Wales and the Battle of Britain. An RAF exhibition held in the National Library of Wales in April/May 2022
These items hail from the RAF's 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain exhibition which was held in the National Library of Wales in April/May 2022, and in particular captures the memories of 5 veterans living in West Wales who recall the Battle of Britain from their own perspective. It also includes several photos from the exhibition. The launch of the exhibition on 20th April 2022 resulted from a unique collaboration between the National Library of Wales, People's Collection Wales, the RAF and Age Cymru Dyfed.Indeed, the launch was an intergenerational event including WW2 D-Day veterans, Tony Bird and Ted Owens, cadets from 561 Squadron (Aberystwyth, Ardwyn and District) Air Training Corps, veterans who served in the post-WW2 years to more recent conflicts, the charities Adferiad and VC Gallery, Aberystwyth University's Aberystwyth in WW2 blog team, and of course representation from RAF, the hosts the National Library and the coordinators, Age Cymru Dyfed, with the Air Officer for Wales, Air Commodore Adrian William providing the key address.The video clips featuring the 5 WW2 veterans were made specifically for launch by Age Cymru Dyfed and People's Collection Wales. Each veteran was filmed in their own homes - the youngest 97yrs with two being 100yrs. One of the veterans filmed in March 2022, Dennis Tidswell, was probably the only surviving member still alive in Wales who had served in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Dennis was a ground to air technician stationed at RAF Duxford which was the home to Douglas Bader's 242 Squadron. Sadly, Dennis passed away just two months after the launch of the exhibition.The Battle of Britain Exhibition in the National Library of Wales proved very popular being visited by several hundreds of the public and was successful in recognising the sacrifices given selflessly by young RAF aircrew from Wales during the hot summer of 1940, at a time when the nation faced its greatest peril since the Norman Conquest a millennium earlier.
