During World War Two Glenn Miller was based at Milton Ernest Hall which is a couple of miles from Twinwood Arena and Airfield.
It was at this Hall that Glenn gave performances with his orchestra and in nearby Bedford they played at the Corn Exchange. This building still looks very much the same as it did then.
Glenn turned the Co-Partners Hall in Bedford into his Radio Station and here the bulk of his recording was done along with many famous stars such as Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
On August 27th 1944 at RAF Twinwood Airfield Glenn Miller performed a concert for the aircrews using two trailers as a stage next to Twinwood Control Tower. It was at the Control Tower that Glenn Miller was last seen alive on a bleak day in December 1944. From here he flew to his death with two others in a Norseman - a small single engine aircraft en route to Paris to lead his orchestra.
John Miller, Glenn's nephew now hosts the Twinwood Festival. The John Miller Orchestra is the only Big Band performing the music of Glenn Miller with direct family links to the great man himself. |