In the quiet Cambridgeshire countryside, between the villages of Coton and Madingley, lies a place where history and memory meet. The Cambridge American Cemetery, with its sweeping lawns, shining headstones, and solemn Wall of the Missing, is the only permanent American World War II cemetery in the United Kingdom. Nearly 4,000 servicemen and women rest here, and over 5,100 more are inscribed on the wall, their remains lost at sea or over enemy territory. Together, they embody the story of the “friendly invasion” — the arrival of nearly two million Americans who passed through Britain during the war.

Resting Among Friends explores the story behind this extraordinary place. It begins before the war, when Madingley parish was simply farmland and woodland overlooking the Fens. It then traces the arrival of American forces: airmen stationed across East Anglia, sailors battling the Atlantic, engineers building runways, Red Cross volunteers tending to weary crews. Their presence transformed local life, creating friendships, romances, and cultural exchanges that endure in memory to this day.

The book reveals how the idea of a permanent resting place arose from wartime necessity. A temporary cemetery opened on 7 December 1943 — the second anniversary of Pearl Harbor — and by 1945 held more than 5,000 graves. Families were later given the choice of repatriating remains or leaving them overseas, and many chose Cambridge. In 1947, the American Battle Monuments