East Fortune Airshow. Diary Dates

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "East Fortune Airshow. Diary Dates"

Dinah McKinney
5 years ago
Views:

East Fortune Airshow I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Scottish Airshow 2 Diary Dates On Saturday the 26th of July, we joined the record 13,500 attendees of Scotland s National Airshow at the National

Edinburgh, Lothians & Borders Branch also had their own stall next to the main one.

We d like to give a big thank you to all the members who gave up their time to help make this day such a big success.

1 East Fortune Airshow I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Scottish Airshow 2 Diary Dates On Saturday the 26th of July, we joined the record 13,500 attendees of Scotland s National Airshow at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune. A busy RAF Association stall in the heart of the RAF Village was run by Area and National staff and volunteers from Leuchars Branch. Edinburgh, Lothians & Borders Branch also had their own stall next to the main one. Overall, 3000 was raised for the Association, not including the total raised by the Edinburgh, Lothians & Borders Branch. We d like to give a big thank you to all the members who gave up their time to help make this day such a big success. The crowds were delighted by displays by the Red Arrows (pictured left), the Breitling Wingwalkers and the RV8ors aerobatic team. These performers were joined by a Hurricane, a Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Typhoon, among several other aircraft. There was plenty to see on the ground as well, including a full-size replica of an RAF Red Arrow Hawk (pictured below). Visitors of all ages had a great day, and it was fantastic to get out there and meet so many enthusiastic and supportive members of the public. For more photos, see page 5. National AFD 2 Peterhead 3 Branch News Branch Membership 3 National Presidential 3 Certifi- Out & About in 4 & 5 the Area RAF Exhibition 6 Contact Details 7 Branch Notices 7 Aug 3 Highland Games, Aboyne Aug 4 WWI Commemorations, Glasgow Aug 7 Area Council Meeting, Edinburgh Aug 9 Newcastle Festival of Flight, County Down Aug 10 WWI Commemorations, Edinburgh Sep 6/7 Scottish Airshow, Ayr & Prestwick Sep 6/7 Portrush Airshow, Coleraine Sep 14 Battle of Britain Service, St Andrews Sep 20 NI Veterans Association Service, National Memorial Arboretum Sep 21 Battle of Britain Parade, Aldergrove Sep 24 Northern Region Welfare Seminar, Lossiemouth Oct 22 Southern Region Welfare Seminar, Glasgow Nov 9 Cenotaph Ceremony, London

P A G E 2 Scottish Airshow We are very pleased that the Scottish Airshow has been revived after a 22 year gap and are sure thousands will enjoy the 2014 format and the many exciting things it will

The RAF Association, as their nominated charity partner, will play a big part in their entertaining and interesting weekends this year and in the future.

2 P A G E 2 Scottish Airshow We are very pleased that the Scottish Airshow has been revived after a 22 year gap and are sure thousands will enjoy the 2014 format and the many exciting things it will bring to Ayrshire. Over the next 5 years, the planners intend to develop the Airshow into Ayrshire s biggest annual outdoor event. The RAF Association, as their nominated charity partner, will play a big part in their entertaining and interesting weekends this year and in the future. The highlight of the 2014 weekend event will be the free Airshow on Ayr s Low Green on Saturday the 6 th of September. There will be a show site on the Low Green where attendees will be able to enjoy a day of entertainment and fun. There will be events in the show ring during the day. The Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and The Army will all be present. The RAF Assocation will have a major stall and the Saturday airshow will be nominated as their Battle of Britain charity collection day. There will be a funfair to help create that carnival atmosphere. They will have aeroplane simulators where people can practice to be like the amazing Airshow pilots and there will be many other great family attractions. During the afternoon, they will have a fabulous flying display, which will start with a truly unique formation. The Battle of Britain Memorial flight will bring their Hurricane and Spitfire World War 2 fighters and their Lancaster bomber. This summer for the first (and probably last) time, they will be joined by the only other flying Lancaster. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Lancaster will come across the Atlantic Ocean from Canada for a summer tour of Europe, and the planners are delighted that they have persuaded them to come to Ayr on Saturday the 6 th of September. The Airshow will continue with another 8 flying acts. If you want to see skill and daring then The Blades aerobatic team will thrill you. All the pilots are ex Red Arrows display pilots and their close formations are very, very close! The Saturday airshow will finish with the awesome Vulcan bomber. On Sunday the 7 th of September, the doors at Glasgow Prestwick airport will open to a fantastic static aircraft display. The battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Canadian Lancaster, RN Merlin, Tucano and the Catalena will all be available to view in the morning static aircraft park. They will be joined by an SE5 replica, the highly unusual modified BAe owned large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (the ARA) and other interesting aircraft. There will be a short display by BBMF, Merlin and Tucano before they depart for other duties. It is sure to be a great weekend. Hopefully we will see you there! Adapted from an article by Scottish Airshow publicists. National Armed Forces Day Caption describing picture or graphic. As you ll see on pages 4 and 5, it really has been a busy month for staff and volunteers who have been out and about at events, raising funds for and awareness of the RAF Association. On Saturday the 28th of June, we made our way to Stirling for National Armed Forces Day. Despite the (at times neartorrential) rain, over 35,000 people came out to mark the contribution of servicemen and women, past and present. Over 6000 was raised, which will help the RAF Association in supporting members of the RAF Family during times of need.

