New World War II exhibition at Castlehill Heritage Centre to highlight Castletown’s war story
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A newly-refurbished area of the Castlehill Heritage Centre, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, will be officially opened next month.
The work to transform the former archaeological wet sieving facility at the building into a World War II feature was undertaken by members of the Castletown Heritage Society which runs the centre.
Speaking on behalf of the society, Muriel Murray said the plan to develop the area into the RAF Castletown WWII area was in “the making for a year or two”.
She said: “It had up till now held the engine of a World War II aircraft which had been based at RAF Castletown but had crashed and been retrieved some 50 years later. This story, and the subsequent escape story of the pilot has been enjoyed over many years.”
The Merlin engine was recovered from a Hawker Hurricane single-seater fighter aircraft.
But Mrs Murray pointed out that the display area now includes pictures and information of the construction in 1940 of the aerodrome at Thurdistoft farm, near Castletown, and the airmen who were based there.
“A series of donated objects, photos and memories of the time illustrate how life changed drastically for villagers. The display will be a permanent feature which will be available even while our themed exhibitions continue to change in the main hall. Another element of the war-time display is a collection of memorabilia kindly donated to us by the son of Flight Lieutenant Don Mason, latterly of Thurso. Don's heroic exploits during the war years make for interesting reading,” she said.
Mrs Murray explained that the renovation work was undertaken by members over the winter and no funding was requested.
“As far as possible materials were recycled and re-used,” she said. "The plan to develop the area was in the making for a year or two. In order to make best use of the space to tell certain aspects of the story of Castletown involved plaster boarding bare walls, installing heat sources and erecting display boards.
“An interior window embrasure was converted into a cabinet and glazed units which had been held in reserve were brought into good use. The renovation of the new area allows us as a group to connect the events even more closely to life in the village of Castletown over the war years.”
The society has plans to celebrate its 40th anniversary, including a formal opening of the refurbished area, in May.
“We also have a series of photographs tracing the various stages of transformation of the one-time farm steading into a four-star visitor attraction. We still have the list of the original committee and the minutes of their meetings from 1984 when the society was founded.
“There will be an event in May which will recognise the momentous birthday and the official opening of the new exhibition,” added Mrs Murray.
Meanwhile, the organisation's annual general meeting will be held on April 24 at 7.30pm when the guest speakers will be Angela and Isobel from the Above and Beyond tours of Caithness business.
