"The 834th Engineering Aviation Battalion was my outfit, and we built Matching Green Air Drome right from scratch. It was a long time ago, I am 81 years old now and I think about those years more and more. At the time the army, which usually is a SNAFU outfit, got it sort of right with me since I had worked beforehand with my Father on steel tanks in the oil fields in Pennsylvania where I grew up , with this background of civil engineering, I was well placed.
The 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion. was activated in May of 1942 at Westover Field in Mass USA. After training we embarked on the USS West Point [it had been the luxury liner, America] along with 8000 other troops and we landed in Liverpool and then proceeded to Matching Green by train. We started out using British equipment and eating British rations until our equipment and food supplies arrived. We worked on Matching Green for around 18 months. while at Matching we all had different haunts that we favored. all the guys went to a different town, we ran trucks to so many place's for the guys on a pass. My place was Chelmsford where they had dances at the Corn Exchange and a very nice Red Cross club where I experienced my first air raid. We could not get to a shelter and so we sat the the stairway in the club. It scared the living daylights out of me and reinforced my admiration for the British people.
There were both good times and bad during the period we built the drome, we worked a standard 12 hour day regardless of the weather conditions, it seemed like mostly rain, and for a long time we had very little time to ourselves  since we also worked seven days a week. The good times were with the many friends and families who invited us into their homes. We were told never to arrive empty handed and to go to the mess and get canned goods, etc. to contribute. I especially remember two maiden ladies who lived close to the manor house of the farm we were building on. We would go in their home and sit in the kitchen which had ships timbers holding up a low ceiling, drink tea and eat scones, all the time in our rough dirty fatigues and the ladies, who were sisters I think, just radiated warmth and made us feel so at home".

"Sergeant Andrew Hertz compiled this information and thanks to him, wherever he is, for recording such vital statistics."

"To build Matching Airdrome, 1,524,205 man hours were expended.
120,000 cubic yds of concrete, enough for a 2
lane highway 45 miles long.
350 buildings, both Nissen huts and brick construction were erected.
1,285,000 bricks were laid .
600,000 cubic yards of earth were evacuated.
94 acres of woods were cleared.
6 miles of 6" and 4" water mains and 12 miles of French drains were placed.
A sewage system, large enough to care for a city of 2500 people was built. "

"On Oct.24, 1943, the first air force troops arrived as the Battalion evacuated its self built huts for tents and very seldom were billeted under a solid roof again until the war ended.
I only wish that I had more time to travel to different sections of the country. As it was, I did take a three day leave in Stratford on Avon since I had been reading a lot of Shakespeare and loved it. I did get sent to Northern Ireland and to Wales to anti aircraft gunnery schools and that was interesting. Of course, chasing girls was our first priority rather than sightseeing.We then went into training for the invasion of France. On June 6 our forward unit [which I was attached to ] tried to land on Normandy on Omaha beach but due to heavy enemy fire we were unable to land and had to tie up overnight next to an LST. It was just as well since our equipment would have been useless at the time. The next morning we went ashore and since the original site for the air strip we were to build [designated A-1] was still in German hands, we reconned and found another area right above the cliffs and by June 8th we had planes landing and taking off . These were the first allied planes to operate in France since its fall. For our efforts we were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. We went on to serve in more campaigns. By the end of the war we had some elements of the Battalion in Pilson."

"There were separate Eng Battalion's for each of the airfields built in England by the Americans,( RAF airfields were built by British Contractors such as Laing, ect: AUTH). I was surprised that the 840th was credited for helping build Matching as we had about finished when we went into training for the invasion. We did come back to Matching for a month or so to finish some work and we never saw them."

 "I have never been back to Matching, I have really wanted to but it just wasn't in the cards."

© Robert Rice

Rochester

New York USA

"Mission 47"

By Wally Humphrey

"The pre-dinner crowd at the Officers Club was going through its daily routine of getting a few drinks put away before undertaking the usual monotonous army mess; I say monotonous because although the menu may vary, eating army chow is a habit and not a pleasure.

There was the usual line at the bar, the Ping-pong tables were in full play, someone was banging out a tune on the piano in competition with the radio and about various tables were gathered the different Squadrons of the Group; just talking shop or deep in idle gossip, with an array of half-filled beer bottles and glasses in hand or on the table.

At precisely five minutes to six, just five minutes before the mess hall would open, the telephone rang, the bartender answered and called for Capt. Cunningham, one of the Group intelligence Officers; seconds later he called for attention and announced that all alerted crews were to report to briefing room immediately, without eating.

Well, like the Armys universal "hurry up and wait," it was after 1900 before briefing started, and quite naturally everyone did his share of bitching at the ways of the Group and Bomber Command. Our target was behind the enemy lines at a troop concentration point, and the route in and out was shown on the Velopticon, which projects pictures and maps on a screen; soft whistles and moans came from crew members, it definitely was a hot spot. Engines would be starting at 2021, the second box off first, join up would be over the field at 2055, with all planes in formation and climbing on course.

