Newsletter Royal Air Forces Association Atlas House, 41 Wembley Road September 2017 Leicester LE3 1UT

South East and Eastern Area rafa.org.uk | 0800 018 2361

South East and Eastern Area Headquarters newsletter Royal Air Forces Association Atlas House, 41 Wembley Road September 2017 Leicester LE3 1UT

[email protected]

Flight Lieutenant Lyon’s 100th Birthday Celebration at the Albatross Club, RAF Association 1066 Branch Bexhill–on–Sea

It was a great pleasure and honour for the Area Director, Ailsa Gough, Area Council Chairman John Gilmour and Area Council Vice Chairman Elaine Britton to share in Flt Lt Jack Lyon’s 100th birthday celebrations at the Albatross Club, 1066 RAF Association Branch, Bexhill–on–Sea on Saturday 2 September. Flight Lieutenant Lyon, a life member of the Association, who was imprisoned in the infamous Stalag Luft III after he was shot down during WWII operations, was part of the audacious ‘Great Escape.’ During the celebrations, Flight Lieutenant Lyon received a number of gifts and letters of congratulations including from RAF Association President, Air Marshal Sir Baz North and the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier. It was a memorable day for an extraordinary individual.

Wings Appeal

We would like to say a huge thank you to all our branches for the tremendous amount of fundraising that has taken place around the area so far this year. We appreciate the time and effort it takes to arrange a collection, find volunteers to staff it and of course thank everyone afterwards. It is only through the considerable efforts of people like your branch committee, branch members, families and friends that we are able to continue to collect the significant amounts for the Wings Appeal each year.

As we approach Wings Week, when the majority of branch’s street collections take place, we would like to remind you that the RAF Association’s PR toolkit resource is available on our website. This includes a guide with help and advice on how to gain maximum publicity for your branch and includes template press releases to publicise Wings Appeal collections.

These resources can be accessed by visiting www.rafa.org.uk/promotion and scrolling down to the PR toolkit section.

Returning branch Wings Appeal monies Please have your branch’s final Wings Appeal monies returned to the Wings Appeal team at headquarters by Friday 10 November 2017 (Northern Ireland branches should return their Wings Appeal monies to the Northern Ireland Area Office).

This will enable them to process all 2017 income and close your branch’s Wings account for the year in preparation for producing the branch’s annual Wings statement. Any monies raised specifically from street collections should be submitted 14 days after the date the collection took place, in order for the Wings Appeal team to make the relevant returns to your local council.

You can return Wings Appeal monies by using the Wings Returns (WR) paper packs. Instructions on how to fill these in and return your monies will be sent to your branch Wings Appeal organiser in their September Wings Appeal newsletter.

If you would like any further information on the above then please contact the Wings Appeal team by emailing [email protected] or calling 0116 268 8797 / 8758.

RAF Swannington

A Remembrance Service is to take place on Saturday 11 November at St Peter’s Church, Haveringland in Norfolk, which is on the site of the old RAF Swannington airfield. It will be 70 years since the station closed, so in addition to the Remembrance Service there will a small exhibition of photographs and information about the squadrons (85 and 157) and the personnel that were stationed there. Research has been undertaken on all the aircrew members who were killed during WWII while serving there. Contact has been made with some of their living relatives from far and wide and all without exception, so far, will be attending the Service, travelling from places such as Scotland, Wales, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Sussex, each coming to pay tribute to their lost relatives.

Because of its isolation and rurality this has never happened here before, which makes it a special event. It is hoped that the media will be covering the event, and therefore we would wish to have as many standards and members as possible in attendance. If any members would like to attend the service, they would be made more than welcome.

Confirmation of attendance from the Australian High Commission in London is being sought because there were Australian aircrew who were killed in action while serving at RAF Swannington. Also invited are The Right Honourable Keith Simpson MP (Member of Parliament for the constituency) and representatives from the United States Air Force (both 85 and 157 Squadrons were part of 100 Group, working with some of the USAF Squadrons).

