23 November 2018, Starts: 18:30

RAF Catfirth 1918

Illustrated talk by Simon Gunn

Highflight Books, 2 High Street, Dingwall

Britain’s Most Northerly WW1 Flying Boat Station

To celebrate the centenary of the Royal Air Force, local historian Simon Gunn will be giving an illustrated talk at the Highflight Bookshop on Tulloch Street, Dingwall at 6.30 pm Friday 23rd of November. He will be speaking about RAF Catfirth, a large flying boat station built in Shetland in the last year of the First World War. He also describes the first flight to Shetland, in the largest British aeroplane at that time, a Porte “Baby” flying boat, piloted by a dashing young Canadian pilot, who flew up to Catfirth from Lincolnshire in the summer of 1918.

The flying boat station had a full complement of 450 officers and men, which had quite an effect on the small rural community of South Nesting. Simon’s talk is illustrated with plenty of photos of WW1 aircraft, the base as it was, and as it is now, with many features still there. In June this year, there was a ceremony to celebrate the centenary of Shetland's first aircraft’s arrival in June 8th 1918.

After the completion of the talk, Simon will be selling signed copies of his book: RAF Catfirth 1918 for £8.50 each. The WW1 aircraft history magazine Cross & Cockade International reviewed this book with the comment: “…the result is a gem for anyone with an interest in either flying boats or RAF station histories.”