ON August 15, 1940, a force of Junkers 88s attacked Driffield airfield. Thirteen people were killed and the airfield was out of action for four months.

That very same month, however, work began on a new airfield, at Pocklington. The airfield, which opened on May 5, was to have a profound effect on life in the small East Yorkshire town.

“The men who crewed the bombers faced the utmost stress and danger,” write Jim and Margaret Ainscough in their marvellous new book of local history, Pocklington At War. “Pocklington welcomed them to the town community with kindness and generosity.”

The human cost of the war was huge. And it was felt at every level – in every town and village in the country. Pocklington was no exception.

In addition to the 20 names on the town’s memorial, there were 922 airmen who took off from the airfield, and died in the service of their country.

For grieving families, Jim and Margaret write, the only comfort was the feeling that the sacrifice of loved ones was justified as the full horror of the Nazi regime was revealed.

Two bomber squadrons were based at Pocklington during the course of the war – 405 (Vancouver) Squadron and 102 (Ceylon) Squadron. A number of aircraft crashed nearby while returning to the base – including a Halifax returning from a raid on Duisberg in July, 1942.

Mike Read, who was billeted with the Buttles in London Street, was awakened by a terrible roaring. “I rushed to the window in time to see a Halifax just clear the tops of the pines at the bottom of the garden, cross the allotments and crash in New Street some 300 to 400 yards away, right outside the school,” he recalls in the book.

All the crew died, Jim and Margaret report – but no civilians were seriously injured.

Wartime affected the lives of everyone in Pocklington, however, not just those associated with the air base. Pocklington At War reflects this. A group of Pocklington U3A (University of the Third Age) members spent almost two years gathering information about life in the town during the war from those who lived through the period.

The resulting book covers everything from the town’s preparations for war, to the Home Guard, the Land Girls, the airfield – and the way wartime affected households and children.

It sets out, Jim says, to tell the story of “how the people of Pocklington came to terms with the war and its stress and anxiety by their practical involvement”. Lavishly illustrated with old photographs, it is a rare treat: and a timely reminder of just what we mean when we talk about the wartime spirit.

• Pocklington At War by Jim and Margaret Ainscough is on sale, priced £5, at Simply Books and various newsagents in Pocklington, at the Yorkshire Air Museum and at the Barbican Bookshop in York. Alternatively, it is available for £6 (to include p&p) from the authors at 49 Godwinsway, Stamford Bridge YO41 1DA. Proceeds go to RAF charities.