A talk by Aldon Ferguson.
611 (West Lancashire) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force was formed in 1936 at Speke airport Liverpool as part of the massive expansion of the RAF to counter the Nazi threat. One of the first auxiliary units to receive Spitfire fighters it was at summer camp when war was declared and it was immediately embodied into the regular RAF.
Manned by personnel from Lancashire the squadron had an illustrious war career fighting at bases all over Britain, operating over Dunkirk, Normandy on D-Day and was the first squadron to meet Russian aircraft over Berlin towards the end of the war. It retained many of its pre-war Lancastrian ground crews. Disbanded at the end of the war it was reformed at RAF Woodvale in May 1946, again with Spitfires.
Spitfires gave way to Meteor jets in 1951 and the squadron moved to Hooton Park on the Wirral providing fighter cover for the north of England. Due to defence cuts in 1957 the squadron disbanded together with all auxiliary units in the RAF.
With increased world tensions in 2013 the Sqn was reformed at RAF Woodvale as a ground based auxiliary unit providing a reserve of specialists ready to slot directly into regular RAF service if needed and backing up our RAF personnel across Britain, Europe and Cyprus offering highly skilled and professional services but as a reserve function.
All will be revealed at this talk.
About Aldon Ferguson:
Aldon was brought up in Formby, was a pupil at Merchants Taylors’ School, Crosby and an Air Cadet at Woodvale from age 13. His interest in all things RAF led to many books on RAF history including both RAF Woodvale and 611 squadron. He is a leading historian and researcher on military aviation history and works as a volunteer with the Air Historical Branch (RAF) where he is undertaking detailed surveys of threatened RAF stations for future reference and information.
He is the unofficial historian for both 611 Squadron and RAF Woodvale.
Events
Sunday 30 June 2024, 10am – 4pm
Southport Armed Forces Day