In Reply to: Freestone family who lived in #4 Knockapuntha Rural + RAF airlfield posted by yoasties on September 23, 2012 at 19:08:25:

I came across a local newspaper article, the Connaught Telegraph from August 1951 where a Commander Dykes (doesn’t give his first name) and his wife visited Castlebar to visit friends and to see how the town had changed. It states that Dykes was Commander of the first British Air Force squadron stationed in Castlebar in 1919. He chatted with some people he knew including Pa Gavin, Spencer Street and discussed incidents such as the general strike in the town, when the military took over and delivered goods which the local carriers refused to handle. The matter was of such importance where labour was concerned, that questions were raised in the House of Commons.