We know of the tremendous American association with Essex during World War II, but much earlier, in 1917, during the First World War, small detachments of American servicemen came to Ilford, then situated in Essex.

In his book, 'Over Here And Over There' John Barfoot, the Essex historian and writer give us a fascinating glimpse into the contribution made by the United States Air Service. "On the Western Front, American infantry began to take over front-line trenches in the French sector on Saturday, 27 October (1917). The arrival of American airmen at Ilford the following month went almost unnoticed by the residents of the town, due to the wide variety of khaki army uniforms worn by officers seconded to the Royal Flying Corps.

It came as a surprise to Captain G W Murlis-Green to receive a small detachment of cadets from the United States Air Service for flying instruction with his busy Home Defence unit. The tremendous response, following the call for volunteers by the Air Service in the wake of America declaring war on Germany in April, swamped their limited training facilities. Many would-be aviators of the fledgling US air force found themselves training with their British, French and Italian allies.

No 44 Squadron was an eye-opener for six Americans posted to Hainault Farm, via Oxford and Grantham, where the military discipline had been hard. They were delighted to find there was little or no formality in the squadron Mess and soon made friends. Billeted in pairs in the town, they were collected every morning by squadron tenders for breakfast at the farmhouse, before flight training. Lieutenants Jack Devery and Clayton Knight were billeted at an off license, run by Mrs Plume and her two teenage daughters. 'All in all,' recalled Clayton Knight in later years, 'It was a wonderful set-up for Devery and me.' The billeting allowance for servicemen in the town paid 9d per day, or 2/6 per day, if meals were required.'

Click here for more information on the heroic contributions of many people during WWI.