William Buck's collection of the war in the air over Norfolk

February 2013 

William Buck filled the Methodist School Room to capacity, bringing in visitors and leading to more people joining the Local History Group.

This was the first time William has presented his collection to the public.  It was astonishing to see what he has found beneath our soil, with the aid of his metal detector and years of painstaking research. There were perfectly preserved aircraft engine parts that looked fit to be immediately returned to service.

Did you know that every component part of every warplane carried the serial number of that plane?  This means that finds can be traced back to particular squadrons, to their crews and to the stories of their action and demise.

Photographs and newspaper reports add details, and the events of the 1940s can be brought poignantly alive. The air corridor from Norfolk, through The Wash to Birmingham was one of the great battlefields of the Second World War, and the place where thousands of men - British, Commonwealth, American and, yes, German sacrificed their lives.

William Buck should be proud of his collection - which is worth a great deal more exposure than we were able to give it during one short meeting.

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