First hand memories of the Battle of Britain 81 years ago were recounted by a 99-year-old RAF veteran when a major exhibition on the Battle was opened at Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre.

Mr. Dennis Tidswell of Pembroke was chief guest and joined the RAF’s Air Officer Wales, Air Commodore Adrian Williams, to officially open the exhibition – entitled ‘Wales and the Battle of Britain’.

This was the first venue on a national tour in Wales.

In the summer of 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, Mr Tidswell was serving as a wireless operator in the front line of the battle at Duxford in Cambridgeshire, one of the RAF’s key fighter stations.

Later, during his eventful RAF wartime service, Dennis survived the sinking of a troopship off Gibraltar before serving for three years on the embattled island of Malta, which was under constant attacks from Italian and German aircraft.

After he returned to the UK in 1944 he was injured when a VI ‘flying bomb’ exploded nearby.

He joined Air Commodore Williams to unveil replicas of the instrument panels of the famous Hurricane and Spitfire fighters, which were created by Dr Andy Watkin, one of the Heritage Centre Trustees.

Other guests included the Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, Councillor Mike James; the Mayor of Pembroke, Councillor Linda Asman, and representatives of many local and county organisations and groups and Air Cadet squadrons.

The exhibition moves to other Welsh locations on Friday (October 29) and the Centre remains open for visitors until mid December (closed on Saturdays and Sundays).