AN EVENT was launched to mark 100 years of the Royal Air Force.

The two-day event, which opened at the Daniel Owen Centre on Friday, was organised by the Clwyd Aviation Group and was dedicated to the centenary of the RAF.

Video and images by Rick Matthews

During the opening of the event Cllr Karen Hodgkinson, mayor of Mold, announced: "On the 1st April 1918 the RAF was established. During the last ten decades over one million men and women have proudly served this country two world wars and many other conflicts."

In addition to a range of models and photos, visitors could examine aviation equipment and hear the experiences of former RAF personnel.

Katherine DuPlat-Taylor, aged 93, joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) when she was 18 straight from school and served from 1942 to 1945.

She told the Leader: "I was selected to be a 'Plotter' or Clerk SD which meant I worked in the operations, which was the control towers we have now now except they wer secret and always a long way form the aerodromes in case we got bombed.

"Without the control rooms, the fighters wouldn't know where to find the bombers that were coming in from Germany - that was out job in the operations.

"I served there for three years until the end the war. We also did air sea rescue underneath Dover Castle and we picked up any pilots that fell into the English Channel.

"That was the best part of the job I think - saving men's lives."

Roy Marsh, chairman of the Clwyd Aviation Group, said: "We've been going for 36 years and we had our inaugural meeting here at the Daniel Owen Centre, so it is nice to be back here to commemorate this day.

"A lot of people will have heard about the 100 years of the RAF and it is important from the point of view of people not forgetting what has happened over those years."

Derek Griffiths, chairman of the RAF National Service, said: "I think it is a good idea for young people to come and learn about the history of the RAF - it has been a very interesting 100 years."

The event will also be open on Saturday at the Daniel Owen Centre from 10am to 4pm.