By Haydn Brown.
Thorpe Abbotts is a village within the civil parish of Brockdish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is 6.5 miles east of Diss, and 20.8 miles south south west of Norwich.
During the Second World War Thorpe Abbotts became home to the United States Army Air Forces and the base became operational in June 1943 when the 100th Bomb Group took up residency equipped with the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. The group was soon to become known as the ‘’Bloody 100th’’ as the result of the heavy losses it incurred during a number of their combat missions.
Maybe because of this situation “Eddie the Ghost”, as the American personnel were to nickname him, began to appear on the Base – this was sometime during the height of the base’s bombing raids in 1944; during when he was intermittently reported as walking through walls of the airmen’s quarters. Whilst these stories of ‘Eddie’ persisted amongst the men, some would take their carbine rifles to bed with them. Because of this behaviour, and very much fearing an accident, Colonel Jeffrey, the base commander, banned all talk of ‘Eddie’ – on penalty of court martial!
The USAAF left the Thorpe Abbott base in December 1945; however since then, occasional sightings of ‘Eddie’ have been recorded. Some have even claimed that he is sometimes seen when the restored control tower is locked at night – he appears at the first-floor window looking out as if to say good night!
Today, it is tempting to ask if the strange apparitions surrounding Eddie are being ‘embellished’; whether or not this is the case, some visitors to the fully restored museum have even reported an overpowering presence within the control tower – occasionally accompanied by the brief glimpse of an airman dressed in full flying gear. sometimes along with the sound of VHF chatter and the sound of aircraft.
THE END
Sources Include:
Wikipedia
Feature Heading: The Phantom Airman
Other Photos: Google Images
Norfolk Tales, Myths & More! 