Briefing over, everyone gathered his parachute, "Mae West", steel helmet, spare chunks of armor plate, and headed out for the six-by-six trucks that distribute the crews to the various hardstands. 

^{We were scheduled to fly "Pinks Lady" out on her 81st Combat mission without an abortion; seems our ship had developed mag drop and needed a new set of plugs in the engine. A tribute here to the ground crews is justified, for during our five months of overseas operation we have had only two single-engine take-offs; both of resulted in crash landings. But here too the B-26 comes in for its share of glory, for in none of the crash landings so far have we lost a single crew member; some have been injured true, but they all have managed to live for another day.}

^{2021, and engines come to life all over the field, to be warmed up and flight checked. Ten minutes later they taxi out, each one falling into his place on the perimeter, till they are lined up one being behind the other on both sides of runway 21 (210 degree takeoff); there they sway softly on tricycle landing gears, not unlike some animated creation of man eager to spring into life and the calling vastness of the sky above.}

At 2036 the lead ships engines roar and the plane leaps forward, gathering speed with every passing yard of the runway. About 300 yards go by before the pilot pulls the nose wheel off at 90 or more miles per hour, slowly the airs speed indicator climbs towards 150, the plane becomes airborne; seconds later the end of the runway flashes by and four feet in the air the copilot lifts the wheels and divides his attention between the flight instruments and the view on his side of the cockpit.

However, England is showing some of its best weather and visibility is unlimited in all directions, although some clouds are building in the West and to the South, well, that would be right for the weather man had briefed us for clouds over the channel and from .4 to .6 tenth Cumulus over the target with bases at 4,000 and tops at 9,000.

Westward we climb on course, directly into the setting sun. Jeff had borrowed my sun glasses in anticipation of its glare; you see, the copilot is a sort of second brain trust, his glasses and cigarettes must always be on hand and never, never must he forget matches or a lighter. The formation comes within view of the moors and hills of South Central England, then swings southward still climbing in a slow easy angle or rate of climb; too rapid a rate will cause the slower ships to pull high manifold pressure and r.p.m., thereby burning a terrific amount of gas.

Some 8,000 below the English coast passes underneath, clouds have now built up and the outside temperature is zero degrees Centigrade; so that we dodge and weave about them as much as possible, still we collect some ice, and the pitot-heaters have to be turned on. Out over mid-channel the weather truly dominates the scene, showers are over on the left of us, and no less than three separate layers of clouds fill the sky; some being flat rain-filled Nimbo-Cumulus and others towering snow-white Cumulus, that catch the rays of the setting sun in breathless beauty.

Then true to Lt. Henrys prediction the clouds began to break out of their solid effect and between the openings we catch glimpses of the murky Seine Bay and the distant coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula; darkness is setting in pretty fast now and the closer we approach land the clearer becomes the details of battle.

A dull red flash leaps from one of the hundreds of plots on the bay below, then a similar flash from a companion ship. Hell, it must be warships or cruisers giving their supporting fire to the armies on land; sure enough, see those clustered pin-point flashes inland, just like the winking of distant stars. Look at the cloud of flak over Caen and St. Lo, hundreds of bursts and just dark enough to see their orange bursts; those Lancasters and Halifaxes that were ahead of us coming across the channel must be catching it, gad, I hope the dive bombers and fighters are spoiling the tracking of those Jerry Ack-Ack gunners.

Weve lost track of the first box coming through the cloudy channel, and our box does a 360-degree turn to gain more altitude and make landfall at the correct place. Damn, its dark, how in the world are we going to find our target in this mess? Now we can see the irregular line of artillery fire, coming from both sides at that, sure am glad Im in the Air Corps. Oh! Oh! Look at the flak low and to our right. Guess they are trying to scare us away from some vital target; no, they are shooting at a box of Marauders lower than us and heading towards the channel and safety. They sweep under us at a terrific speed. Look at the concentrated pattern of their bursting bombs just made; something down there no longer exists.

"Bomb-bays open" comes over the interphone. Must be we are hitting a target of opportunity due to darkness spoiling visibility over the primary. "Bombs away, bomb-bays closed" and we bank off the target in a steep turn and take evasive action clear to the coast. Well, that was an easy one, very little flak and we dropped on the first run; and with good results.

We plow back towards our base letting down gradually all the way. The B-26 can really travel with the nose slightly down and bombs away. Twilight has given way to almost complete darkness and at mid-channel we turn on our navigational lights, feeling certain that we are safe from enemy fighters. Back over the field we peel off by flights and land, each ship coming in at about 20 second intervals, the same as for takeoff. Safely down we taxi to our hardstands, where the crew chiefs hand-signal us to our parking position, then we unload and wait for the trucks to carry us into the crew room for debriefing; meanwhile watching planes landing on the runway nearby, gad, they come in at a terrific speed, so it seems on the ground.

