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The RAF Association – 70 years of something special

The RAF Association celebrates it's 70th Anniversary in 2013, making it one of the longest standing Service charities. We are proud to have helped and to continue to help the whole Royal Air Force family, providing friendship, help and support to current and former members of the Royal Air Force and their dependants.

The early welfare work of the Association started with it's charitable work in the 1930’s by helping unemployed members in need through benevolent schemes and the distribution of Christmas hampers, continuing through to the Association’s formation in 1943.

The foundations of the charity’s present structure were laid during the remaining wartime years, and the Association was fully prepared for the consequences of demobilisation, which began in 1945. Welfare officers, employment officials and legal advisers were appointed at National Headquarters and at local branch levels. At the Air Ministry’s invitation, officials attended Release Centres to inform demobilised Air Personnel how the Association could help them.

The work of the RAF Association has stayed relevant and it continues to help those who have served for at least a day in the RAF from its beginnings through to the present day. The RAF Association currently helps any serving and ex-RAF personnel and their families in times of need.

As we celebrate our 70th anniversary, we must continue to adapt to an ever-changing world. The needs of our veterans, old and young are constantly evolving and we must continue to serve them to the best of our ability. The Association exists in the recognition that RAF personnel and their immediate families dedicate their lives to their country, and to ensure that such a sacrifice does not result in suffering, poverty or loneliness.

Through the assistance of our generous members and volunteers we are proud to be helping thousands of truly amazing people.
Please help us to raise vital funds via the Wings Appeal by donating via the link below.

https://www.justgiving.com/Elizabeth-Waller2

or via text: send RAFA55 £amount to 70070

To learn more about the help RAFA provide please see http://www.rafa.org.uk/what-we-do

During this very special year, it is also the 70th Anniversary of the Dambusters and RAF Mountain Rescue Services
We are pround to be celebrating these RAF milestones too during the event.

70 years ago, pilots from No. 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force launched an audacious and daring long range attack against the Eder, Mohne and Sorpe dams. A mission that will forever be etched into the history of the Squadron. But heroism and sacrifice is not the prerogative of the No. 617 Squadron, and there will have been many such acts that night; most unseen and unrewarded.

So even as their successors in No. 617 Squadron remember comrades who flew that mission, they also remember all those who were affected by the operation that night – regardless of nationality.

Many years have now passed since that night, and today Germany and Great Britain have never been so closely linked as they are now. So, while it is important to remember the past, and the sacrifice of all those who lost their lives that day, it is even more important to celebrate our present and future together as close friends and allies.


The RAF Mountain Rescue Service (MRS) has its origins back in the Second World War. An RAF medical officer, Flight Lieutenant George Graham, is credited with creating the first organized team at RAF Llandwrog in North Wales in 1943.

"He noticed that war-time crews were surviving the crash, but then dying of exposure," explains Warrant Officer John Roe, an experienced NCO in charge of MRS operations at Valley. "Before Flt Lt Graham, the local base would assemble a search party under the command of the medical officer, but they'd often be working in very poor conditions, with poor equipment."

Flt Lt Graham, bombarded the Air Ministry with requests for specialist equipment and training and through his determination (and that of Senior Medical Officer, Flt Lt David Crichton), the MRS opened for business in July 1943. WO Roe has preserved Graham's original log book and in perfect fountain pen handwriting you can see almost weekly incidents involving crashed allied planes; Tomahawks, Lancasters, Typhoons and Halifaxes.

In 1943, the MRS saved 33 lives from 22 crashes and Graham and Crichton were subsequently awarded MBEs, one of several decorations awarded to MRS members including six other MBEs, 26 British Empire Medals, five Queen's Commendations for Bravery and the George Medal awarded to Flight Sergeant John Rodney Lees for showing "exceptional, skill courage and determination" during a 1958 rescue of an injured army officer in the Welsh mountains. The MRS also has a plaque at St Clement Danes church in London commemorating the 12 men who have lost their lives in MRS operations or training.

In the earliest days of the MRS, virtually all mountaineers used military kit, but while the equipment moved on the service didn't. In March 1951 an Avro Lancaster of 120 Squadron crashed at Beinn Eighe, Torridon with the loss of all crew. With the crash site covered in snow it took the MRS teams a couple of weeks just to get there and the last crew member's body wasn't recovered until August. The MRS took heavy criticism for its slow response, which led to changes to the service's organisation and equipment.

The vast majority of MRS callouts now are for civilian emergencies, where the MRS skills extend beyond search and rescue to coordination, forward air control and advanced communications. In 2011, out of 67 people assisted by the MRS only eight were military. In 2012 that ratio was 87:3 and so far this year it's 37:8. Sometimes the work isn't saving people, though, it's searching for bodies and that can be hard.

"The worst is when children are involved," says WO Roe. "We are not special people," says WO Roe. "We are people with special experiences."

Special or not, when that day in the mountains turns upside down you'll be very glad to see them, so raise a glass and wish them a happy 70th.

Gales, rain, snow storms or freezing temperatures do not stop the Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) getting to those regions where others fear to tread, and rescuing those in trouble.

Now part of the Search and Rescue Force, the MRS will go anywhere, anytime, regardless of the weather - hence the motto 'Whensoever'.

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QSL CARD DETAILS

PLEASE SEND QSL CARDS EITHER VIA THE BUREAU OR DIRECT.

IF SENDING DIRECT PLEASE ENCLOSE:

SAE ENVELOPE FOR THE UK / £1.50

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Please contact me M0XSD BY email if extra information is needed m0xsd@sky.com

ANY extra monetary amount sent will be gratefully received
and fully donated to the RAFA WINGS APPEAL

https://www.justgiving.com/Elizabeth-Waller2

or via text: send RAFA55 £amount to 70070