There will also be standard bearers from the Royal British Legion (RBL), the Royal Artillery Association and the RAF Air Cadets. After the service, trees will be planted outside the church as an Avenue of Remembrance to the Royal Air Force. Each tree will be in remembrance of a squadron, group or organisation associated with the station. The whole event will be videoed to form part of a Heritage Project that will show how the Royal Air Force integrated with the local community during the war years.

If you have a standard bearer available, or if any branch members would like to attend please could you contact Cat Knott on [email protected] or the organiser Mike Hillier directly on [email protected].

The City of London street collection – 8 September 2017

Once again the South East and Eastern Area is organising a collection in the City of London in aid of the Wings Appeal. The collection this year will be on Friday 8 September 2017 using the Guildhall as a base.

To assist this venture the South East and Eastern headquarters can offer travel expenses and all equipment for your collecting needs. Collecting is from 0600hrs until 1300hrs. Should collectors wish to use their own collecting boxes please let us know in advance in order that we may allocate you a box number. All money collected by individuals will be credited to your own branch.

Collectors should register with the South East and Eastern Area headquarters in advance by contacting Cat Knott on [email protected] or 0116 268 8784 or Christina Narayan on [email protected] or 0116 464 5052.

Field of Remembrance - Westminster Abbey Gardens – 9 November 2016

We have once again been invited to participate in the above ceremony by the RBL. I therefore ask branches to once more give this special occasion their best possible support by ordering crosses to be planted by their representatives wherever possible.

Entrance to the field will involve passing through police security checks. Everyone must bring two forms of ID of which one must include a photograph (e.g. passport). Sight of these may be required by the police or security officers.

The South East and Eastern Area will be pleased to arrange for crosses to be planted on behalf of branches not represented.

Please be advised that all crosses must be planted by 09.30hrs on the day. Gates will open at 0845 hrs and close at 1030hrs. All participants must be in position by 1030hrs.

Employees from the South East and Eastern Area, will be in attendance along with the National Standard Bearer on the day.

A Badge Cross will cost £10.85 and a Leaf Cross (suitable for use by branches) will cost £6.65.

Orders, together with the appropriate remittance, should be sent to Cat Knott, RAF Association South East and Eastern Area, Atlas House, 41 Wembley Road, Leicester, LE3 1UT. Alternatively, you can call on 0116 268 8784 or email: [email protected] no later than Wednesday 27 September 2017.

St Clement Dane’s Annual Service

The "Friends of St Clement Danes Church” Annual Concert, featuring the Central Band of the RAF and Choir of St Clement Danes will take place at 1900hrs on Thursday 30 November 2017. Tickets are available on the door or from RAF Charitable Trust Enterprises on 01285 713456 or via email [email protected].

Tickets are £20 on the door and £18 when pre-ordered. There is an interlude during which drinks will be served. The concert normally finishes around 2115hrs.

South East and Eastern Area Conference and seminar 2018

The 14th South East and Eastern Area Conference and seminar will be held at the Marriott Hotel, Peterborough over the weekend of 23 to 25 March 2018. Paperwork will be sent out to branches later and I hope as many branch delegates and members as possible will be able to attend. 3

The conference will commence on Saturday morning, details and timings will be finalised nearer the date of the conference.

On Sunday 25 March there will be a short memorial parade and service.

RAFA Colour Chaos at RAF Wittering

Over 200 runners came to RAF Wittering on 20 August for RAFA Colour Chaos, the first run of its kind to be held on an active RAF Station.

The event was enormous fun, raised vital funds for the RAF Association and took place entirely within the Cambridgeshire Station. Participants (who ran, jogged, danced and walked) were plastered in multi-coloured corn-starch as they navigated the circuit.

RAF personnel Chris and Nicola Stafford reached the end of the course with Chris barely able to see out of his sunglasses. Nonetheless, they were both very happy indeed. Chris said: “It was a really, really good laugh, absolutely.”

