The history of Melksham’s former RAF station is being brought to life in a new book exploring its role in training thousands of service personnel during the Second World War and beyond.
Written by retired RAF Wing Commander Rob Cumming, RAF Melksham: Its Beginnings, Life and Re-creation traces the beginnings, working life and eventual re-creation of the station, which opened in 1940 and closed in 1965.
Rob began researching the history while working with Melksham Remembers, a local history group. “It became clear that while thousands of airmen and airwomen trained and lived at RAF Melksham from its opening in 1940, its existence is rapidly fading from the community’s memory,” he said.
The station was built on farmland at Bowerhill as Britain prepared for war. Over 25 years, it trained the instrument repairers, electricians, armourers, cooks and other specialists needed by the Royal Air Force during the war and post-war period.
At times, the station’s population was almost twice that of Melksham itself, bringing thousands of service personnel to the town during its operational life.
The book also records the experiences of thousands of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force personnel who trained at the station, as well as the arrival of Caribbean recruits in 1945.
Rob wanted to bring together official records and the personal experiences of those who lived and trained there, offering a picture of life at the station beyond the formal accounts.
“The story of RAF Melksham is one of camaraderie, stoicism and resourcefulness of those, invariably young people, who came from across the nation to train at the small West Country town of Melksham,” said Rob.
The book is intended for local residents interested in the town’s history, former RAF personnel who trained or served at the station, and readers with an academic interest in RAF training during the war and post-war years.
Copies are available from the Tourist Information Centre or through the Melksham Remembers group on Facebook.
Pictured: Rob, left, with Paul Carter from Melksham Remembers
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