DORSET radio enthusiasts participated in an annual RAF celebration amid the lockdown restrictions.

The South Dorset Radio Society took part in the Airfields on the Air event, commemorating the former RAF Chickerell airfield whilst having to respecting social distancing guidelines.

The South Dorset Radio Society is a group of local amateur radio enthusiasts.

They use low-power short-wave radios to communicate with other hobbyists, using the sun’s ionisation of the upper atmosphere to reflect their signals over long distances.

The club recently relocated to a new clubhouse, which they share with the Weymouth Air Scouts troop.

The clubhouse is within the perimeter of the all but forgotten RAF Chickerell airfield, which was operational throughout both World Wars and remained open until 1959.

Airfields on the Air is an annual event run by the Royal Airforce Amateur Radio Society, to celebrate the hard work and sacrifice of RAF servicemen and women, both past and present.

The event features participating stations setting up on or near former RAF airfields.

The SDRS had originally planned to participate in the event over the weekend of April 18 and 19.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and its resulting restrictions, they were no longer able to participate together from their new clubhouse.

The society was granted special permission to operate from their individual home stations, using the special event call sign ‘GB0CAF’.

A team of seven people took part, operating for a period of 3 hour each.

By the end of the weekend the team had logged a total of 156 contacts across the UK and even further into Europe.

The team spent time discussing the details of this historic RAF station, educating many

radio hams who hadn’t necessarily heard of the RAF Chickerell airfield.

The society detailed the historical importance of the small station in the Weymouth area, which among other things, played a part in the development and testing of the famous bouncing bomb with nearby Chesil Beach a testing site. Created by scientist Barnes Wallis, the bombs were used in the Dambusters raid in the Ruhr Valley in Germany in May, 1943.

Despite being disappointed at not being able to get together at the Airfields on the Air event, the SDRS team were happy to prove that, despite social distancing, amateur radio remains an accessible hobby during these unprecedented times.