WHEN Group Captain Scott Woodland, the Australian Air Attaché in London, visited Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre he was following in the wartime footsteps of his grandfather.

During World War II many Australian airmen were stationed at RAF Pembroke Dock, among them Sergeant Lance Woodland, RAAF, a Sunderland flying boat flight engineer with the famous 461 Squadron.

Accompanied by his wife Megan and daughter Ava, Group Captain Woodland met trustees and volunteers and toured the Centre, which has many references to the town’s Australian connections.

Group Captain Woodland is on a three-year tour to the UK and plans to return to Pembroke Dock to follow up on his family’s direct connections with the town and its wartime chapter.

He commented: “My thanks to the trustees and volunteers for so poignantly preserving the memories of the ‘Sunderlanders’ in Coastal Command at Pembroke Dock. The passion of all involved is evident and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience of learning but some of the exploits of the many who operated there in World War II, including my grandfather.”

The visit was arranged following initial contacts made with the RAF’s 10 Squadron Association and its local representative, John Rattenbury, of Ambleston. John joined Group Captain Woodland at the Heritage Centre.

John Evans, Patron of the Heritage Trust, said: “We were delighted to welcome Group Captain Woodland into what in wartime was the RAF station church which his grandfather would have known well. His visit has strengthened our historical aviation ties with the Australian forces.”