Thank you, I am going to check that out. I have the list of their names so might luck out on birth or death certs There are records but would have to pay to see them. Sometimes they give a free weekend to search those UK records.
Bird n hand closed their lodging. Greene King took over the pub. They were so horrible and needed so much work. We spent a night there when base lodging was full and we were trying for an early am flight. I now have a couple Airbnb places saved. Did you ever go inside the church on base? The stained glass is a story of aviation in the UK.

I was there the day Prince Charles came to the base to dedicate the stained glass windows:
https://www.stripes.com/news/us/amer...wales-1.113348

The Bird in Hand and the Smokehouse Inn across the road got lots of business when Mildenhall hosted visiting aircrew from a rotational C-130 squadron and the European Tanker Task Force, but those days are long gone. The motel units at the Smokehouse were demolished to make room for a housing estate. Alas, RAF Mildenhall is slated for closure, with the tankers and special ops units moving to Germany. The closing date has been delayed to 2022.

>>I was there the day Prince Charles came to the base to dedicate the stained glass windows:<<

So was I!

And subsequently at a couple of weddings held there.

Bury (no one local calls it Bury St Edmunds) is my home town and I agree with previous comments about it.
Losing the cattle market and replacing it with a hideous shopping centre was a massive blow. Although I now live in North Yorkshire a lot of my family are down in Bury and we’ve all noticed the town is looking more than a little tired in places. The traffic has also got far worse.
Bury does have some good points though. I can recommend the Old Cannon Brewery for excellent food and very good beer brewed on the premises. The Abbey Gardens never change and are lovely. And there’s a nice little Georgian theatre too.

Small world, janisj!

>> "Bury (no one local calls it Bury St Edmunds)..."

That's right, I call it Bury when conversing with locals, but on the UK forum it could be confused with Bury, Lancs. I once gave someone directions to get from London to Suffolk, and suggested she go to Liverpool Street Station. Guess where she ended up? :toj: Since then I try to be more specific.

You are right!! Whilst those of us in the know would probably laugh at anyone confusing the two Burys (VERY different!) we should never assume and always be specific.

Old Cannon Brewery, my husband stayed in their hotel a couple of nights one trip.

Interesting about the windows. I walked by that church so many times looking at the rose bushes that I never looked up at the windows, I read the plaque one evening and made a point to go inside the next morning. I love the old lodge there. The lady that took over the Bird in hand said because of talk of the base closure Greene King did not want to refurbish the lodgings. We went to Ipswich last trip and then took the train from there to Edinburgh. I don't want it to close.

Macross, base closure has now been further delayed to 2024. Locals don't want the base to close either, but the bone thrown to the UK government is that a squadron of F-35 will be deployed to next-door RAF Lakenheath to serve alongside the F-15 squadrons already there.

It's sad that RAF Mildenhall is closing, because it is such a historic base. You may not know this, but a pilot serving at RAF Mildenhall during WWII was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross (equivalent to the Medal of Honor) and is buried in Beck Row cemetery. The old Officer's Mess, now called Middleton Hall, was named after him.

I hope it stays open but who knows with this administration. It is one of my favorite bases. We can fly to space-a to Prestwick just has never been a flight when we were ready to go.
I am walking down to Beck Row cemetery next trip. We sometimes catch the bus there. I didn't know that.

It sounds like a wonderful trip... over all too quickly. Thanks for writing!

Lovely to read of your trip to "different " places . We travelled to Cambridge staying at bnb- lov d exploring the university , hearing the choir at Kings , then travelled to Ely - great cider festival on, then to Swaffham Prior , March and Whittlesey to find the places where my family came from in 1800's. Of course we were able to travel by car - a friend drove us . It's great to be able to see other sights - villages, market towns etc .

Aren't they delightful? It's a great area.

By the way, I've attached a link for a plaque placed in the cloister at the Norwich Cathedral commerating the Queen and her husband's last visit. Can you find the "intentional" spelling mistake?
https://www.google.ch/search?biw=1350&bih=635&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=sRD0Wsr5O YyRsAGyzoT4BQ&q=norwich+cathedral+queen+visit+hist ory+plaque+edinburgh&oq=norwich+cathedral+queen+vi sit+history+plaque+edinburgh&gs_l=img.3...33137.38 126.0.38333.16.13.3.0.0.0.157.1263.8j5.13.0....0.. .1c.1.64.img..0.0.0....0.1-JW92JU92Q#imgrc=fD7MY_mR6GmgpM:

(scroll down a bit)