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CLAPHAM is a large village in North East
Bedfordshire and lies on the outskirts of the
town of Bedford. The A6 road formerly passed
through the town, but a bypass, named after
athlete Paula Radcliffe who attended nearby
Sharnbrook Upper School, was opened on 12
December 2002.
Twinwood is a disused airfield on the western
outskirts of Clapham. The presently grassed field
was associated with nearby Twinwood Farm and was
in use during the early stages of WWII as a
landing ground for Oxfords or Cranfields SFTS
until August 1941.
By April 1942 it had three
concrete runways and additional temporary
buildings. From then until the end of the war it
was used by the Blenheims, Beaufighters,
Beauforts and Mosquitos of No 51 Operational
Training Unit.
Twinwood established an association with Glen
Miller and his American Band of the Supreme
Allied Command. The band was based in Bedford in
early July 1944 and it used the airfield on a
couple of occasions during the course of their
exhausting tours in UK.
The airfield closed in June 1945. Although the
site returned to farming it has also become a
mecca for Glen Miller enthusiasts.
Much of the information provided above and below
was obtained from the charitable ex-service
organisation, "Roll of
Honour" and "Twinwood
Events" to whom due acknowledgement is given
here.
See also more information about Glenn Miller,
together with his autograph, by clicking
here.
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During WWII Glenn Miller was based at Milton
Ernest Hall which is a mile or so from The
Twinwood Arena and airfield. It was at the Hall
that Glenn gave performances with his orchestra.
In Bedford they played at the Corn Exchange
situated in the market square Glenn turned the
Co-Partners Hall near the gasworks in Bedford
into his radio station and here the bulk of his
recording and broadcasting was done accompanied
by many famous stars such as Bing Crosby and Bob
Hope.
On August 27th 1944 at RAF Twinwood Airfield
Glenn Miller performed a concert for the aircrews
using two trailers as a stage next to Twinwood
control tower. It was at the control tower that
Glenn Miller was last seen alive on a bleak day
on 15 December 1944. From here he flew to his
death with two others in a Norseman - a small
single engine aircraft - en route to Paris to
meet his orchestra. It was a cold, rainy and
foggy afternoon and Glen Miller said to the
band's manager, Lt Don Hayes, as he was boarding
the aircraft, "Haynsie, even the birds are
grounded today". The aircraft took off at 1.55pm
and was never seen again.
In 2001 Twinwood Events took on the task of
transforming the control tower back to its
original condition (above). On June 2nd
2002, the newly restored and refurbished Control
Tower was opened to the public by Beryl Davis,
Glenn's wartime singer. To celebrate this event a
Glenn Miller Concert was held, and this was the
forerunner of the annual Glenn Miller
Festival.
Over the years thousands of people have visited
the Control Tower to pay homage to this legendary
musician and band leader and it has become a
visible memorial for his fans from around the
world. It has become the focal point of the Glenn
Miller Festival which is held over the three days
of each August Bank Holiday.
A comprehensive description, with photographs and
an autograph, of Glenn Miller's activities in the
Bedford area during WWII may be found in the
'Travelling Days' series by clicking
here.
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A view across the old airfield runway towards the
RAE establishment at Thurleigh (left)
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