A plaque was unveiled to mark the 40th anniversary of the closure of an RAF national service camp in Shropshire.

The ceremony at the Severn Valley Railway in Bridgnorth marked the closure in 1963 of the training base at Stanmore Park.

For nearly 25 years, from the start of the Second World War in 1939, the camp was home to thousands of young airmen and women.

Group Captain Julian Young, station commander at RAF Cosford, unveiled the plaque to remember No 7 School of Recruitment.

'Retrace their roots'

Many of the new recruits would have arrived at Bridgnorth Railway Station to begin their training.

"RAF Bridgnorth was never an operational flying station, and 40 years is a long time," said SVR marketing manager John Leach.

"But we know from entries which people have made in the register at Bridgnorth Library that quite a number of former RAF Bridgnorth personnel have returned here over the years to retrace their roots."

Mr Leach added: "The railway played a key role in bringing these servicemen and women in from many corners of the country, and we think this is a little bit of the town's past history which shouldn't be forgotten."