Did you see Elvis Presley at RAF Chicksands in the 50s?

RAF Chicksands was a USAF base at the time so few RAF at the base.

It was also intelligence base so people there would be used to keeping quiet.

🙂

I am an Elvis fan. I don't know the answer to this topic question, but I would love to chat with other Elvis fans who follow ETAs.

I also have other info about Chick Sands in that the GI's there had hobby centres funded by the USA Government. In one of these centres a GI rebuilt a Triumph Speed Twin, the engine was rebuilt with special valve springs and valves, polished ports and modified carburation. The rest of the bike was Chrome plated on all the bolt on parts i.e oil tank, petrol tank, headlamp cowl etc. I bought this bike when it was finished from Joe Glazebrook a dealer in Northampton. Even with a standard gearbox this bike could do 50 in first gear with no valve bounce and spun the wheel on change to second. Later I bought a Buick Straight six convertible also a car brought in by a GI. I have been told that when the camp was closed down that earth excavators scooped out huge holes and as it was uneconomic to ship many vehicles back to the USA that military and privately owned vehicles were driven into them and the earth bulldozed back over them.

I was told in the very early sixties about a colleague who used to play part time in a band in Northampton who was called by his manager to go to Chick Sands and rehearse with other musicians in order to play in an impromptu backing for an entertainer. It was Elvis that they backed on a special night at the camp. He had arrived in a stopover and I believe was there a couple of days. I was not over impressed at the time by this information but since reading of other reports would like to add this info. The person who was sent to Chick Sands was Graham "Souter" or "Souster", memory not too good on surname but this person worked for Post Office Telephones in Gladstone Road Northampton in the stores from the 1950's and into the 1960's. I believe he also lived in Northampton.

Hello Canada
I worked on contract work several times in the 50’s at RAF Chicksands
Unfortunately I couldn’t confirm if Elvis Presley appeared there , but I would not be surprised because the Americans had an enormous number of USAAF airmen there
I was working on the living quarters and a huge building like an aircraft hangar that was the PX store ??/ ( super store something like a glorified NAAFI )
I know that the ‘Yanks ‘ had super shows put on by American stars and it is certainly credible that Elvis was one of them ; at that time I was more concerned in helping to raise a young family rather than American stars
Your letter does however bring back many memories of my experience at RAF Chicksands
The contrast between the USAAF and RAF personnel and living quarters was incredible
I believe it was known as RAF Chicksands something to do with the sovereignty of the site, but clearly the RAF were only acting as a security force
When you entered the site you were stopped by the RAF and then drove through the RAF section then over a small bridge that led to the American section
It was like two different worlds the RAF quarters were in typical war time huts ,drab looking and very shabby whereas the American ‘s had bright new huts with inbuilt bathing facilities
RAF personnel wore the familiar air force blue thick serge uniforms , whereas the ‘ Yanks’ had smart uniforms
I am not sure if the RAF had their own NAAFI but the American PX store was something just out of this world for us just after the war
They seemed to have every luxury goods imaginable food , clothes radio equipment etc
A veritable Aladdin’s cave
We were used to the stories about the luxuries of the American service personnel , , but the glaring differences between the American way of life compared to that of the British forces and civilian life in that period is now hard to believe
The main contractor for this job came from Cambridge and one instance that I will always remember was the distasteful sight of the contractors men when they arrived in the mornings, jumping out of their lorries and running to the dustbins to scavenge what the ’Yanks’ had thrown away
Mixed memories of a time long forgotten
jambojim

I don;t know about quicksands and Elvis but John Glenn claimed to have seen Elvis when they landed on the moon