Ref. 26263-51STABLES once occupied by the troops of the famous Easy Company as they prepared to fight on the beaches of Normandy could soon be on their way to the USA.

As revealed by the Evening Advertiser in August, the owner of the six derelict buildings in the centre of Aldbourne that were used as barns in later years was hoping to dismantle them and re-erect them in Taccoa in the US state of Georgia.

Now Mike Steadman has said that work could begin as early as Easter. The cost of the project, which will take three months to complete, will be in five figures.

Easy Company, which forms part of the legendary Georgia-based 506 Parachute Regiment, was immortalised by the Stephen Spielberg-produced hit TV drama Band of Brothers, starring Damian Lewis.

Mr Steadman said he was excited the project was finally going ahead and a provisional start-date has been announced.

"These barns are in a bad state of repair and I am pleased that they are going to such a good home where they will be looked after."

Chris Anderson, editor of the US magazine World War Two, is spearheading the project.

The barns will be placed next to a train depot from where troops boarded trains to join the war in Europe.

Mr Anderson told the Evening Advertiser: "For many, these stables were the last place that many of these guys could really call home.

"The idea is to bring these stables to the US as a kind of thank you to the veterans who made such big sacrifices."

The work, which will take around three months to complete, will be carried out by family-run furniture making firm Sowerby and Son of Aldbourne. Keith Sowerby said it would be a difficult task, due to the poor state of the barns, which are about 80 years old.

He said: "It will be a tricky operation but we are really looking forward to it.

"This job will be nothing like what we've done in the past. We're used to carving furniture. But we're really looking forward to the challenge.

"Any fool can take a crow bar to them and bring them down. But we need to be extremely careful if the barns are to be reconstructed.

"We suspect that many of the bases will be rotten, which means the structure will be fragile."

Mr Sowerby hopes that by waiting until Easter, the weather will give them the edge.

"At the moment the weather is too bad to start on the project. April would seem to be the earliest that we could get to work."

It is not yet known if the father and son team will be involved in the re-construction.

According to Mr Steadman, many troops of the 506 Regiment also stayed at the barns after they returned from the beaches of Normandy the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war.

Easy Company was said to be one of the finest rifle companies in the US Army.

On D-Day June 6 1944 the company was dropped into Normandy in the wrong place. For the next 30 or so days, the troops fought in every major battle.

Kevin Shoesmith