THE VILLAGE of Crossways is set to celebrate its proud aviation history.

Crossways stands on the site of what was once RAF Warmwell, a fully operation fighter base that played a pivotal role throughout the Second World War.

To celebrate its rich history the village is holding a memorial weekend from Friday, August 29 to Sunday, August 31.

One of the organisers Colin Shaw said: “The village is very proud of this heritage and 25 years ago we raised a memorial to the brave airmen and soldiers who took part in this conflict and have held a number of commemorative events ever since.

“To continue this celebration, the parish council have decided to mark the anniversary over the last weekend of August with a series of events including a memorial service, a static historical display in and around the village hall with historian and author Anthony Cooke, evening social events and a village fair.”

One of the main attractions of the event will be a full size Spitfire.

A range of military and civilian historical vehicles will be at the event and organisers are trying to track down the original tractor used to carry bombs to the aircraft base last seen at memorial event in the village ten years ago .

The fun will start on the Friday with a swing band night in the village hall and there will be a memorial service on the Saturday morning from 10.30am followed by a historical display in the village hall and World War Two cinema evening.

On Sunday there will be a 1940s fair with a whole host of entertainment, displays, stalls and refreshments.

Mr Shaw said: “We hope to create an exciting weekend for our village and hope that as many people as possible from across the county can attend.

“Although there are still echoes of Dorset’s forgotten fighter base still lingering in the surrounding woods and fields, many people in the area are unaware of the history that lies just beneath their feet.

“Hopefully, our series of events will go some way to address this and illustrate that for quite some time, RAF Warmwell and the surrounding area was the front line in the defence of Britain.”