Pat Carty, author of the book ‘Secret Squadrons of the Eighth’ is a remarkable man who gave years of his life to researching the mysteries of Cheddington Airfield during World War II. He then organised a memorial ceremony at the Airfield gate in October 1982.
Pat proved to have great organising and persuasive skills, arranging:
- A local undertaker to donate the memorial stone for free
- A Brigadier General and Major General (both pilots at Cheddington) led the proceedings
- BBC and ITV covered the event
- A trumpeter from RAF Halton played the last post with a band in support
- An artillery cannon fired before and after a minute’s silence.
- A vintage London bus took everyone to the Swan in Cheddington for lunch
- A request to provide a vintage jeep led to thirty enthusiasts giving each veteran a ride from lunch to the memorial
- A fly past by a Phantom jet fighter (which caused Cheddington School to think that an earthquake had arrived!) and an old Piper Cub aircraft, dropped leaflets from a very, very low height!
- Tea at Woburn Abbey was hosted by the Marquess of Tavistock
Source; Tringruralhistory.co.uk/articles/cheddington-airfield
Postscript
Pat Carty visited us in the 1990s to give an excellent talk about the history of the Airfield in Victory Hall. He has agreed to come again in 2023, watch this space!