Peterhead Branch Holiday Trip P A G E 3 Members of the Peterhead Branch of the Royal Air Forces Association recently enjoyed a trip away together.

3 Peterhead Branch Holiday Trip P A G E 3 Members of the Peterhead Branch of the Royal Air Forces Association recently enjoyed a trip away together. The group made their way down to Carlisle, where they were based at the Crown and Mite Hotel from the 2nd until the 6th of June. As well as enjoying each other s company and the beautiful scenery on the journey, the trippers took part in an excursion on the scenic Settle- Carlisle Railway. Running through some of the most attractive scenery in the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbrian Fells, the Settle- Peterhead Carlisle railway is Branch world famous for members its Victorian architecture, huge looking relaxed stone viaducts, long tunnels and remote wayside station buildings. The Peterhead members visited Windermere and Keswick on this excursion. The holiday-makers also enjoyed a day out in vibrant Carlisle and even made a stop in Moffat on their way home. A good time was had by all involved and the Branch members are already looking forward to next year s trip! Branch Membership Competition The competition is now coming to a close for another year. At the time of printing, 21 branches had achieved a 95% renewal rate and 7 branches had achieved a 100% renewal rate. A few branches also stand out as having recruited large numbers of new mem- bers. Watch this space for the final competition results. Overall in the Area, 94% of our members renewed. Branch Secretaries and Membership Officers will have received lists of lapsed members. If you haven t already done so, we encourage you to reach out to the individuals on those lists. Remember that a member who has not renewed may need our help now more than ever. It is important that we remind them (and all members) that the RAF Association is here for them. Queen s Birthday Honours List 2014 Congratulations are due to Janet Payne of the Lossiemouth Branch, who has been awarded a National Presidential Certificate to coincide with the Queen s Birthday Honours List The NPC is awarded to recognise outstanding support for the Royal Air Forces Association, and Janet certainly meets this criteria. Janet has been a member of the Royal Air Forces Association since 2004 and is currently the Secretary for Lossiemouth Branch. In addition, Janet is the Honorary Welfare Officer for the Branch, and has shown great commitment to helping others in their times of need. Warm wishes to you, Janet, and thank you for all you do for the RAF Family.

P A G E 4 Out & About in the Area Dundee Armed Forces Day Stalwart Dave Brewster and the BSO

Montrose Gala Saturday the 19th of July and it s him, again - Dave Brewster!

Lossiemouth Torch On Wednesday the 2nd of July, the Commonwealth torch visited RAF Lossiemouth as

Representing RAFA were the RAFALO Daz Culley, Janet Payne and Peter Martin from Lossiemouth Branch,

4 P A G E 4 Out & About in the Area Dundee Armed Forces Day Stalwart Dave Brewster and the BSO attended this event on Saturday the 5th of July; it was a good turnout. Montrose Gala Saturday the 19th of July and it s him, again - Dave Brewster! This time we took the Spitfire, but the rain won in the end. Lossiemouth Torch On Wednesday the 2nd of July, the Commonwealth torch visited RAF Lossiemouth as part of its tour of Scotland. Representing RAFA were the RAFALO Daz Culley, Janet Payne and Peter Martin from Lossiemouth Branch, supported by the BSO. Stornoway Aird Point A visit to Stornoway Branch by the BSO led to an outing to the Aird Point Show on Saturday the 12th of July. The Branch was well represented as was Leuchars with their HWO present. The rain was the winner here, once again!

P A G E 5 Out & About in the Area (continued) Commonwealth

of July, this time to Glasgow s Cathcart Church in aid of

Bob Chandler (pictured below) took this opportunity to

East Fortune Airshow One place where the rain definitely did

5 P A G E 5 Out & About in the Area (continued) Commonwealth Games The Spitfire was again launched on Wednesday the 23rd of July, this time to Glasgow s Cathcart Church in aid of the celebrations of the Commonwealth Games. Bob Chandler (pictured below) took this opportunity to spread the word about the Scottish Airshow (see page 2). East Fortune Airshow One place where the rain definitely did not win (although it did try!) was at Scotland s National Airshow. The sun shone for most of the day and there was just the right amount of wind to keep all of those pinwheels (see above left) happily spinning.

