ROYAL REGIMENT ASSOCIATION www.rafregt.org.uk BIRMINGHAM BRANCH

Our thanks to you for our Christmas Cards Page 2 The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine Page 2 Letter from the new OC PSS Major John Harker Page 2

Letter from the Past OC PSS Major Ian Cheesman Page 2 – Branch Appeal Goodies for Our Injured Boys Page 3 Branch Birthdays Page 3 GOODIE S FOR OUR RAF Regiment News Page 3 INJURED BOYS Page 3 Tongans handover to new contingent at Bastion Page 3 A Herculean gift arrives at Cosford Museum Page 4 National Memorial Arboretum Update Page 4 Search and Rescue Memorial Unveiled Page 4 RAF REGIMENT NEWS Future Events at the NMA Page 4 ’s Page 3 Pegasus set to mark Memorial to Para Page 4 At last, a memorial to forgotten heroes Page 5 Clay model for Durham Light Memorial Page 7 NATIONAL MEMORIAL From the RAF Regiment Secretary Page 7 ARBORETUM UPDATE Deaths Page 7 Page 4 Ex-Cpl Anthony Martin Page 7 New Notices Page 8 Diary Dates Page 9 FROM THE RAF REG.T Open Letter to Angela Merkel Page 10 SECRETARY Page 7 Joke Time Page 11 Dates for Your Diary Page 12 Birmingham Branch Committee Page 12

The Best Fighters in the RAF Operate on the Ground

The Regiment Ground-based specialists, NEWSLETTER NO: 271 protecting RAF assets from enemy attack. JANUARY 2012

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THE BIRMINGHAM BRANCH NEWSLETTER NUMBER 271 JANUARY 2012

1 Dear Readers. From Major Ian Cheesman RLC Valerie and I would like to thank all those Commanding Patient Support Services members and friends who sent Christmas cards to Royal Centre for Defence Medicine us, wishing all our members and us well for ’m always amazed Dear Malcolm. As I leave Patient Support Christmas and the New Year. I Services after four years and indeed the Army and touched with all the cards that we have after thirty-three years I wish to thank personally received. Not only from our relations and our ‘civilian’ friends but also from members and from you for the valued service you have given to the wounded and injured and also for the wonderful good friends of the Birmingham Branch, sending support you have shown to me during my tenure good wishes to Valerie and I and to all members at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine. of the Branch, not only for Christmas but for the This has been a most humbling New Year too, our thanks to all of you. appointment and one which I could not hope to The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine better so it is an apt point at which to end my Major Cheesman has now left the Royal military career. I have been privileged to have Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) and Major worked with the medical and welfare services, the ‘inspired by John Harker has replaced him as the new Officer families and particularly I have been ’ in my dealings with the patients Commanding, Patient Support Services (OC PSS). the inspirational In addition, the RCDM has now moved premises themselves for whom we strive to support as they from K Block, Selly Oak Hospital, Raddlebarn come to terms with life-changing injuries. Road, Birmingham, to a new address and I have The support provided by RCDM and the received the following letters from Major team here would not be possible without the Cheesman and Major Harker. additional donations and support from the general From Major John Harker LANCS public; you have been unswerving in your support Officer Commanding Patient Support Services and enthusiasm, which has also helped motivate Royal Centre for Defence Medicine me and the team. As a supporter of the RCDM Welfare Once again thank you very much for Fund, I would like to inform you of three changes working so hard for our lads. I hope you will which have occurred recently. support my successor Major John Harker in the 1. Major Ian Cheesman has now left RCDM and same vein. Major John Harker has replaced him as the I am now moving to Barnstaple, Devon, to new Officer Commanding Patient Support run my Bistro (Seasons Cafe Bistro) and would be Services (OC PSS). delighted to welcome you should you be in the 2. RCDM has moved premises from K Block, area. Keep up the good work and take care. Kind Selly Oak Hospital, Raddlebarn Road, Selly regards. Ian. Oak, Birmingham, B29 6DJ to Level 2, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham ******************** (QEHB), Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston, We welcome Major John Harker to his Birmingham, B15 2WB. new position and will indeed support him in his 3. With immediate effect, the point of contact endeavours. We also thank Major Ian Cheesman for all donations (financial/non-financial) will for his efforts as OC PSS and wish him well for change from Major Cheesman to Mrs D the future and should we be in Barnstaple in the Binnion. However, due to the lack of storge future we will certainly visit Ian. space for goodies, could you please first So for the future, please address any contact Mrs Binnion on 0121 371 5317 to donations or correspondence to; RCDM,Level 2, arrange a suitable appointment. Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Finally, may I take this opportunity to Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2WB. And as the thank you for your continued support and look point of contact for all donations (financial and forward to hearing from you in the future. John. non-financial) has changed from Major Cheesman

