Burtonwood Airfield Memorials

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In St Michaels and All Angels church, Burtonwood:

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Love the detail in this window, excellent photos and a lovely memorial.

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Dakota Park was unveiled in June, does anyone have any photos of the memorials there?

http://www.easier.com/103303-exclusi...d-village.html

and

http://www.rafburtonwoodbase.org/dakotapark.html

Thanks

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Information and photos from Aldon Fergusson.

I suppose I should start with an apology that the Park has taken longer than anticipated to deliver. Several factors got in the way, not the least of which was the economic downturn.

However, today is a celebration of both the heritage of the former RAF Burtonwood airbase, and the community spirit that represents the future of Chapelford.

The official opening of Dakota Park will be followed by a Jubilee Party organised by the Chapelford Residents Association, a group that we set up several years ago, but that has really grown in stature over the last 18 months thanks in no small part to the hard work of their chairperson David Weaver.

For the official opening of the Park David Wilson Homes are delighted that we have several special guests joining us. Firstly, may I introduce the Mayor of Warrington, Councillor Steve Wright.

David Wilson Homes are also pleased to welcome David Mowat; the MP for Warrington South who has taken the time out of his busy schedule to be with us today.

We are also joined by your Ward Councillors and several officers from Warrington Borough Council who have all played an important role in the delivery of the Park.

Two people who deserve a special mention are firstly Maureen Amson, who named the Park (all those years ago) when the Council held a naming competition, and secondly sculptor Andy DeComyn, who designed and built the fantastic sculptures that we have installed in the Park.

Whilst all of those I have just mentioned are very welcome today, it is with great pleasure that I welcome our very special guests from the UK and US branches of the Burtonwood Heritage Association. The heritage of the former RAF Burtonwood airbase is hugely important to thousands of people, not just here in Warrington but all over the world.

When David Wilson Homes bought Chapelford back in 2003 we were very conscious of that heritage and were keen to celebrate it – hence the American street names, phase names, and also the design of the American style boulevards.

We have been keen to reinforce those links with the Heritage Association and are delighted that we have been able to reflect the past use of the site with the sculptures that will serve as a living memory of the importance of the former airbase.

We have been extremely fortunate in that the timing of this opening has coincided with the biannual visit of the US branch of the Heritage Association to Warrington. Every couple of years Burtonwood veterans and their families come over here, almost in pilgrimage to visit the sites that were and remain so important to them. I am delighted to see so many of them here again today. You cannot help but to be moved by their genuine affection for this area, and it is my absolute pleasure to have them here with us again today.

We are joined by the US and UK Heritage Association presidents; Jim Bentley and Roy Thorpe Apps, who will shortly be carrying out the official opening. We’ll hear from Jim in a second, but before that I would like to invite the Mayor, Councillor Steve Wright to say a few words on behalf of Warrington Borough Council:

(Councillor Steve Wright speaks)

Thank you very much for those words Councillor.

Now if I could Invite Jim Bentley, president of the US branch of the Buttonwood Heritage Association to say a few words:

(Jim Bentley speaks)

Thank you, Jim.

Now it with great pleasure that I invite Jim and Roy to officially open Dakota Park, by cutting the ribbon and unveiling the main sculpture:



















Okay, in recognition of the history of the site and its American links, we have arranged for Matrix Cheerleading Squad to perform a couple of pieces for us that they will be performing in the national finals in Liverpool next weekend, after which I will hand over to David Weaver, Chair of the Chapelford Residents Association.

Matrix Cheerleading Squad are based in Cheshire and have won a string of competitions up and down the country, and internationally. David Wilson Homes are delighted to have them with us today: Matrix Cheerleading squad:

(Matrix perform)

Thank you very much for that great performance. I would now like to hand you over to David Waver, who with other members of the Chapelford Residents Association have organised the Jubilee Party for this afternoon. David will take over duties on the microphone from now, and will talk you through what is happening this afternoon.