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Roger A. Freeman (May 11, 1928 – October 7, 2005) became one of the world’s leading military aviation historians alongside making his living as a farmer in England. He specialised in the World War II history of the US Eighth Air Force, the largest air striking force ever committed to battle – and coined the term ‘The Mighty Eighth’ when choosing the title for his first book on the subject in 1970.

The son of a farmer, Roger Anthony Wilson Freeman was born on May 11, 1928 in Ipswich, England, and grew up on a farm near the village of Dedham. During World War II, he developed a boyhood obsession with aircraft which developed into a historical interest in the airmen and operations of the Eighth Air Force, which could muster around 2,500 bombers and almost 1,000 fighters and occupied some 60 airfields in the wider East Anglia region in which he lived.

During the early post-war years Freeman researched the history of the Eighth when farming allowed. After almost 25 years’ research, he managed to interest a publisher in his compilation, although publication was dependent on a declared American interest, since “few people in the UK will be interested in what the Yanks did”.

The Americans were persuaded; although, with the printing presses ready to roll, they expressed reservations about Freeman’s title, which they thought was too long. He was given an hour to come up with something more succinct, opting for The Mighty Eighth. The book was an instant success, and became the first of a series about the Eighth Air Force’s operations mounted from Britain. They have become standard works, with a worldwide circulation and translations into several languages.

Freeman was educated at Colchester Boys’ High School. When he proved a poor student, his parents withdrew him and he began working on the family farm aged 15. His enthusiasm for aircraft began when a number of airfields were built in his local area, with one of them, Boxted, only a mile or so from the Freeman farm. Eighth Air Force fighter aircraft were flying from the base when, in 1944, the Freemans were given permission to carry out grass-cutting on the airfield. Roger delighted in the work while surrounded by the hefty Thunderbolt long-range fighters of the 56th Fighter Group, known as the ‘Wolf Pack’, which provided escort for the armada of bombers.

With his teenage friends, he cycled hundreds of miles to watch and record the activities of the aircraft at other airfields. Interviewed in 2002, he recalled one poignant scene: “My most memorable sight was in February 1945. It was a freezing morning with excellent visibility. Two columns of bombers were going out; one overhead and the other over Suffolk, which I could see by the contrails. I counted 28 formations, and knew there’d be about 40 planes in each. So I was looking at more than a thousand planes – 10,000 men – going to war.”

In 1959 Freeman took over the family farm; but it remained his ambition to chronicle the activities of the Americans who had lived in his local area. He began by writing articles on agricultural issues for a local newspaper in the 1950s and soon became a regular name in aviation magazines.

Following the success of The Mighty Eighth, Freeman spent the next 30 years combining his farming activities with writing. He eventually produced more than 60 books and countless articles dealing with the US Army Air Forces’ and RAF’s air offensive over Europe. He was in great demand on both sides of the Atlantic as a lecturer, and he made many visits to America to meet the veterans. In turn, he became the approved historian of the 20,000-strong Eighth Air Force’s veterans’ association, participating at 20 annual symposia. He knew and met many distinguished airmen, including commanders from the wartime years, including Generals Ira Eaker and James Doolittle.

Freeman also contributed to scores of documentaries and films about the Eighth, and in 1989 was technical adviser for David Puttnam’s film Memphis Belle. He also advised on the development of the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum’s site at Duxford airfield; and was a key figure in the development of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, Georgia, USA where, after his death in 2005, the study facility was renamed the ‘Roger A. Freeman Eighth Air Force Research Center’ in his honour.

Noted for his modesty, Freeman was always prepared to assist others, novice and expert alike. He downplayed accolades, saying that his writing was “simply an extension of my enthusiasm for the memory of a unique period of history”. He died on October 7, 2005 after suffering cancer, and is survived by his widow, Jean, two daughters and a son, who now runs the Freeman farm. A memorial service at Dedham church was attended by leading figures from the historic aviation community as well as senior US Air Force officers. A flypast in salute was provided by a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber and a P-51 Mustang fighter, a rare gesture for a civilian.

References

The Essex Magazine (July 2002 – via Air Scene UK) Daily Telegraph (October 22nd 2005)