3 to Mrs D Binion, please address them to her and RAF Police and the RAF Regiment to deliver due to lack of storage space for goodies, could force protection at Camp Bastion. A traditional everyone please first contact Mrs Binion on 0121 challenge called a Sipi Tau was issued to the 371 5317 to arrange a suitable appointment. replacement contingent by the Tongan soldiers Goodies for our Injured Boys who had just completed a six-month tour of duty It is most important that we remember the at Camp Bastion. dangers that our young men and women serving The second TDS contingent to support on operations are all facing, so please remember ISAF operations in Afghanistan, handed over their the appeal your Branch Committee have set up. duties to the third contingent in Camp Bastion, Please send any donations you may wish to make, where they will be based for the next six months. to the Branch Treasurer Tom Magee and he will The parade, attended by VIP guests including the pass them on to the right place. newly appointed commander of Joint Force We still need money for the injured lads Support (Afghanistan) Brigadier 'Mitch' Mitchell, and lassies so see what you can do. It may be that attracted plenty of interest from personnel hoping ’s due to the article that I published in last month to see the traditional Sipi Tau war dance of the newsletter, some of you might have got the wrong South Pacific Islanders. idea that we have stopped collecting money for Having travelled over 8,000 miles our injured troops. Nothing could be further from (12,875km) from an island of only 100,000 people the truth. We have stopped collecting for the to Helmand province, the TDS, who in total are Military Ward Welfare Fund as it has plenty of only 600-strong, represent a formidable force, as money. We are still collecting money for the the Sipi Tau demonstrated. The Commanding further support of our injured troops. Officer of the Royal Tongan Marines, Lieutenant However, it will be no good if we forget Colonel Tupou Aleamotua, explained: "The Sipi all about them after they leave Selly Oak Hospital Tau is a challenge laid down by Tongan warriors. or , for those badly injured may The outgoing unit will lay down the challenge to need support and or assistance for the rest of their the new. The new contingent will reply with their lives. The Royal British Legion is the best option own Sipi Tau to say they accept the challenge and ’s for this and this year our new Lord Mayor will take up the responsibilities." “Home for the Brave Appeal” is the best one for As is customary during such a parade there us to support this year. was an exchange of flags, and then more BRANCH BIRTHDAYS unusually prayers, which were sung perfectly by A very Happy Birthday to the following the Tongan troops who are well known at Camp Birmingham Branch members whose birthdays Bastion for their sensational singing as well a are this month, may you all have many more. fierce competitive spirit on the sports pitch. 3rd Jan Robert Shepherd Ballymena Cty Anrtim The new contingent's role, serving 4th January Robert Watkins Nuneaton Warwicks alongside members of the RAF Police and RAF 5th January Samuel Hadley Dudley West Mids Regiment, is critical to ensuring the security of 6th Jan Godfrey Coates Birmingham West Mids Camp Bastion's main entry point, perimeter, and 9th January John Lawton Stoke on Trent Staffs airfield. Brigadier Mitchell said: 14th January Chris Baxter Daventry Northants "The deployment of fifty-five Tonga 14th January Samuel Owen Crewe Cheshire Defence Service Marines in Camp Bastion today 24th January James Bayliss Colehill West Mids is a real boost to our capability here. We are 25th Jan Stephen Rowlands Tamworth Staffs delighted the Tongans show such support for the 27th Jan Gustaaf Schrauwen Sutton Coldfield ISAF effort. That the deployment represents 28th Jan Thomas Swann Stanford Le Hope Essex approximately on third of their Armed Forces is illustrative of their commitment." He added: "I RAF Regiment News enjoyed meeting some of the troops today and Tongans handover to new contingent in Camp was given a taste of their formidable spirit and Bastion identity when those returning home performed the A third contingent of Tonga Defence Sipi Tau - a rousing spiritual dance. We look Services (TDS) has conducted a ceremonial forward to working with the TDS and I wish them handover to begin work alongside members of the a safe tour."