P A G E 6 RAF Exhibition The Royal Air Force and the Royal Air Force Museum London will be presenting an exhibition entitled The RAF and The Commonwealth at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, from the

6 P A G E 6 RAF Exhibition The Royal Air Force and the Royal Air Force Museum London will be presenting an exhibition entitled The RAF and The Commonwealth at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, from the 22nd of July until the 27th of September, The exhibition will tell the largely unknown story of the Asian, African and Caribbean Commonwealth contribution to the RAF, from World War 1 to the present day. This is a tale of outstanding commitment and individual bravery, involving tens of thousands of volunteers and will include the stories of: Sikh and Caribbean pilots flying and fighting over the trenches in World War One; the outstanding efforts of the Indian Air Force (latterly the Royal Indian Air Force just prior to Partition in 1947) in WW2; and, the African and Caribbean airmen and women who flew and served in ground trades in Western Europe in WW2. The exhibition offers many examples of selfless action and sacrifice, service that helped to maintain world freedom in the face of fascism and tyranny, and which contributed significantly, not only to the foundation of the Commonwealth, but also to the Commonwealth being seen as the force for good that we know it as today. Stories will be told of how many of those servicemen and women went on to play important roles in their home countries following their time in uniform, some even fighting for independence against the British in the late 1940s and 50s. As part of the exhibition, the story will also be told of 602 Squadron (City of Glasgow) Royal Auxiliary Air Force - Glasgow s Own - as that Squadron s experience highlights the vitally important support which the RAF received from the Commonwealth and several other nations in protecting the United Kingdom from the scourge of fascism in WW2. The Squadron started operations in WW2 with mainly Scottish and English pilots. By late 1942 there was only one Scot on the Squadron serving alongside Canadians, New Zealanders, Australians, South Africans, Caribbeans, Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles, Irishmen, Norwegians and South Americans. The exhibition will also include details of how the RAF draws personnel from all areas of British society today and how the Service supports the needs of personnel from all races, faiths and creeds. Adapted from an article written by Sam Warren.

7 WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Let Shiela Laramore, our Area Administrator, know what your branch is up to, so that it can be included in next month s newsletter. You can contact Shiela by calling the office, or you can your updates and photographs to: shiela.laramore@rafa.org.uk P A G E 7 Royal Air Forces Association 20 Queen Street EDINBURGH EH2 1JX Phone: scotland@rafa.org.uk Follow us on: HELP US TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOU By far, the quickest and easiest way for us to get in contact with our members is through . This method of communication also saves money on postage money that we can instead spend on providing welfare support to members of the RAF Family. Please update us on your current address by sending a quick note to Shiela using the details above. USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERS Joe Stanfield, Area Director: Mike McCourt, Area Welfare Officer: Dave Mowatt, Branch Support Officer: Notices for All Branches STANDARD BEARERS - WEARING OF UNOFFI- CAL MEDALS The RAF Association has recently received complaints about Standard Bearers wearing unofficial medals whilst on parade. Branches and Standard Bearers are reminded that, when on parade, they are to follow the guidance laid down in Chapter 8 paragraph 8.3 of the admin handbook, which states: When applicable, full sized medals should be worn on all parades and ceremonies. Standard Bearers should not wear commemorative or other unofficial medals. No insignia or badges should be worn except that of the Association. THE BENEFITS BATTLE Attached to this newsletter you will find an interesting report which highlights issues arising for veterans upon leaving the armed forces. This research report was produced by a student volunteering with Stirling CAB and it gives an excellent insight to life after demob. The information provided in this report will be very useful to Honorary Welfare Officers or anyone else supporting new veterans. BIRMINGHAM INTERNA- TIONAL TATTOO DIS- COUNT TICKETS FOR GROUPS Special discounts are being made available for groups of 10 or more to this event, which will take place on Saturday 29th November at 6pm and Sunday 30th November at 2pm. This is Britain s biggest military tattoo, with over 1000 performers. This year, it will commemorate the centenary of WWI and the 70th anniversary of D-Day by bringing together military bands and exciting displays. For more information, contact Shiela at the Area Office using the details above.

ODP Soccer in Scotland

Sports Travel Experience Designed Especially for West Virginia Youth Soccer Association (63686-0-2) ODP Soccer in Scotland April Spring 9 - April Break 17, 2018 ITINERARY OVERVIEW DAY 1 DEPARTURE FROM