Second World War memorial project at Lavenham Airfield submits application for planning permission

Long-held plans to create a military heritage memorial at Lavenham Airfield have taken a step closer, with an application submitted to Babergh District Council for planning permission.

Fundraising group Friends of Lavenham Airfield has created an online crowdfunding appeal to raise £6,800 for a memorial to the United States Army Air Force’s 487th Bomb Group, which served at the airfield during the Second World War.

The hope is that it will be unveiled as part of Lavenham’s commemoration of the 75th anniversary of VE Day in May 2020.

The application involves the construction of a memorial and an identifier square marked with the letters LV, recalling the appearance of the airfield’s original identification letters and a familiar sight to its wartime occupants.

The memorial will have plaques recording the names of 233 personnel who lost their lives and every unit that served as part of the 487th Bomb Group.

The crowdfunding site can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/487th-memorial.