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A Herculean Christmas Gift Arrives at The slate monolith, overlooking the RAF Cosford! of the Arboretum, pays tribute to 70 years Late December, aHercules C130K Mk.3 of saving lives and was unveiled by the Air became the latest aircraft to go on display at the Officer Commanding No 2 Group, Air Vice Cosford, arriving just in Marshal P Osborne and dedicated by the RAF time for Christmas. The aircraft was moved from Chaplain in Chief, The Venerable Air Vice ’s site yesterday and the airfield to the Museum Marshall R J Pentland. It is inscribed with the placed in its new permanent display space, outside words: This memorial stands as a commemorative overlooking the Museum site. This supersized ’s Christmas present took a team of fifteen Museum testament to all who have served Britain search and rescue organisations since February Technicians and RAF Personnel three hours to ‘THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE’ safely move the aircraft into position, once the 1941 aircraft had been defueled. All three SAR Force Squadrons paraded Now one of the largest aircraft in the their Colours along with the RAF Mountain ’s extensive collection, the Hercules Museum Rescue Association. 203 (Gainsborough), 202 C130K Mk.3 made its final flight into RAF (Winsford) and 22 (Sandy) ATC Squadrons also Cosford in August courtesy of No 47 Squadron, paraded their Colours in what is also the Air RAF Brize Norton. Since its arrival earlier this Training Corps 70th Anniversary year. year, the aircraft has undergone a short period of A Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley maintenance carried out on the airfield. captained by Phil Fazal of The XV202 Hercules C130K Mk. 3 was 203(R) provided a flypast as Sergeant Richard an American aircraft built by Lockheed in Percival laid a wreath in remembrance of all those Marietta, Georgia and acquired by the RAF in who have lost their lives saving others. 1966, used mainly on longer routes and for In a message in the order of service in the Chapel of Remembrance the Duke of Cambridge paratrooping. This particular aircraft was one of – ’s, Flt Lt William Wales, Patron of the National 30 Hercules modified during the early 1980 “I am proud to be a with the fuselage being lengthened by 15ft. Work Memorial Arboretum, said: was carried out by Marshall of Cambridge member of SARF, and I am honoured to serve alongside the extraordinary men and women in its (Engineering) Ltd, using fuselage plugs in front of ’ and behind of the . ranks, especially on this 70th Anniversary. RAF Museum Curator, Al McLean says: “We are very pleased to have this iconic aircraft, Future Events at the NMA Pegasus set to mark memorial to particularly as it has such a long record of service with the Royal Air Force and it makes a fine the 'paras' ” addition to the Cosford site. A Winged Horse is to tower above the tree Visitors wishing to see the Hercules can line at a national memorial in honour of parachute now do so on a daily basis and over the Christmas regiments. The Parachute Regiment and Airborne period. The Museum will be open daily Forces Memorial will be unveiled at the National throughout December from 10am apart from Memorial Arboretum, in Alrewas, in July next Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. year. The huge bronze structure will feature a The Museum will then close again on New Year's Pegasus horse, its wings outstretched on a plinth Day and will reopen on Monday 2nd January above a larger than life . 2012 from 10am. Admission is FREE. The Memorial has been designed by the Parachute Regiment Charity, which is currently in NATIONAL MEMORIAL £230,000 needed the process of trying to raise the ARBORETUM (NMA) UPDATE to create it. Stephen Cooper, director of charities, “Pegasus is the traditional symbol of the Search and rescue memorial unveiled said: On 1st December 2011, a Memorial to all . In 1940, when Churchill saw the of those who have served in RAF Search and Germans had invaded the using ‘we want some of those’. Rescue operations since 1941 was unveiled at the paras, he said He National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. ordered a force of 5,000 of them to be established.

