Stories of black US airmen in East Anglia explored

A new collection of audio stories has been released revealing the cultural history of black US airmen based in East Anglia during the Cold War.

The project includes first-hand recollections from people across the region of how the presence of black American service members shaped their lives and communities.

The stories, from Cambridge, Peterborough, Norwich and several towns in Suffolk, document how rural East Anglia became a "hotbed of black American culture", especially in music.

Elma Glasgow, Black USAF project manager, said the collection was inspired by "my dear mum who used to talk about bumping into black musicians like Wilson Pickett in local pubs near Mildenhall in the '60s".

The recorded stories explore themes including intercultural friendships, religion, American football, hair products, soul food and music.

"Few would expect rural East Anglia to have been a hotbed of black American culture, especially, music," Glasgow said.

"In the '60s the USAF airmen brought sounds that were genuinely new and exciting to British ears – and white musicians, drawn to that energy, found themselves welcomed into the mix, creating a surprisingly vibrant centre of music that developed a life very much its own."

Glasgow said her mother told her "how musicians including James Brown would hang out locally and jam with other musicians".

"It's highly likely Curtis Mayfield played on Mildenhall airbase too, and there's photographic evidence of Sammy Davis Jr performing there in 1960," she added.

"I'm proud the project demonstrates that East Anglia has a much more diverse – and cool – history than previously understood by the wider public.

"I see this work as a celebration of our diversity, and how people are united through black culture, and that hasn't stopped. Excitingly, we've only just scratched the surface," Glasgow said.

Black USAF: Cultural Connections in Cold War East Anglia has been funded by Arts Council England and Essex Cultural Diversity Project.

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