Black USAF Cultural Impact in Essex
- Elma Glasgow
- Apr 19
- 2 min read
Content warning: This article quotes outdated language from newspaper articles. To read our glossary, which includes an explanation of these terms, click here.
Whilst our research didn’t turn up a great deal of evidence of how Black USAF personnel were influencing culture in Essex during the Cold War, we wanted to share a short overview of what we did discover through our research.
The USAF used RAF Wethersfield in Essex between 1951 to 1990 when the airbase closed but there are few sources in Essex Records Office, the British Newspaper Archive (BNA), or local museums to demonstrate what cultural activities were taking place on the base or within the local community. The material we were able to find was through the BNA and was exclusively around musicians performing in Essex.
An article from December 1961 shows a photo of four Black US Airmen from Wethersfield performing as a group named The Four Premers (p15, Saffron Walden Weekly News, 1 December 1961). Further searching didn’t turn up any more results on the BNA for The Four Premers or The Four Premiers (searched in case the spelling was an error). The group were performing at a fundraiser for a church in Milton, Cambridgeshire.
The Soul Committee, with lead vocalist Andrew Fitzpatrick who was a Black US Airman, are seen touring around East Anglia during the 1960s and perform at the Barn Club, Thaxted, on 2nd November 1968 (p22, Hertz and Essex Observer, 1 November 1968).
Whilst Geno Washington doesn’t mention touring to Essex in his oral history recording (click here to listen), there are adverts for him performing with The Ram Jam Band at the Rhodes Centre in Bishop’s Stortford in 1968 (p19 Herts and Essex Observer 4 October 1968 and p6 Saffron Walden Weekly News 4 October 1968).
We’d love to grow the list of sources below so if you lived in Essex during the Cold War and were influenced by Black USAF personnel click here to get in touch and share your story with us.
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