RAFBA 60Th Anniversary

RAFBA 60 th Anniversary

Firstly, I’d like to welcome you all to these 60th anniversary celebrations; to Air-Vice Marshal Davison, director of the Sports Board, to our new President Air Commodore Winstanley and to all of the players and officials, past and present, who have attended.

I need to say thank you to some people who have made this event possible; to Andy Johnston who has organised the whole reunion and to Al Jackson who has organised the veterans accommodation and the like and to Mandy Pearson who has made us a fantastic cake to mark the occasion.

Naturally, each of us will remember periods of time in RAF Badminton history that we were personally involved in and whilst I’ll try and mention something for everyone, I’m keen to also try and identify some of the characteristics of RAF Badminton that have been enduring throughout its 60 years.

Undoubtedly, we’ve been blessed with some very skilful and committed players; Colin Beacom, Ferdi Vincent, Di Wilmott, Chas Donison to name a few from before my time and then Paul Ruthven, Jo Evans- Randall, Sally Wills, Jon Austin, Ian Sim and Simon Gaines from the last 20 years or so. In terms of our success at the Inter-Services, where the men remain unbeaten after 41 years and the women hold 47 out of 55 titles, I like to think that our success is based on many things but 3 of these being:

Depth of quality; waiting to take the place of every John Tate or Simon Dolman there was always a Roger Chong, Gordon Young or Steve Sharp to step up to the mark and prove themselves.

Commitment to play, be it either in Plymouth or Faslane, the team has always been a strong one.

The sheer want to win; more of this in a bit.

As the RAF has drawn down and its operational tempo increased then the pressure on these factors has been noticeable. But believe me, no one want to be the 1st Captain to lose at the Inter- Services! So, I said that I’d consider some underlying themes that have not changed so here they are:

Fairness and Sportsmanship:

As a young junior technician I remember watching Colin Beacom play Ferdi Vincent in the final of the Vets singles in about 1989. It had gone to 3 ends and Colin was leading although struggling with an injury. It became too much and he told the umpire that he was to retire. Ferdi asked the umpire what was to happen and was told that he would win by default as Colin could not continue. Unhappy with this solution, Ferdi asked what would happen if he too retired. The umpire replied that the game would have be called a draw. Ferdi retired and it was a shared title; clearly not wishing to win by default Ferdi showed outstanding sportsmanship. We can probably all remember pitch battles on court but at the heart is an attitude of wanting to win but to do so fairly.

Will to win:

Again, I can think of many examples here. I remember Paul Ruthven playing mind games, Tony Griffiths and Dog Hargreaves refusing to drink alcohol the night before the CS doubles final (they needn’t have bothered, Ian and Simon battered them anyway) but the moment I think I recall most vividly involved a young lady called Anne Murray who also played rugby for the RAF. Anne was playing a singles match and was have a fight on her hands. Just off court, Derek Bacon was taking photos following a presentation he’d made and just as Anne was about to play a winning smash at the net, Derek’s flash lit up the court. Anne hit the shuttle into the net and went wild! I’ve never seen Derek move as fast as he did when Anne ran off court at him with her racquet ready to strike! Commitment of Committee Members:

RAF Badminton has been lucky enough to benefit from a committee that loves badminton and does its very best for the Team. Looking over the records I’m minded to mention Harry Cairns, Hue Mc V Redfern and Dave McTeer as past chairmen who gave freely of their time and efforts. In my time I’ve been really lucky to have Roger Carr as Chairman and then Paul Clarke. People seem to stay in RAF Badminton even when they play less. Carl Payne, a 16 time Inter-Service team member, does a brilliant job with our website and Gordon Young still insists on putting a side together to beat us at Stamford every year! Of course, for the past 20 years Terry Heslin and Derek Bacon have been the mainstay of RAF Badminton. Terry was a player, tour manager and umpire and is still involved. Derek was Honorary Secretary for many years and the erstwhile organiser of the Inter-Stn tournament.

Ok, so what of the future? Well, we need to work hard to get new blood in. With recruiting figures lower, we can’t expect to survive on great players joining. We must take badminton to the RAF, find interest and develop the players we have. To help with this we’ve generated a development squad and from what I’ve seen this week I’m really confident that we’ll succeed.

There’s no doubt that RAF Badminton has changed, we will never see an entry of 300 at the RAF Champs; it’s unlikely we’ll go back to wearing No 1s at tournaments either. But, a lot is the same, our core ethos remains and we are working hard to ensure the records and legacy that you and others have left are maintained and added to.

Thank you once again for coming; please join me in a toast to RAF Badminton.