RWB Archive

Personal Film: RAF Polebrook & the 351st Bomb Group

From April 1943 to May 1945, Col. Robert W. Burns carried a personal movie camera through his time at RAF Polebrook, England — home of the 351st Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. The footage captures the base, the aircraft, his colleagues, and, in its most intimate moments, his first meetings with the Army nurse he would marry after the war.

Bob served as Group Commander of the 351st BG from October 12, 1944 to March 30, 1945 — the period during which most of the base footage was likely shot. The film was preserved in the family collection and digitized by the Texas Archive of the Moving Image.

Original film © Burns family, licensed CC BY 4.0. Digitized by the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Click any timecode below to jump to that moment.

Annotated Timecodes

0:36
B-17 taxiing to shut-down
A B-17 Flying Fortress bearing the 351st BG's distinctive triangle-J insignia taxis to its parking position. This may be the aircraft from which Brig. Gen. Lacey deplanes at 1:15, though not certain.
1:15
Brig. Gen. Julius K. Lacey deplanes
The man with the thick head of graying hair stepping off the B-17 is Brigadier General Julius K. Lacey, commander of the 94th Bombardment Wing — the parent organization of the 351st BG. Gen. Lacey held this command from December 12, 1943 to June 1945. (Col. Romig, Bob's predecessor as Group CO, moved up to the 94th Wing staff in October 1944, but Lacey remained the wing commander.)
Gen. Lacey retired from the USAF as a Major General.
1:54
Gen. Lacey's stars visible
As he walks toward the camera, the single star on Gen. Lacey's shoulders, indicating his rank as Brigadier General, is clearly visible.
5:57
Lt. Col. James T. Stewart, 508th Bomb Squadron
The grinning man with the flight cap set well back on his head is Lt. Col. James T. Stewart, commander of the 508th Bomb Squadron from May 14, 1943 to August 28, 1945. The 508th BS was the squadron to which Clark Gable and his film crew were assigned when they joined the 351st BG in 1943 to shoot footage for the documentary film Combat America. Gable's crew had returned to the United States before this footage was shot.
Lt. Col. Stewart retired from the USAF as a Lieutenant General. He is not the actor James Stewart.
6:35
Lt. Col. Elzia LeDoux
The man doffing his cap for the camera is Lt. Col. Elzia LeDoux of the 351st BG.
7:22
Lt. Col. LeDoux at Group HQ
Lt. Col. Elzia LeDoux emerges from the 351st Bomb Group HQ building at Polebrook.
7:56
Army chaplain
This man is wearing the Christian cross insignia of a U.S. Army chaplain. His identity has not been established from available records.
8:40
1/Lt Ruth J. Blackburn & 1/Lt Bert Shannon
1st Lieutenant Ruth J. Blackburn — Bob's future wife, "Mamu" to the family — and her closest friend, 1st Lieutenant Bert Shannon, both U.S. Army nurses. This is most likely filmed at Ruth's medical station in Abergavenny, Wales, where she was posted from June 1943 to October 1944. Bob flew a Piper Cub from Polebrook on personal visits during this period — the subject of the Morning Reports story The Piper Cub to Wales.
This is believed to be the only surviving moving-image footage of Ruth from the war years.
8:56
1/Lt Ruth Blackburn
1st Lieutenant Ruth J. Blackburn again, at Abergavenny or Bath. Ruth was subsequently posted to Bath from October 1944 to March 1945.
9:40
Col. Robert W. Burns & 1/Lt Ruth Blackburn
Col. Robert W. Burns and 1/Lt Ruth Blackburn together, at Abergavenny or Bath. Bob became Group Commander on October 12, 1944; this footage captures the couple during the period of his command. They married in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1946 (stationed at Mitchel Field, New York).
10:57
Col. Burns arrives as Group Commander
Bob entering the base, then the 351st BG HQ building, as the new Group Commander. Bob assumed command on October 12, 1944, succeeding Col. Eugene A. Romig, who moved up to command the 94th Bomb Wing under Gen. Lacey. Bob held command through March 30, 1945.

351st Bomb Group Command

RAF Polebrook (AAF-110) was the operating base of the 351st Bombardment Group (Heavy), subordinate to the 94th Bombardment Wing, 1st Air Division, 8th Army Air Force. The 351st BG's distinctive aircraft marking was the triangle-J insignia, visible throughout the film on B-17 Flying Fortresses.

CommanderDatesNotes
Col. William A. Hatcher Jr. Nov. 24, 1942 – Dec. 31, 1943 Shot down; POW in Germany for remainder of war
Col. Eugene A. Romig Jan. 3, 1944 – Oct. 12, 1944 Moved up to command 94th BW
Col. Robert W. Burns Oct. 12, 1944 – Mar. 30, 1945 Shot this film
Col. Merlin I. Carter Mar. 31, 1945 – Aug. 28, 1945

94th Bomb Wing Commander: Brig. Gen. Julius K. Lacey, Dec. 12, 1943 – June 1945. The 351st BG's four bomb squadrons were the 508th, 509th, 510th, and 511th.

Ruth Blackburn in England

1st Lieutenant Ruth J. Blackburn, U.S. Army nurse, served in England from early 1943. She first met Bob at Lilford Hall, the manor house near Polebrook that served as the 160th Station Hospital. She appears at 8:40 and 8:56 in this film, in what is believed to be the only surviving moving footage of her from the war years.

StationPeriod
Lilford Hall, near Polebrook Early 1943 – June 1943 — met Bob here
Abergavenny, Wales June 1943 – October 1944
Bath, U.K. October 1944 – March 1945

Bob made personal flying visits to Ruth at Abergavenny using a Piper Cub the Bomb Group had acquired — a story he told in his 2003 Morning Reports correspondence.

Lt. Shannon, Ruth's closest friend seen at 8:40, later married a Spokane, Washington dentist named Gates and had two sons, Charles and Kenneth. Ruth married Bob after the war and had three children: Andrew, Susan, and Rebecca. She died February 12, 2006.

Related Pages

Mission Profiles → Morning Report: The Piper Cub to Wales → Photographs → All Morning Reports →
Source: Personal 16mm film collection of Maj. Gen. Robert W. Burns. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Digitized by the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Annotations by Andy Burns and Sam Burns.