Debriefed, we get our two shots of Scotch and head for the mess hall, plenty hungry and most of us well tired out. Chow for a change goes down very well and a quiet comfortable feeling settles over you; but the usual second cigarette and second cup of coffee is dismissed, for we are alerted tomorrow and the best we can expect four hours sleep. Back to our huts, some take time out to wash up, while others hit the sack as soon as they can strip off their clothes; but little matter, lights are soon turned off and heavy breathing fills the room. Another mission completed and a step closer to home."

The End.

 Bombers to Bee Orchids, Matching airfield© by Paul Hewitt

Matching Airfield is one of my favourite sites in the District. There can be no prettier sight than in mid June when the 100s of Common Spotted Orchids and Oxeye Daisy are in flower. Countrycare has been involved with the site since 1993 and I thought it would be interesting to set out the chequered history as I understand it. I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies and I would very much welcome any comments people may have or any more information about this wonderful site.

I start the story on the 20th August 1942, when this peaceful corner of the District would be change forever. For it was on this day nearly 60 years ago to the day, that the 834th Engineer Aviation Battalion began creating a bomber airfield on farmland and woodland to the east of Matching Green. Complete with runways, access tracks, hangars, a hospital and 350 ancillary buildings, enough concrete was laid at Matching to create a 45-mile long dual carriageway!

The initial clearance works for the airfield were destructive. Pottins Farm and the Kicking Dickey Pub were demolished as was 94 acres of Brickles Wood, an area of ancient woodland that was cleared to make way for access tracks and the bomb dump.

The airfield took 14 months to complete and the records show it involved a staggering 1.5 million man-hours. By December 1943, 4 squadrons of the 391st Bombardment Group, flying B-26 Marauders arrived at Matching having flown 10,000 miles around the world from Kentucky, USA. By the beginning of February 1944, the 391st was operational. The main thrust their operations were the weakening of enemy defences prior to the D-Day landings. Their targets concentrated on transport and communications links as well as coastal defences, submarine pens and rocket sites.

In October 1944, after only 9 months, the 391st left Matching to support the invasion force in France. Here their operations continued until October 1945, by which time the 4 squadrons had flown a total over 10,000 sorties. As in all war there was a human cost. Some 219 airmen were killed or missing in action and 61 were wounded. A total of 43 planes were lost.

After the war, the majority of the land was reverted to back to farmland. Much given back to the Rowe family who still farm the land today. However, many of the old buildings and track ways remained including the old control tower.

In the early 1980s many of these old building were being used for storage and became the subject of 2 public enquiries in 1981 and 1982 regarding the sites future use. The decision of the Secretary of State was that the site should be cleared of all buildings. By 1986, much of this work had been undertaken. The large aircraft hanger (presumably lovingly dismantled piece by piece) was then rebuilt at North Weald Airfield. Today only a few buildings remain around Rookwood Hall and the old control tower that still stands looking out over the former runway that is now arable fields.

Once the site had been cleared, it soon became obvious that the crushed concrete had provided ideal lime rich conditions for the colonisation of many unusual and uncommon wildflowers. It well have been that these flowers existed before the airfield and had hung on in undisturbed areas ready to recolonise? In 1987, the Abbess & White Roding Conservation Society contacted the then Essex Naturalist Trust and surveys of the site were subsequently undertaken. In 1991 recognition of the sites nature conservation value was acknowledged with the designation of the site as a County Wildlife Site.

By 1993, it was becoming clear that the once clear area was slowly being encroached by scrub and Countrycare was asked to step in by the Abbess & White Roding Conservation Society. By the spring of 1994, Countrycare had managed to track down the landowner, met with him and obtained permission to undertake conservation work on the site.

The first conservation projects began in the September and October 1994 and a management plan was subsequently written in 1996. Since that time Countrycare has organised a regular programme of scrub bashing and hay cutting tasks that have been vital to maintain the open grassy areas in which orchids and other wildflowers thrive.

A survey by Annette Ford in the summer of 1999 recorded over 160 species of trees, grasses and wild flowers and included in the plant list were 3 different types of Orchid. These were the Common Spotted and Bee Orchids that exists in their 100s and a small colony of Pyramidal Orchids that has been slowly increasing over recent years. Other notable wildflowers included Wild Basil, Red Bartsia and Common Restharrow.

It seems to me that this special wildlife sites exists as a fitting tribute to all the young Americans who fought and died from that airbase all those years ago. With the continued support of our volunteers we can hopefully continue to look after this unique site.