A job that would have taken South Somerset District Council’s Countryside team almost a month to complete took just a day when personnel from 815 Naval Air Squadron at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Yeovilton volunteered to help.
42 personnel from 815 Squadron helped Rangers at Ham Hill on Commonwealth Day, Monday 9 March 2015. They were tasked with removing 40 metres of dry stone walling on the flat fields at Ham Hill and digging some of the earth that had been moved against the wall over the years which had now started to threaten the walls stability.
Speaking about the help received, Countryside Ranger Paul McNeill said, “A big thank you must go to the 815 Naval Air Squadron for their help on Commonwealth Day. The man power used to undertake this job was amazing and without the help, it would have taken us rangers well over 3 weeks to complete the work”.
Over the next 3 to 4 months, the rangers will now repair and resurrect the wall with the help of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain.
Over 270 men and women from the Navy’s premier helicopter squadron at RNAS Yeovilton spent a day helping out several important Somerset conservation projects.
The work at Ham Hill was organised by Leading Air Engineer Tom Horst who contacted SSDC’s Countryside Team to ask if they could provide any assistance on Commonwealth Day. He said, “It was a great chance for us as a squadron to spend some time out in the countryside helping out some worthy organisations”.
Commonwealth Day is celebrated across the Commonwealth by young people, schools, communities and civil society organisations on the secondMonday in March every year. It provides an opportunity to promote understanding on global issues, international co-operation and the work of Commonwealth organisations.
Councillor Sylvia Seal, Portfolio Holder for Leisure & Culture said, “We are very grateful to those from the 815 Squadron who came and helped the SSDC Countryside Rangers. What was achieved on the day was amazing and it goes to show what a team with many hands can achieve”.
Photos: Work being undertaken by 815 Naval Air Squadron from RNAS Yeovilton & Rangers from SSDC on Commonwealth Day, Monday 9 March 2015.