Downham Market plans for war memorial to honour airmen at former RAF base on Bexwell Business Park

A proposal to build a war memorial to honour airmen who were based at the former RAF Downham Market has been submitted to planners.

Landowners Albanwise have submitted the application to instal a small 'cairn' style memorial at the end of the former runway to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the opening of the base in July 1942.

There have been a number of attempts to create some sort of memorial over the years but until now nothing has materialised.

Bexwell Business Park forms part of what is left of RAF Downham Market, a bomber base which operated during the Second World War.

During three years of operations, 937 airmen went missing; of which 773 were killed, 149 became prisoners of war, and 15 managed to evaded capture.

Albanwise has submitted the proposals in the light of a request from Chris Coverdale who grew up nearby and has written a number of books about the war and the base and RAF Downham Market. They feel that the sacrifices that the RAF personnel made should be marked.

The location of the war memorial is to be at the end of the former main runway, to the north of the industrial development.

The main runway was removed during the 1980s to provide material for Downham's A10 bypass. The end of the runway would have been at the point, which is now New Road, Crimplesham, on the Wimbotsham Estate.

Mr Coverdale has confirmed he would undertake the upkeep of the memorial for the foreseeable future. However, in the long term this is something that will require minimal upkeep, such as occasional weeding, that could be undertaken by the gardening team already utilised on the Wimbotsham Estate.

Crimplesham Parish Council has said it supports the idea.