A new association for serving personnel and veterans of 5001 Squadron and the RAF Airfield Construction Branch has been formed at Royal Air Force Wittering in Cambridgeshire.
With 39 squadrons and nearly 30,000 personnel, the Airfield Construction Branch was one of the largest units in the Royal Air Force. Its mission was to build, extend and maintain runways and hard-standings, and construct airfield buildings wherever they were needed.
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After building and maintaining airfields in Africa, Europe, the middle-east and the far-east, the Airfield Construction Branch was disbanded in 1966 and its responsibilities transferred to the Royal Engineers. Of the original airfield construction branch squadrons, only 5001 remains as an engineering support unit.
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Squadron Leader Gareth Davies, Officer Commanding 5001 Squadron said: “For many years the Airfield Construction Branch Association kept veterans in touch with one another and provided an important social outlet, but a lot of the members are now in their seventies and eighties. We in 5001 Squadron felt strongly that we could help keep the Airfield Construction Branch legacy going and expand the Association if possible.”
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The new association is called the 5001 Airfield Construction Branch Association and is open to serving personnel and veterans alike. Personnel from 5001 Squadron worked closely with the Airfield Construction Branch Association (ACBA) to agree a new constitution and have taken voluntary roles themselves.
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Mr Geoffrey Chesher-Brazier is secretary of the 5001 ACBA and recently visited 5001 Sqn HQ to receive the association’s new tie. Mr Chesher-Brazier was once a member of 5003 and 5004 Squadrons. He joined as a carpenter but worked as a field surveyor in Aden and Salalah.
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Mr Chesher-Brazier left the Royal Air Force in 1963 but still feels a strong connection to his old branch. He said: “I’ve been involved with ACBA for eight years and I still see one or two familiar faces that were in Aden and the other bases.”
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The new association held a dinner at RAF Wittering on Thursday 7th March where serving personnel from 5001 Squadron celebrated the birth of the new association with members of ACBA.
Warrant Officer Darren Thomas is the Squadron Warrant Officer at 5001. He said: “It’s the shared experiences that matter here. Airfield construction was a very specific career experience for all our veterans and having a chance to be with people who have worked in the same branch is invaluable, you can see how much it benefits the veterans.”
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Squadron Leader Davies concluded: “We’ve got the new association off to a good start and it’s so encouraging to see just how pleased our regulars and veterans are, they really want to make a go of this and hopefully we’ll be keeping them in touch with each other for years to come.”