Every £1 raised will go towards projects that help members of the RAF family, particularly the Storybook Wings initiative, where serving parents record their children’s favourite bedtime stories before going away on active service. 4

Rachel Huxford, Director of Fundraising at the RAF Association, said: “This inaugural Colour Chaos event was a wonderful, fun-filled family day out in a unique location and we have had interest from other RAF stations who want to run their own so we hope this will grow.”

Station Commander Group Captain Tony Keeling and his son got into the spirit of the occasion and the air cadets who volunteered to support they event made sure they were both thoroughly coated.

Group Captain Keeling said: “It’s been fantastic fun today, we wouldn’t have missed this for anything. Sure, it’s been a lot of work to organise and we’ve got some tidying up to do, but you look around and see all these smiling faces. It’s been well worth it – and all for a great cause with the RAF Association.”

Editor: Ed Palmer

Photographer: Senior Aircraftman Matty Smith

NOTICE FOR AIR TRAINING CORPS SQUADRONS IN LEICESTER / LEICESTERSHIRE

Any air cadet from any squadron within Leicester/Leicestershire that would like to receive the weekly City of Leicester branch newsletter can do so.

The City of Leicester branch are happy to include your email address on our mailing (Your email address will remain confidential, copies are sent out blind).

We would suggest that cadets wishing to avail themselves of this should do so via their squadron officers.

1279 (Melton Mowbray) ATC Squadron

Well done to Cadet Daryl Green who successfully completed his Bronze Gliding Wings training. He had a fantastic day with 644 Volunteer Gliding Squadron based at RAF Syerston. After completing all of his ground training and six successful launches during the afternoon, he was awarded his Bronze Wings - making him one of only a few cadets within Central and East Region ATC to achieve this. Congratulations to Cadet Green! #team1279 #soaring

Well done to Corporal Page who recently spent a week on the Air Cadet Drill and Ceremonial Camp. To end the week, he was part of a large parade that highlighted all that the cadets had learnt during the week in front of VIPs, families and friends. Corporal Page is pictured here with the other cadets from South and East Midlands Wing who were selected for the camp. Well done Corporal Page! #team1279

Many thanks to the cadets who today volunteered to pack bags at Morrisons, raising £202.40 for the Wings Appeal via our friends at the Royal Air Forces Association Melton Mowbray Branch and Tornado Club. (With no broken eggs!) #SEMWwhoweare #Team1279 #MorrisonsMakesIt

Form 1056 and 1056A

Branches are reminded that in accordance with Branch Regulation (BR) 23, Annual General Meetings (AGMs) should have taken place between 1 January and 31 March 2017.

Unfortunately, there are still a number of 1056 and 1056A forms outstanding. Letters will now be sent to the individual branches.

Branch and branch club accounts

In accordance with Branch Regulation (BR) 32, branch and branch club accounts as at 31 December, including a report from the auditor or independent examiner, should be forwarded to the area headquarters no later than 31 March the following year. Unfortunately, there are still some outstanding and those branches will be receiving a letter in the near future.

Your attention is also drawn to byelaw 10(1) b, which states that a branch shall be entitled to be represented at Area and Annual Conference of the Association, providing that its audited accounts for the preceding year have been submitted to area headquarters, no less than ten days before the first day of Conference.

Lapsed members

As of 31 August, the area had 646 Ordinary members and 631 Associate members who had not yet renewed for this year. It is incumbent upon all of us to try and recover these lapsed members. Once again we ask all branches to make every effort to personally contact those of their members who have not yet renewed. It should not be forgotten that a personal visit or phone call to someone who has not yet renewed their membership may highlight an underlying welfare problem.

Personal Data Privacy – branches and clubs

The Association has a legal obligation to protect personal data in conformance with UK data protection legislation (currently the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998). The Association’s Personal Data Privacy Policy, together with the associated Standard Operating Procedures, describe the measures necessary for the Association and its members to comply with the DPA. At a branch level this means that any personal data held about branch members must only be used for legitimate Association purposes and that all personal data must be kept under strict control and not inadvertently shared or made available for unauthorised use.

