AN impressive service at St John’s Church, followed by a reception at the Heritage Centre, marked the homecoming of the magnificent RAF Pembroke Dock Memorial Window, exactly 80 years after it was originally dedicated.

Based on the original 1945 dedication service in the Royal Dockyard Chapel - now the town’s Heritage Centre, the service was led by Pembroke Dock Vicar Rev’d Alexandra Grace. The Venerable Giles Legood, RAF Chaplain-in-Chief, gave the address and dedicated the window. The RAF Central Band’s Brass Quintet and Pembroke piper Graham Phillips provided the music .

The Standard of No 201 Squadron, which flew Sunderland flying boats from Pembroke Dock during and after World War II, was paraded into church and the squadron CO, Wing Commander Rob McCartney, gave a presentation on the Battle of the Atlantic campaign.

The Lord Lieutenant of Dyfed, Miss Sara Edwards, attended the church service. At the Heritage Centre the Patron of the Heritage Trust, John Evans, welcomed the many guests and supporters who included the High Sheriff of Dyfed, Mrs Ann Jones; the Chair and Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council; the Mayors of Pembroke Dock and Pembroke; Sam Kurtz MS, and the RAF’s Air Officer Wales, Air Commodore Rob Woods. The Centre’s Honorary Padre, Rev’d Grayham Passmore, read the wartime poem High Flight.

When originally unveiled in October 1945 - just weeks after the end of World War II - the Pembroke Dock window, funded by RAF personnel and local residents, was the first such memorial to be dedicated in the UK to personnel from any RAF station.

As RAF Pembroke Dock closed in the late 1950s, the window was relocated to Plymouth before going to London’s RAF Museum in 1994. The window’s return is the culmination of a decades-long local campaign with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, RAF Historical Society, Maritime Air Trust, squadron associations and many individuals.

The dedication follows a visit by HRH Princess Anne on Thursday, September 11, to unveil a plaque welcoming the window’s return to the former Dockyard Chapel - now the Heritage Centre. The Princess Royal was warmly welcomed by pupils from Pennar Community School and Pembroke Dock Community School, along with many dignitaries. During the visit, a number of the Heritage Centre’s volunteers, who play an essential role in the centre’s continued operation, were introduced to the princess.

Princess Anne congratulated the Heritage Centre for “getting the window back”, describing it as “entirely appropriate.” She also expressed gratitude for all that has been achieved - “to tell this story: Pembroke Dock, the Sunderlands, but also to maintain this chapel, understanding the importance of this building and its continued use.”

Pictured with the RAF Pembroke Dock Memorial Window are, left to right: Heritage Trust Patron John Evans; High Sheriff Mrs Ann Jones; Chair of Pembrokeshire County Council, Cllr Maureen Bowen; Senedd Member Sam Kurtz; RAF Chaplain-in-Chief, the Venerable Giles Legood; Air Officer Wales, Air Commodore Rob Woods; Heritage Trust chairman Rik Saldana; Mayor of Pembroke, Cllr Gareth Jones, and Mayor of Pembroke Dock, Cllr Michele Wiggins.