With gracious permission from the landowner Mr. Peter Wilson, the Windmill Amateur Radio DX Group was able to set up a special event station for Airfields On The Air (AOTA) 2019 at the site of the now disused RAF Ramsbury. The main reason for choosing RAF Ramsbury was that the late father (John Connor) of John G1OQV & Neil M6CUE was stationed there from 1944 until the end of hostilities in 1945, he used to go into Ramsbury village to have his hair cut by the village barber, a Mr. W A Smith, Mr Smith had two daughters, the eldest, Rosemary, became Mrs. Connor in 1947, this happy event was followed by two more when John came along in 1949, &, Neil in 1958.

The weather was kind to us that weekend, brisk & chilly, but no rain. We also had a number of visitors, Richard G4MUF & his wife Judy, Brian M0SWL, Roy G4VWG, David M0NMI, Robin G8VVY, Dom 2E0WHQ & his wife Sam, Bernie M0NKS & his wife Jill, all of whom enjoyed our hospitality (free tea, coffee, biscuits & cake). The main HF operators, John G1OQV & Neil M6CUE enjoyed Burgers & Bacon Rolls, which were deliciously prepared by Ken G1NCG (head chef & 2m FM & SSB operator). A couple of our visitors, Dom & Bernie also had a bash on the mic on HF with some success. We did have a couple of equipment issues in that the ATU we had didn't want to play ball, likewise our linear amplifier gave up the ghost as well, it was pointed out to us by one of our 59 contacts that our linear possibly didn't like being powered by a generator. Although the ATU worked well at the home qth of John G1OQV, it is not known why it didn't want to work in the field, it was accepted that the linear would only be used in future at the Wilton Windmill site only where mains power is available, unless the generator problem can be resolved. As with all special events stations there was a lot of hard work put in prior to operation

For more information about the site of RAF Ramsbury, please go to http://www.qrz.com/db/GB1RY

The Group had a very good weekend of the 13th/14th of May 2019 operating GB1WW from the Windmill at Wilton near Marlborough in Wiltshire. The weather was very good, cool mornings but warm afternoons. In all, 266 contacts were made, 252 of which were on 40m HF, & 14 on 2m FM VHF. Over the two days we had several visitors from the world of amateur radio, Rob G4XUT, Bob G0VTA, Brian M0SWL, Richard G4MUF + his XYL Judy, Bernie M0NKS + his XYL Jill, M3EVA also came to see us, unfortunately his name escapes me at present. All visitors were welcomed with tea/coffee + biscuits/cake, the main operators had the luxury of burgers/bacon rolls. Both Rob & Bob had stints on the mic in the HF operating shack, &, both mentioned to me afterwards that they had enjoyed the experience immensely, & would gladly do it again. We also had a visit from Claire Costello, who is a member of the committee in charge of the dedication event at RAF Ramsbury on June 9th, she enjoyed coffee & biscuits with us as well as a long chat about that event. Claire also said that our presence at the event would be much appreciated, & before departing wished us well with Mills On The Air, &, also our planned event for the 75th anniversary of D Day from RAF Ramsbury along with her own event. The Group have made sufficient contacts with mills in the UK & Holland to earn certificates from both countries. I also have to mention that without the kind permission of the landowners Peter & David Lemon, Mills On The Air 2019 from Wilton Windmill would not have taken place, likewise the BiWOTA event from Crofton Lock on the Kennet & Avon canal could not take place without the permission of Peter & David.