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Museum shop

Inside the museum is a small shop area.

Visitors can buy items of merchandise, as well as books about the airfield and barracks, and the life of the Royal Air Force squadrons and Royal Engineers regiments during their time at Waterbeach.

An account of the days from the building of the station to the RAF’s departure in 1966, and the early days of 39 Engineer Regiment taking occupation.

The story of 39 Engineer Regiment, 12 Brigade, and other units during their forty years at Waterbeach.

514 Squadron served in the RAF’s No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, between September 1943 and August 1945. After a short period of operations from RAF Foulsham, the squadron transferred to its permanent home at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, in December 1943, some aircraft travelling from the old base to the new via a raid on Berlin. It was, of course, the people of the squadron who were its heart and soul. Supported by hard-working ground crew, the focus inevitably was on the airmen who climbed into their Lancaster bombers, risking and often losing their lives in the ceaseless battle to beat the most evil regime Western Europe has ever known.224 separate crews have been identified from the squadron’s Operational Record Book.

The trilogy examines every aspect of a typical, and unsung, Bomber Command squadron and is quite possibly the most detailed such work in its genre.

The war cost 514 Squadron 88 Lancaster’s shot down, crashing or damaged beyond repair on operations and a further three on training flights. The real cost, though, was its people, 437 of whom gave their lives serving with 514 Squadron. The boys from the ‘Beach, as the airfield has always been known, will never be forgotten.

The first volume, 'Nothing Can Stop Us' tells the narrative history of the unit, along with personal accounts from many who served.

Nothing Can Stop Us: 6in x 9in, 400 pages, £15

The second volume, 'Striking Through Clouds' is the war diary of 514 Squadron, as detailed in the unit's official Operational Record Book. Presented in diary form, this immensely readable book also contains details of every aircraft and crew lost, along with the known, probable or likely cause. The meticulous transcription of the original documents is supplemented by details of every aircraft lost on operational service and includes over 100 images.

Striking Through Clouds: 6in x 9in, 544 pages, £15

'The Beach Boys', the third volume in the 514 Squadron history, lists each crew, in the name of its pilot, with every available photograph of its members. For each crew, every known operational sortie has been listed, based on the summary of each ‘op’, provided when the returning crew was debriefed. All too often, however, the final record was simply ‘Aircraft Missing’.

The Beach Boys 6 in x 9 in format, 752 pages, £20

The History of 514 Squadron RAF

Other 514 Squadron books

Harry Dison flew a full tour of operations in 1944 as a flight engineer with 514 Squadron. In the 1990s, Harry contacted surviving members of his squadron to collect their memories and recollections. This excellent book is their own account of their war with Bomber Command.

Some of the Story of 514 Squadron £10

Flight Lieutenant Lou Greenburgh DFC & Bar had an epic war, even by Bomber Command standards. He survived a ditching in the North Sea, brought his damaged Lancaster and the remnants of his crew home after further encounters with the Luftwaffe, whom he felt had a personal grudge against him, and accidentally bombed Paris instead of Dusseldorf. Eventually shot down, he evaded capture and hid in a forest with other airmen until liberated by allied troops after D-Day. This is his story, as told to his son.

Skid Row to Buckingham Palace £10

Two days after D-Day, a Lancaster and her crew was shot down over France, coming to rest near Francois Yder’s village. The survivors were helped by local citizens until two were betrayed to the Nazis, winding up in Buchenwald Concentration Camp. This is the story of the Lancaster, her crew and the brave Frenchmen and women who risked their lives to help them.

The Boy and the Bomber £10

“ …. And in the morning” 514 Squadron Royal Air Force £10

Waterbeach village RAF Waterbeach Barracks developments