IT was, reputedly, "the finest officers’ mess in RAF Coastal Command," yet today its site in Pembroke Dock’s former dockyard is only marked by long neglected trees and undergrowth.
Alongside the ‘new’ road into the former Royal Dockyard – and within yards of the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre in the old dockyard chapel – is where RAF Pembroke Dock’s officers’ mess was built in the mid 1930s as the RAF rapidly expanded its local flying boat station.
Boasting dozens of rooms and excellent facilities for that time, it was ‘home’ for generations of serving officers, from many countries, when stationed at ‘PD’, and the venue for countless events and parties, in wartime and peacetime.
The RAF finally departed from Pembroke Dock in 1959 and with no further use by the military the RAF station was sold off.
By 1985, when the colour photographs were taken, the building was looking very sad, with broken windows and doors. Not long afterwards this elegant complex was demolished.
Over succeeding years there have been various plans for the site, including building a hotel there, but so far these have come to nothing. It remains a place for the ghosts of flying boat personnel of past years whose voices once echoed in the mess corridors.
Pictures from the Pembroke Dock Heritage Centre Archive.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here