Hamstead Park has always been an important manor near Newbury. The Grade II-listed estate was tied to the famous Marshal family in the 12th and 13th centuries and hosted the Craven dynasty from 1620, which acquired 20,000 acres of land in Berkshire. But at the height of the Second World War, the park became home to the legendary ‘Screaming Eagles’ of the 101st Airborne Division. Before D-Day, the 2nd Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment was billeted at the park under canvas, while the 1st and 3rd Battalions camped at Lambourn from January 1944. Its sister regiment, the 506th Para…