The Sign
The sign was unveiled in 5th June 2012 to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee by Sir Michael Bunbury. The stories behind the sign are recorded on a plaque on the base. The plinth was created by SD Construction. There are also many small plaques placed around the base from people of the village.

The American USAF called their base in Rendlesham, Bentwaters. At the top is the 1944 Grace Spitfire, maintained at Bentwaters and regularly flies over the village. Centre stage is the church of St Gregory which is medieval in age, probably sited on a former Anglo-Saxon church. Beneath the name are the flags of the Union Jack and the United States of America, showing the alliance here of the two nations. Between the flags is the mask of Raedwald Was, a 7th century Anglo-Saxon Bretwalda (Old English for British Ruler). He was a member of the Wuffinga Dynasty, whose family home was described by the Historian Bede as "A kingly town that is named Rendlesham". On the post is a plaque showing the UFO incident in Rendlesham Forest which took place in 1980.

The Name and Population
The population was 3,013 at the 2011 census. It was called Rendlaesham in 731 and Rendlesham in 891 and 1086. The name could mean "The homestead of a man called Rendel", or it could mean "a strip of land", both from Old English.

Other Points of Interest
Rendlesham Hall, a large manor house, was demolished in 1949.

Rendlesham Forest, owned by Forestry England, is a 1,500-hectare (3,700-acre) mixed woodland with recreation facilities for walkers, cyclists and campers. It is part of the Sandlings Forest Site of Special Scientific Interest.

During the summer of 2012, scenes of the movie Fast & Furious 6 were filmed on the former RAF Bentwaters airfield.