Families are being asked to search their attics and photo albums for anything relating to the World War II.

Copies of wartime recipes, photographs of land girls and evacuees and memories of prisoners of war, will be warmly welcomed next Thursday, (July 23) at an Open Evening at Carew Control Tower, starting at 7 pm.

The community is compiling a wartime DVD film - supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and centred on Carew Cheriton airfield. Filming is still taking place and more material is needed.

The film will not only follow the fortunes of life on the 'drome' where 1,300 personnel were stationed, it will also chart the impact of war on the local community.

As the war progressed, young men left for the front and women joined the women's services, worked in the timber corps or the Trecwn munitions factory. Airfield staff mixed with the villagers and amid the fear and daily dangers of air raids and plane crashes, a new pattern of life emerged.

On the domestic front, women looked after families while the men were at war. They coped, cooked, dug for victory and had to make do and mend. Multi-tasking and recycling are nothing new.

Tennis games at the castle and dances at the 'rink' hosted by the Americans at Cresselly House, became popular. Locals remember airmen fording the river to attend dances at the WI 'hut'.

The war changed life for ever, men were killed and women entered the world of work. Young children did not know their fathers returning from the war and rationing was a way of life. Yet there are many happy memories too - of pulling together and making the best of things.

Next Thursday, members of Carew Control Tower Group, who have spent thousands of hours restoring the site, will describe their work and how the site has become a centre for learning and as well as a tourist attraction.

Entrance to the Control Tower site is off the Carew roundabout - look out for the signs!