Eastern Front: The Cold War and East Anglia 1946-1964

'The farmer owned the land. When the aircraft landed he would stand at the end of the runway and accuse them of trespassing................' Between 1946 and 1964, East Anglia hosted thousands of US Air Force and RAF personnel who, in the event of war, would have been responsible for delivering the West's nuclear strikes on eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. By thrusting East Anglia into the front line of the Cold War, the USAF and RAF affected the lives and surroundings of everyone who lived there and changed the landscape and culture of the region forever. This, however, worked both ways. Both the RAF and the USAF studied the region and its people carefully before deployment and, over time, adapted their operations accordingly. This is a study of their relationship - of how the RAF and USAF affected the region over nearly two decades, and how they in turn were changed by their time in East Anglia.