The Blandford Express

In the 1950s, there were two cinemas in Blandford, the Palace and the Ritz. Both were in East Street and the Palace was immediately facing the Ritz, the latter on the north side of the street. Both were owned and managed by Percy Carter, a former music hall entertainer. Before the opening of the first cinema in the town, there were the occasional open air screenings put on by travelling showmen. A cinema was first established on the north side of East Street and was called the Palace. All the films were without soundtracks, so Alf Fletcher from Pimperne provided a musical accompaniment on the piano. It is not known when the Palace opened, although in February 1913, there is a newspaper report on whether it had been legal to have shown films in Blandford on Christmas Day. There is also a reference to the Palace, Blandford in the Stage newspaper of October 1912. In October 1917, during World War 1, the Palace was patriotically showing, twice nightly, a film of British tanks in the Ba...

Tarrant Rushton was a large RAF base used for glider operations during World War II. It was then taken over by Flight Refuelling for the conversion of aircraft for the development of aircraft in-flight refuelling. However, between 1958 & 1965, the Tarrant Rushton airfield had a much more secretive and less publicised role. This was in support of the nation’s nuclear bomber deterrent, as Tarrant Rushton airfield became a QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) dispersal unit.   During 1958, contractors Costain reinforced the main runway and carried out other work to ensure the giant bomber aircraft could be accommodated. At times just a few miles from Blandford, there would have been up to four RAF Vickers Valiant bombers at Tarrant Rushton ready to become airborne in minutes charged with nuclear weapons. The bombers were from 148 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk. As there was no suitable accommodation at the airfield, an old US Air Force Hospital building at Martin was used. At the time,...

In the latter years of the Second World War, Blandford Camp was occupied by the U.S. Army. While Langton House, now demolished, became the base of the 1 st United States Infantry Division. In preparation for the 1944 Normandy Landings, part of Blandford Camp was transformed into a major U.S. Army Hospital complex. It was to be known as the ‘ 22 nd General Hospital’ . The site was converted from a British Army training camp to a hospital containing wards, operating theatres and medical stores. While the hospital was being constructed, Blandford Camp was also used as a parking zone for tanks and vehicles awaiting the Normandy invasion. This area was well camouflaged and protected by anti-aircraft guns. American Army medical staff arrived in Liverpool in April 1944 and travelled on to Blandford by train. There were five hospital units set up which each had 1,248 beds. They started receiving patients about two weeks after ‘ D Day’ (6 th June 1944). Many casualties were flown into t...