The Association is only able to share personal data with branch officials who have agreed to use such data in compliance with the policy and have signed the annual Certificate of Compliance for the protection of personal data. Some of our branches and clubs have not yet returned the signed certificate regarding compliance with the Data Protection Act, which was sent out earlier this year. Until these certificates are returned, we are not able to provide those branches or clubs with membership lists. We would request those branches that have not yet returned their certificate to do so as soon as possible. If required, further copies of the certificate can be found on the Members Log-In Section of the RAF Association website or from the Area Headquarters by email request to: [email protected].

Email addresses

We would be grateful if branch secretaries would encourage those members who have email addresses, but do not yet receive the area newsletter electronically, to get in touch with the area headquarters to ensure we have their email address recorded.

Standard bearers – dress regulations

Standard bearers are reminded that the guide for branch standard bearers is at Chapter 8 of the Admin Handbook. Contained within this chapter at paragraph 8.3 is guidance on the wearing of medals. This 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”. A Veterans badge in addition to the Association’s badge is also acceptable.

Wings Portal closure

Branches who have previously registered to use the Wings Portal to submit your Wings Appeal income should be aware of the following notice regarding closure of the portal.

The system was originally designed to help branches by providing a more convenient mechanism for the return of Wings monies. However, as you may be aware, it has not proven as user-friendly as intended and, increasingly, the very small number of branches using it have been experiencing problems which have actually made the whole process more time-consuming than if they had used the paper-based Wings Returns (WR) packs.

Coupled with this, the Association has been undertaking a large-scale review of IT security, given the rapidly evolving cyber crime threats that threaten all organisations. There have been tests carried out on the Wings Portal and the findings are that it would require significant and costly development to ensure it continues to be secure in the face of newly emerging threats.

For both reasons, the decision has been taken that it is in the best interests of the Association to stop using the current Wings Portal with immediate effect. We therefore ask branches complete their 2017 Wings Appeal returns by using the WR packs rather than online through the portal, which will be disabled in the very near future.

Generic versions of the WR packs are available on the Wings Appeal order form (which has been sent to your branch’s Wings Appeal Organiser in their April Wings newsletter) under the section ‘Wings Appeal Letters, Posters and Leaflets’. They are also available directly from www.rafashop.com under the Wings Appeal section. Later in

8 the year, a pack that is specific to your branch will be sent to your branch’s Wings Appeal Organiser in their July Wings Newsletter. These packs will have the branch’s bank details printed on so the branch can confirm they are up to date prior to any welfare rebate or Wings expenses payments being processed. Full instructions on how to fill out the forms are included in the pack including how payment of the funds raised can be forwarded to the Wings Appeal team by cheque or electronic bank transfer.

Thank you for your continuing support of the Wings Appeal. We are only able to raise the fantastic amounts we do through the dedication of people like yourself, your other branch members and all volunteers who support the branch.

Royal Air Force Centenary Celebrations – RAF100

On 1 April 2018 the RAF will mark the centenary of its formation as the world’s first independent air force. This will be an important opportunity for those in the RAF and the RAF family to commemorate their past, celebrate their success and also inspire the public as to their contribution to the UK’s national security and prosperity.

The RAF100 programme of events will start in October 2017 and end in September 2018 and a number of flagship events will take place across the UK between March and September 2018 including a service in Westminster Abbey and a parade along The Mall, followed by a Royal Salute and flypast.

The four main RAF charities (RAF Association, RAF Benevolent Fund, RAF Charitable Trust Enterprises and RAF Museum) have taken the unprecedented step of creating a joint venture charitable company, the RAF100 Appeal Ltd. Its purpose is to deliver a coherent and collaborative campaign raising both income and profile.

More information about RAF100 can be found here: www.raf.mod.uk/raf100. There is also an opportunity to put forward any ideas that will help COMMEMORATE the achievements of the RAF and all who served, CELEBRATE the RAF of today, or INSPIRE people in your local community and beyond: www.raf.mod.uk/raf100/your-ideas

Further updates will be given as more information becomes available.

