No. 514 Squadron RAF

No. 514 Squadron RAF was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History
The squadron was first formed at RAF Foulsham, Norfolk on 1 September 1943, equipped with Lancaster Mk.II bombers, as part of No. 3 Group RAF in Bomber Command.

It transferred to RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire on 23 November, where it re-equipped with Lancaster Mk.I and Mk.III bombers in June 1944.

It was finally disbanded at Waterbeach on 22 August 1945,  by which time the squadron had completed 3,675 operational sorties with a loss of 66 aircraft.

Its members were awarded with 1 DSO, 84 DFCs, one Bar to the DFC and 26 DFMs.

Reunions
From 1988 to 2012 the Squadron held an annual Reunion in June at Waterbeach Barracks hosted by the Royal Engineers. A service of remembrance was held in the parish church, and the BBMF Lancaster made a flypast over the former RAF airfield.

In 2013, following the barracks' closure, a reunion is to be held in the village on 15 June 2013, with the Lancaster flypast over the Recreation Ground.

Museum
The 514 Squadron Association and the Army established a Museum in Waterbeach Barracks in 1985. This museum closed in September 2012, as the Barracks closed permanently in March 2013, although the contents have been saved. It hoped the new Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum will use a former RAF building when the site is sold for housing, but in the meantime the collection is in storage.