BATTLE of Britain Week has been marked in west Wiltshire with two displays from local re-enactors C Company Rolling History, who held events at their homes in Westbury and Monkton Farleigh for the victory's 80th anniversary.

The family run group, based in and around Westbury, usually appear at shows and fairs, which have been cancelled due to Covid.

In Westbury Saturday's display contained artefacts and relics from the 1940s Battle of Britain which included photos and history on squadrons and a few fighter stations. One of the items on display was the Polish 303 squadron.

Organiser Tony Couldrake said: "Some of the relics on display consists of parts from Spitfires, Hurricanes, Junkers 87 (Stuka), Heinekel 111h-5 and a Messerschmitt 109E.

"At the side of the area where the relics were was a small re-enactment of a dispersal area where the pilots would be sat on standby in the summer of 1940 drinking tea and playing games, waiting for the dreaded bell to ring and the shout of 'Scramble'."

Meanwhile in Monkton Farleigh people living in Farleigh Rise re-lived military memories when Millie and Richard Smith set up a display in their garden.

Millie also explained all about the Battle of Britain to youngsters at the village primary school when she did the school run in 1940s uniform.

"Lots of our neighbours were interested, and it's a good way to tell people about the history, said Richard. "It's a shame we haven't been able to do big displays this year, so this felt good."

Although Covid has stopped large celebrations for the anniversary, it is possible for people to join in a civic service being held online in Trowbridge on Sunday.

Air Vice-Marshal Martin Clark, president of the Trowbridge and West Wiltshire branch of the Royal Air Fo9rces Association, explained: "On Tuesday September 15 we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the epic period in our history that we now know as the Battle of Britain. The battle ran from July 10-October 31 and saw the Royal Air Force face its greatest test against an enemy with superior numbers.

"Nearly 3,000 aircrew were awarded the Battle of Britain clasp to the 1939-1945 star, the majority of whom were British but they included men from all over the Commonwealth and occupied Europe, including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Belgium, France, Poland and Czechoslovakia, as well as from the neutral United States of America and Ireland.

"It was these aircrew, 544 of whom paid the ultimate sacrifice, that Churchill immortalised in his speech of August 1940 when he said that “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.

"Our celebrations nationally and locally normally involve parades and services and remembrance, both of which are challenging to organise in a Covid-secure way. Instead, the branch and the Church of St James’, Trowbridge, have created a Battle of Britain service that will be broadcast at 2pm on Sunday, September 20, Battle of Britain Sunday, and to which you are more than welcome to tune in.

"The service will be accessible on the day through YouTube on the branch’s website www.rafa.org.uk/trowbridge-west-wiltshire/members/branch-news and also on the church’s website www.stjamestrowbridge.co.uk

"Please do join us to mark this significant moment in our nation’s history."