Town take off for Battle
of the Atlantic Weekend
RAF Station Pembroke Dock in May 1943 at the height of
the
Battle
of the Atlantic. At that time nearly 100 flying boats -
mostly the famous Sunderland's - were based there.
Seventy years on, Pembrokeshire’s crucial
contributions to the Battle of the Atlantic in World War
II will be remembered in a special weekend of events
co-ordinated by the Pembroke Dock Sunderland Trust.
May 1943 is considered to be a pivotal period in the
Atlantic Campaign, and Pembroke Dock’s flying boats were
in the forefront of the action, protecting convoys and
seeking out the German submarines. And the Milford Haven
Waterway was a major convoy assembly port as well as the
base for naval escort vessels.
The Battle of the Atlantic 70th Anniversary
Weekend of 10th - 12th May
coincides with a reunion of maritime aviation personnel
staged by the Coastal Command and Maritime Air
Association - one of the organisations the Sunderland
Trust is working closely with.
Another partner organisation, the Maritime Air Trust, is
supporting the Trust in its plans to unveil a memorial
marking the local roles played in the Atlantic Campaign,
and key funding for the weekend is being provided by
PLANED, Pembrokeshire’s community-led local development
group.
Visitors from Australia who have strong connections with
flying boat operations from ‘PD’ will be in town for the
special weekend, and partner groups will be joining the
Sunderland Trust in staging displays at the Pater Hall
in Pembroke Dock.
There will also be guided walks and film shows, and
special displays at the Sunderland Trust’s two visitor
attractions, the Flying Boat Centre Workshop in Fort
Road and the Fleets to Flying Boats Centre in the Royal
Dockyard.
Further details will be announced later as the programme
is finalised. This weekend will revive memories of the
major Flying Boat Reunions and theme weeks staged in
‘PD’ in the 1980s and 1990s which brought so many
visitors to the town and area.
Captions:
A Sunderland flying boat watches over a wartime convoy.
PICTURES: Sunderland Trust Archive.
