CLUBS AND SOCIETIES: History of Merryfield airfield and the D-Day assault

THE Heritage of the Ile Trust in Ilminster will be holding its annual meeting later this month with a talk about the history of the Merryfield airfield and the part it played in the D-Day assault of 1944.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, April 27, 2017, from 7.30pm at the Shrubbery Hotel in Ilminster and the guest speaker will be Robin Gilbert from the South West Airfields Trust.

Chairman of the Ilminster-based Heritage of the Ile Trust, Jim Sainsbury, said: “Each year we try to find a speaker who can talk about a subject of local interest and relevance and we think this year we are very fortunate to find someone with a wealth of knowledge of his subject, having been brought up in the shadows of Dunkeswell airfield where activities mirrored those at Merryfield.”

It will cost £2 to attend the meeting which will include annual membership of the Trust, while an optional buffet is available for £8.

For further details and to book contact Rowland Garland on 01460-52673 or email heritageoftheile@talktalk.net .

The Heritage of the Ile Trust is made up of local people from Ilminster who are keen to preserve the photographic history of the town for the benefit of future generations.

PHOTO – TOP: An aircraft having crash landed near Southfields.

PHOTO – ABOVE: Army vehicles passing Bay Hill in Ilminster in 1940.

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