Plans to trace US airmen who left signatures on wall of Suffolk pub.

Airmen signatures on the wall of the Swan pub, Lavenham. Credit: ITV Anglia.

For 18 months, between March 1944 and August 1945, they flew 185 missions into enemy skies. And when members of the US Army Air Force 487th Bombardment Group, based at RAF Lavenham, needed to relax, they'd visit the nearby Swan pub. During that time, hundreds left their signatures on the walls - a permanent reminder of their time in the UK.

Staff at the pub along with members of the '8th in the East' project want to try to trace as many of those airmen as they can in order to record their memories of the months they spent in Suffolk. Some families have already been in touch and all the information will be stored by the Suffolk Records Office.

Signatures on the wall of the Swan, Lavenham. Credit: ITV Anglia.