| Subject | Visit to Thurleigh 306 Bombardment Group Museum |
|---|---|
| Speaker/Organiser | Mark Fussell, Chairman at Museum |
| Date | November 5, 2026 |
Details
Our second visit to the small museum on the Thurleigh airfield site. The two rooms have a different focus, one on the USAAF teams and their missions, equipment and lifestyle and the second on the Local People who provided the community that supported and surrounded the airfield. Being close to Remembrance Day, the entrance was decorated with Poppies, one for each airman lost during the campaign.
The display included a special constable uniform with collar number SC453. We undertook to identify who it belonged to. Our research of SLHG project records showed other wartime numbers but not 453. Our contacts at Kempston Constabulary HQ found a Uniform Register and this gave the owner as SC Charles Frederick Bailey at Turvey
“Born 13.10.1902 at Turvey; 1911 Census, living with brother and parents at Carlton Road, Turvey; 1939 Register, living with wife Freda at ‘Roseleigh’ , May Road, Turvey and managing the family farm & haulage business; also recorded as a Special so would have attested prior to Sept 1939 and had been posted to Turvey; there is no record of him beyond April 1955 (the Uniform Issue Register being a pretty accurate record of service) the presumption being that he resigned about then. His brother Frank George Bailey was also a Special at Turvey, collar number 456, his service details mirroring those of Charles
More information from Sara at Turvey Society showed he was both a farmer and Haulage contractor.