Wayne arrived in England in April of 1943 and was assigned to the 351st Squadron of
the 100th Bomb Group at Thorpe Abbotts Army Airfield. New arrivals would get
acclimated quickly and then have some training missions to
familiarize themselves with the country. As was often the case with new crews there was a
tendency to get lost in unfamiliar surroundings and when this happened Wayne's crew would buzz
the nearest train station at low altitude so they could read the name on the side of the
building and figure out where they were. This was frowned upon by the Group leadership as presumably
it would aggravate the local population but served its purpose in a pinch.
Thorpe Abbotts, named after the nearby local township, was home to the 100th Bomb Group which
consisted of 349th, 350th, 351st and 418th Bombardment Squadrons and was known as 'The Bloody
Hundredth' due to their high combat losses.
There is an excellent museum at this location today,
with the restored control tower at its center.
