July 2026 Newsletter
Hello,
Ridgewell Airfield Museum opens this Sunday, July 12th, and we'd love to see you!
From 11am to 4pm, you'll find refreshed displays, real stories from the airfield's wartime past, and a new shop area with some lovely goodies to take home. The kettle will be on, bacon rolls will be sizzling, and there'll be cake too.
Entry is free. Our volunteers will be around all day to chat and share the history that makes this place so special, so whether it's your first visit or a long-overdue return, Sunday’s the day.
Renovations and Preservation
Our 1940s-era nissun hut was never meant to be permanent, and preserving it requires constant care. Thanks to your support, several renovation projects are underway to ensure this important piece of history remains with us for future generations.
Many of you have followed the progress on Facebook. While some of us felt the old toilet room had a certain WWII charm, we’re delighted to be installing a modern, comfortable replacement. These renovations improve the overall experience at the museum. We give a special thank you to the wonderful volunteers who worked tirelessly in hot weather to accomplish this project.
Acquisitions & Fundraising
Membership funds help us acquire new artifacts for display. When an item falls outside our regular budget, we turn to our community through GoFundMe.
We are currently raising funds to purchase an authentic flight jacket and flight mask — a beautiful and historically significant addition that will allow us to properly represent the uniform worn by the men of the 381st. We have raised £589 of the £2,000 needed, and we kindly ask you to consider contributing to this important project.
GoFundMe link:Support the Flight Jacket & Mask
Your donations truly preserve the history of Ridgewell and help bring it to life for future visitors.
Website Updates
Our website continues to grow, with new photos, videos, and historical features. We’ve recently added a video section featuring the story of 1st Lt. Merrill Burton, who served in the 533rd Squadron from February 20 to May 30, 1944. Lt. Burton, from Harlem, Montana, flew 27 successful missions and was killed in action on May 30, 1944 — just seven days before D‑Day.
These videos were generously donated by his nephew, Jerry Beto, who shares the remarkable story of discovering a diary written not by his uncle, but by Lt. Alvin Berry, a fellow crew member on Lt. Burton’s plane. The diary — preserved in a decades-long sealed box — intrigued him, and when he read it he learned that the final entry was written by Lt. Anderson, a friend of Berry’s who witnessed Burton’s plane explode. Anderson took Berry’s diary after the mission, added the final entry, and mailed it to Berry’s wife, who later sent it on to Burton’s mother. The diary became the starting point for Jerry’s search to understand more about the uncle he never had the chance to meet. You can watch Jerry’s powerful retelling on our website. Ridgewell Airfield Museum Videos
Accessing Past Newsletters
Love our emails but can’t find them later? We’ve got you covered. Click the link below to access all newsletters from this year and future editions. Because this archive is behind a membership wall, you’ll need the link to enter.
A Historic Birthday Visit
Finally, last month, we had the honour of welcoming back Casey Bukowski to celebrate his 102nd birthday. Casey served as a waist gunner and flew 16 missions between November 1943 and February 18, 1944, when his plane was shot down on President’s Day. He spent over a year in two different POW camps and endured the 86‑day forced march before being liberated by Patton’s forces.
His visit was filled with wartime memories. He spent a day at the Duxford Airfield Museum, where he was able to go inside the Sally B, the last remaining B‑17 in the UK. On his birthday, he took a glider flight at the Essex Gliding Club, though it was cut short due to rainy, windy weather.
At Ridgewell, we celebrated with birthday cake and many well‑wishers. One particularly special guest was Jean Dobel, also 102, who worked during the war building the very runways Casey used to fly his missions. Seeing the builder and the airman sit side by side was a moment of living history.
Casey also visited the White Horse for a birthday drink, then travelled to the American War Cemetery in Cambridge before journeying to Germany and Poland to retrace his steps from the day he was shot down.
To help document this special occasion, we’ve included a link to a brief audio recording about Casey’s birthday visit. It now forms part of our growing oral history collection. For those who’d like to experience the full story of the celebration, Episode 6 of Triumphant We Fly shares the day as it unfolded. The podcast is available on Apple and Spotify.
The local BBC News also covered Casey’s birthday and you can read the article here as well as an article from another local news organization.
Thank you for your continued support of this important historic place. Everything you do helps us preserve Ridgewell’s legacy and share it with future generations.
Take care, The Ridgewell Airfield Museum Team
Your Support Keeps History Alive
Ridgewell Airfield Museum is volunteer-run and receives no external funding. The doors stay open because of the people who support us, through memberships, donations, and simply turning up.
There's always more to do. This winter brought repairs to the roof, and ahead of us there's a growing collection to care for and new stories still coming to light. If you'd like to be part of that, a membership or donation of any size genuinely helps.
Please consider donating today.
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