ONE hundred years of Royal Air Force history will be celebrated on Easter Sunday, April 1, at a special event in Pembroke Dock.

Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre is opening especially to commemorate the centenary and the RAF’s long and successful connections with the town.

This is one of the major RAF100 events in Wales to mark the centenary, as the RAF was formed on April 1 1918, during World War I.

A new exhibition, a programme of talks and local walks highlighting service connections, and exhibits from the likes of the ATC and a number of aviation-linked community groups are packed into a very busy day.

The exhibition, entitled Many Nations, Many Trades, spotlights the men and women from many countries who served at RAF Pembroke Dock during its 30 year history.

These stories are told through the uniforms from the Heritage Centre’s own collection, as well as a WAAF uniform generously loaned for the exhibition by the RAF Museum in London. The exhibition opens on Good Friday, and will continue to run until Saturday 8th September.

One of the community exhibitors, Penfro Model Club, has brought together over 70 scale models representing all periods of the RAF’s centenary - from frail biplanes of the 1918 era to the latest frontline aircraft, the Typhoon and the F35 Lightning II.

Other models include icons like the Spitfire, Lancaster and Vulcan, and the famous Sunderland flying boat which had a 20 year association with Pembroke Dock.

Other groups which will be exhibiting on the day include Coastlands Local History Group from Dale/Marloes; the Templeton History Group; the Welsh Spitfire; the Pembrey Mountain Trust and Haverfordwest RAFA Branch.

The talks programme will include No 948 (Haverfordwest and St Davids) Squadron ATC, who will be giving a presentation on Fishguard’s flying links. Other speakers will include Ray Burgess on the Welsh Spitfire, Pat and Doug Neil on the Pembrey Dome Trainer project, and the Sunderland Trust’s Rik Saldanha.

Weather permitting there will be two local walks - a Dockyard discovery with Ted Goddard and an RAF trail by John Evans.

The Heritage Centre is open from 10 am to 4 pm, and further details are available via the Heritage Centre website, www.sunderlandtrust.com by emailing enquiries@sunderlandtrust.com, or by telephone 01646 684220.