Overview

The Story of RAF Hixon tells the story of a Second World War Training Airbase. It was built in 1941 close to the small Staffordshire village of Hixon and operated from 1942-1945. During this period thousands of men, many from Commonwealth countries, came together to form crews and be trained to undertake night bombing raids on Germany and occupied countries. The book provides an insight into the experiences of these brave young airman, many of whom would later be killed in action. It also considers the short and long-term impact of the airbase development on the lives of villagers at the time, and the permanent changes that have resulted to the village of Hixon and the local district. Much of the story is based on personal interviews with those involved with the airbase in wartime, either as trainee aircrew, instructors, or ground staff and with others who lived in the village at the time. These first-hand accounts provide a unique understanding of the experiences of those most closely involved. The book also brings the story up to date, recalling previous commemorative celebrations of RAF Hixon and current moves to install a stained-glass memorial window in the local church as a permanent memorial. Two appendices are provided, the first being a chronology of wartime airbase development and activity, the second giving details of numerous accidents and incidents, all as recorded in the original Station Log Book, held at the Public Record Office in Kew.

Full Product Details

9781789633115

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Dr Malcolm Garner, a headteacher in special education, lived in Hixon from 1987-2007 and was a founder member of the Hixon Local History Society. As a keen local historian, he undertook considerable research into the local wartime airbase, RAF Hixon, and the impact it had on the village at the time, and subsequently. He was fortunate in being able to meet and interview a large number of people who had been involved with the airbase in wartime as trainee aircrew, instructors, ground staff or local villagers, and record their first-hand memories. As Chairman of the Local History Society, he helped co-ordinate commemorative events in 1992 and 1995 for the 50th anniversaries of the airbase opening, and or its closure at the end of the war. Although now retired and living in Worcestershire he has maintained strong links with the village and is closely involved in current efforts to install a stained-glass window in the local church as a permanent memorial to RAF Hixon.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available