Ramsbury Airfield  Remembered Sunday June 9^th 2019

Following on from my piece in the last edition of Chain Mail (issue 143) this report covers the unveiling of the two memorials at the former site of RAF Ramsbury, an event that took place on Sunday 9^th June as part of the D-Day 75^th anniversary commemorations.

More than 600 people attended the event including 30 plus representatives from the US 437^th Airlift Wing, a unit directly descended from the 437^th Troop Carrier Group that flew D-Day missions from Ramsbury 75 years ago. They were led by the Wing’s Deputy Commander, Colonel Patrick Winstead who delivered a superb speech at the dedication of RAF Ramsbury’s runway memorial. The American visitors were joined by WW2 and post-war veterans, as well as serving personnel from the British Army, Royal Air Force, Marlborough and Calne Air Cadets and Marlborough Army Cadets.

The day’s events started at 11am in Burnt Wood where a memorial – surrounded by 420 saplings donated by the Woodland Trust – was dedicated by the Reverend Canon Simon Weeden to the memory of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the First and Second World Wars. The party then moved to the RAF Ramsbury memorial, which is located beside the remains of Ramsbury’s former main runway. Music was provided by the Froxfield Phoenix Brass Band accompanied by the Ramsbury Voca Choir.

The highlight of the day was a flypast by a US Air Force C-17 from the 437^th Airlift Wing, whose home station is Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina, USA. It approached the old airfield from the north at approximately 1000 feet with everything hanging down in an attempt to reduce air speed to a minimum. As the giant plane flew over the crowd, power was increased and it banked to the right before returning to RAF Brize Norton where the unit had undertaken a week’s joint training with the RAF.

As with the woodland memorial the Reverend Canon Simon Weeden led the service of dedication at the runway and was joined by the 437^th Chaplin, Lt Col. Craig Abee. Other speeches were given by Col. Mike Relph on behalf of the Memorial Project Committee, as well as Peter Wilson on whose land the memorials stand. The RAF Ramsbury Memorial was decorated with the Stars and Stripes flag, which at the appropriate moment was removed by two US service personnel. Poppy wreaths were then laid by groups and individuals.

After the dedications all those present were invited to enjoy refreshments – that included an enormous piece of beef that was being cooked on a very Heath Robinson looking contraption – and to view an exhibition of WW2 photographs and memorabilia, plus motorcycles and wartime military vehicles. Thankfully the weather throughout most of the day had been warm and sunny and a shower during the afternoon arrived too late to dampen the spirit of the occasion.

Now, 75 years after the D-Day landings, RAF Ramsbury has two very fitting memorials that we hope will serve as reminders to future generations of the part this small corner of Wiltshire played in the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny .

Roger Day