Thanks for the links. I did hear someone was planning a book on Bovingdon's history, but it's yet to materialise...
It seems my time locally ('65 to '67) meant I missed out on the Fighter Command Comms Squadron days, when there was a Meteor or two at Bovingdon. In my time, it was the piston twins of the RAF Southern Communications Squadron, which presumably had combined the fighter and coastal comms units (for brass hats at Stanmore and Northwood). Daily flying seemed incessant in those days - there was always something in the circuit over my village (Ley Hill).
Given how small it was, it amazes me that Bovingdon played such an important role in WW2 for the US 8th Air Force's technical team - for example, in developing drop-tanks for fighters. I'm surprised there's not a memorial nearby to mark its wartime roles, including the B17 missions flown from there.
Earlier this year I embarked on a small crawl of the local pubs (one Diet Coke in each) to see if any had any commemorative photos of the base. Unless I missed a hostelry, there were none. Shame - here in East Anglia, many pubs near old airfields have at least one reminder on the wall; one went the whole hog and called itself The Flying Fortress (near Rougham).
Which raises the question - has there ever been a thread here devoted to pubs with photos/memorabilia associated with local airfields? While 'modern' landlords might see fit to clear history from their walls, some are happy to celebrate it anew. For example, a couple of years back, the owner of the Thatcher's Arms at Mount Bures (near Wormingford airfield) asked me to source photos of the USAAF's 55th Fighter Group for a permanent display. The late, great Roger Freeman was happy to help me, supplying some previously unpublished shots.
Off the beaten track, I've found quite a few photographic gems - for example, the huge photo mural in the Chequers pub (near Matching airfield) of a B26 dropping bombs - hardly PC, I'd have thought, among the contemporary decor in such a cosmopolitan establishment. But bless 'em for keeping it there.
Anyone got any more worth visiting?