the Waveney Valley in November 1943.

A B-17 Flying Fortress had taken off from nearby Thorpe Abbotts Airfield and was only minutes into what should have been a routine ferry flight to RAF Alconbury, near Huntingdon.

The aircraft experienced an on-board fire moments after take-off, forcing the pilots to attempt an emergency landing at Eye Airfield, which was still under construction at the time.

Before the aircraft reached the runway threshold, it collided with a tall line of ancient trees – close to what is now the Oaksmere Hotel – and plunged to earth.

Directly in its path, four local men were clearing drainage ditches beside Rectory Road, when the aircraft came down.

The doomed bomber, with its aircrew completely overcome by smoke and impaired visibility, were powerless to prevent the catastrophe.

Several eyewitnesses saw the tragedy unfold as an inferno quickly took hold of the fuel-laden aircraft.

Rescuers attempting to reach the aircrew and council workers were beaten back by the intense heat. Tragically, all 13 American airmen on board, along with the four British civilians on the ground, lost their lives.

On November 10 at 10am, 80 years to the minute that the fateful crash happened, a new memorial will be unveiled in the grounds of the Oaksmere Hotel, honouring all those who were lost and offering the relatives of those killed some closure.

Crafted by local stonemasons Bierton & Woods of Scole, the granite plaque memorial will stand as a permanent and lasting reminder.