The RAF base is also where Glenn Miller flew from before he went missing over the English Channel
Cambridgeshire is home to a wide range of historic RAF bases including Duxford, which was transformed into an Imperial War Museum, and RAF Alconbury that has now made way for new homes to be built. However, there are also a range of RAF bases found just outside of the county that also played an important role in the First and Second World Wars.
RAF Twinwood Farm can be found close to the Cambridgeshire border, just north of Bedford. It first opened in mid-1941 when the RAF began using the grassed field and was home to RAF night fighters.
By April 1942, the RAF base had three concrete runways and additional temporary buildings. Throughout the war, the base was used by a range of different units including the Bristol Blenheims, the Douglas Bostons, and Bristol Beauforts.
In 1944, the airfield was transferred to the US Eighth Air Force and was operated alongside the nearby RAF Thurleigh. During the US Army’s time at the base and around Bedford, Glenn Miller, a famous composer and big-band conductor, was deployed to Europe and stationed in the county, at the request of General Eisenhower, for radio broadcasting and personal appearances.
In December 1944, Glenn Miller’s unit was being moved to France but his scheduled flights from Bovingdon were cancelled due to bad weather. Miller decided to fly with Lt. Col. Norman Baessell on his UC-64 piloted by Flight Officer Stuart Morgan.
Miller didn’t tell anyone he was flying with them and boarded the plane with Baessell and Miller before it took off at 1.55pm on December 15. The plane and its occupants were never seen again.
An inquiry into the disappearance determined the aeroplane went down over the English Channel due to a range of factors including human error, mechanical failure, and weather. No remains of the UC-64 were ever found and Glenn Miller is still Missing In Action to this day.
Nowadays, RAF Twinwood Farm is home to the Twinwood Arena, which is a large natural amphitheatre that hosts various music events. Every year, the arena is used for a the Twinwood Festival which showcases vintage music and dance.
A collection of the buildings around the base also house a range of historical displays to create the Twinwood Airfield Museum. The restored control tower, now called the Glenn Miller Museum, features displays about Glenn Miller, the base’s history, and the Second World War.
Some of the other buildings including a recreation of a German bunker, rooms of a 1940s family home, and displays of military vehicles. The group of museums are open seasonally for visitors.