The RAF Association President’s Band

The RAF Association President’s Band is a successful and friendly band that performs music to a high standard and is comprised of approximately 40 talented players, including former RAF and military band musicians, music teachers, and many other walks of life.

It gives regular performances around London and the south east of England, and has toured Ypres in Belgium, where it took part in a major Remembrance festival, France, Luxembourg, Brussels and most recently Malta. The band has also played at several RAF Association conferences including; Eastbourne, Hayling Island, Bexhill, and Bracklesham Bay.

If your branch is planning an event you might consider hiring the RAF Association President’s Band for the occasion, or two or more branches might get together to hold a concert to raise money for the Wings Appeal.

For more information visit the website at www.rafapbmusic.org or contact the Band Manager at [email protected] or 07776 258763.

Volunteering news

Beena Chauhan, Area Volunteer Coordinator, South East and Eastern Area Volunteering update

We are still looking for volunteers in the roles of fundraising team leader, caseworker, befriender, as well as many new fundraisers to support branches and areas and to provide support whenever and wherever it is required. The locations we require them can be found on our website at www.rafa.org.uk/volunteer/search and a list is provided below.

To those of you who are interested, or know of someone who may be interested in a volunteering role, please visit our website at www.rafa.org.uk/volunteer where you can see the full list of opportunities in your area.

Alternatively, I can be contacted directly on 0116 464 5054 or on email using [email protected]

Eastern Area Number of Role vacancy required Location of role vacancies for role Treasurer 1 Bedford Branch Befrienders 3 Bedford Branch Wings Appeal Co-ordinators 2 Bedford Branch Befrienders 2 Bedfordshire area Befrienders 6 Cambridgeshire area Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Ipswich group Fundraising Team Leader 1 Ipswich Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Loughborough group Befrienders 7 Norfolk

Befrienders 11 North Lincolnshire

Caseworker 1 North Lincolnshire Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Nottingham group Fundraising Team Leader 1 Nottingham

Befriender 1 Peterborough

Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Skegness group Fundraising Team Leader 1 Skegness

Social events coordinator 1 Scunthorpe Branch

Wings Appeal coordinator 1 Scunthorpe Branch

Branch Treasurer 1 Scunthorpe Branch

Branch Secretary 1 Scunthorpe Branch Befriender 2 South Leicestershire Befriender 3 Suffolk Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Worksop group Fundraising Team Leader 1 Worksop Caseworker 1 Wymondham

South East Area Number of Role vacancy required Location of role vacancies for role Collectors Wings Appeal 2 Basingstoke Branch Befriender 1 Battle Befrienders 2 Bexhill on Sea Bognor Regis Branch Wings Collectors 5 (Chichester) Befriender 1 Brighton area Befriender 1 Burgess Hill Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Central London group Befriender 1 Clacton on Sea Caseworker 1 Clacton on Sea Befriender 1 Crowborough Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Didcot group Fundraising Team Leader 1 Didcot Befriender 1 Pevensey Befriender 1 Ferring Caseworker 1 Gillingham Befriender 1 Guilford Befriender 1 Hailsham Befrienders 2 Henfield Befriender 1 Littlehampton Befriender 1 London Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Maidenhead group 11

Fundraising Team Leader 1 Maidenhead Caseworker 1 Medway Towns Caseworker 1 North Weald Ongar Caseworker 1 Orpington HWO 1 Royston Branch Befriender 1 Royston Branch Befriender 1 Sandwich and Deal Caseworker 1 Sandwich and Deal Befriender 1 Seaford Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Slough group Southampton/ East HWO 1 Branch Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Southend on Sea group Befriender 1 Steyning Befriender 1 Storrington Fundraisers for fundraising 11 Winchester group Caseworker 1 Witham Witham & Rivenhall Collectors/ Fundraisers 2 Branch Befrienders 4 Worthing

Ailsa Gough South East and Eastern Area Director