Reels on wheels provide glimpse into 1940s Published June 7, 2013 By Senior Airman Tiffany M. Grigg 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- The Archive Alive Mobile Cinema Tour visited the RAF Lakenheath Base Exchange June 5, 2013 to provide free screenings of World War II footage shot in the East Anglia area in the 1940s. Footage shown inside the 1967 cinema bus included the 1944 air raids on Norwich and a Christmas party for Watton orphans hosted by the U.S. Army Air Force in 1944. "We have great archive footage filmed by American Airmen in the 1940s when they were in Norfolk and Suffolk," said Lindsey Roffe, Digital Project communications manager of Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust (HEART). "U.S. Airmen made a good contribution to our archive and we just wanted to share it with the people of RAF Lakenheath." Many have heard WWII stories from veterans and family members, but to see where those stories come from via the archived footage could provide a better understanding of what transpired. "[The footage] tells you the role the Airmen played in history during WWII," said Staff Sgt. Dwayne Ivey, 48th Force Support Squadron Knight's Table Dining Facility shift leader. "It gives you a sense of what they achieved." Shooting a video or snapping a video preserves a time in history for the men and women of the future to look back on. The mobile cinema bus travels across East Anglia to give people a look through a window into the past. "I think it is educational to look back through history," said Roffe. "It's important so people can appreciate their social history. A lot can be learned from the past and it gives people today a good sense of people's lives [back then]." To look through archived footage from 1890-1980, visit www.archivealive.org.