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At that point all the people who had done it before their mid-morning tea break interrupted, ran to ” were on the other side. join shipmates already at their posts. Anti-aircraft The impressive bronze horse has been guns trained skyward, preparing to deliver a hail designed to rise above the tree line in order to of fire against the Japanese aerial armada. “Standing give the impression of it taking flight. It was soon all over. At 1.20 p.m. Prince on the platform will be the paratrooper as if he has of Wales, pride of the Navy, commissioned only ” Mr just landed, gathering his equipment canister, eight months previously, slowly rolled over, her “It’s going to be a spectacular Cooper said. hull torn open by four torpedoes. Repulse, ” design. elegant veteran of the First World War, had The charity has been working with the already slid beneath the azure calm of the South “2010 arboretum since last year on the Memorial. China Sea, similarly disembowelled. was the 70th anniversary of the airborne For more than an hour Jim Wren, a Royal regiments, but also the parachute regiment has Marine, and the other young reserve gun crew had ’ve been heavily involved in Afghanistan and we sat inside Repulse listening to the roar of battle ” Mr Cooper said. “W taken an awful lot of casualties, before emerging to chaos. e knew she was ’s no national memorial to the para ” he remembers. “She was There going and going fast, forces anywhere in the UK at the moment and we right over on her port side. Pretty well half the wanted it to be somewhere that was as accessible ship was below the water line. I stripped off some as it could be. We chose the Arboretum because of my heavier clothing, climbed over the side, ’s right in the middle of the country and it’s it crawled over the bilges and into the water. There ” ” public as well. It will be of great significance. was no time to freeze with fear. It was do or die. Anyone who wishes to contribute to the The ships, 41,000 tons and 33,000 tons Memorial Appeal can do so by visiting respectively, had shot down just three of 85 www.justgiving.com/Parachute-Regiment- aircraft before succumbing. They were the first Airborne-Forces-Memorial, or by sending a battleships to be sunk at sea exclusively by donation to Memorial Appeal, RHQ PARA, airpower, their demise signalling the end of the Merville Barracks, Colchester, CO2 7UT. big gun era. With them went British prestige in At last, a memorial to the forgotten the Far East. ’s 'Pearl Harbour’ Devoid of naval protection, Singapore, the heroes of Britain fortress constructed at vast expense to protect the Published in the Telegraph by Neil Tweedie eastern Empire from Japanese expansion, fell two Seventy years ago, the pride of the Royal Navy, months later. For the British, who had denigrated the battleship Prince of Wales and the battle the Japanese as myopic, semi-primitives, it was a cruiser Repulse, were sunk by Japanese humiliation, a harbinger of imperial decline. aircraft. Now a tribute is to be unveiled The most terrible cost, though, was in Never was a blue sky so unwelcome. The human life. Of the 1,612 officers and men aboard grey, tropical clouds that had helped mask the Prince of Wales, 327 died. The toll on Repulse movement of the two great ships since their was higher, 513 from a complement of 1,309. departure from Singapore had parted, and now, Eight hundred and forty souls, blown apart by hanging lazily on the horizon, were Japanese torpedoes and bombs, scalded to death by reconnaissance aircraft. escaping steam and ripped to shreds on the The officers of the battleship Prince of exposed undersides of the stricken titans. Or Wales and her consort, the battle cruiser Repulse, drowned while awaiting rescue, or trapped in the codenamed Force Z, knew that an engagement of watertight compartments that became their tombs. some kind could not be far away. It was the th Admiral Sir Tom Phillips, commander of morning of 10 December 1941, three days after Force Z, was one. A resolute believer in the big the attack on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, gun, disdainful of the aircraft as a weapon, he and the Royal Navy was about to suffer its chose to remain to the end on the bridge of Prince greatest single defeat of the Second World War. of Wales, his flagship. The bugles sounded shortly after 11am. Winston Churchill, who had sent the ships Crude radar screens in the bowels of the capital to their doom, wrote of how he was awoken in the “In all the war I never ships were registering smudges of approaching night to be told the news: aircraft, scores of them. Sailors and Marines,

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“We are off received a more direct shock. As I turned over captain of Repulse, warned his crew: ” and twisted in bed the full horror sank in upon to look for trouble. I expect we shall find it. ” “We are sure to me. Yet the destruction of Force Z is now a Phillips told his crews: footnote, a distant tragedy obscured by the greater get some useful practice with the HA (high-angle ” struggle against Nazi Germany. Yesterday the anti-aircraft) armament. United States marked the 70th anniversary of Against Force Z were ranged more than Pearl Harbour with memorial services and 100 bombers based in Vichy French Indo-China, lowered flags across the country. equipped with advanced torpedoes. Stalked by The British, meanwhile, will largely submarines and aircraft, the two capital ships, ignore the 70th anniversary of their own screened by four destroyers, searched in vain for catastrophic overture to the war with Japan. troop transports. While returning to Singapore Except for a hundred or so people, including half Force Z was caught in the open. Repulse was hit ’s life. a dozen special old men, who gathered at the first by a bomb that almost ended Mr Wren “The first thing I knew was the alarm National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire on Saturday 10th December 2011 to witness the sounding. I was still on the mess deck with a cup unveiling of a small memorial. of tea. I dropped it, ran for the door, and as soon Of the 2,081 survivors from Prince of as I got through it a bomb dropped through the ” Wales and Repulse about 40 are thought to be still deck right behind me. Then came the torpedoes. alive. Most were too infirm to travel and those The great ships twisted and turned, managing to making the journey had no VIP to greet them. avoid 41 of the 49 dropped. The Prince of Wales declined an invitation to Repulse went down at 12.33. Mr Wren attend and a single Petty Officer represented the found himself holding on to a piece of flotsam. “There was huge oil slick from the ship. Royal Navy. I was “These things happen,” says Hannah – covered in oil everyone was. I swallowed a lot Rickard, secretary of the Force Z Survivors and was terribly sick. Someone hauled me on to a Association, whose late father, Ken Byrne, raft. Eventually we were picked up by the “It is ’t remember survived the sinking of the Prince of Wales. Electra, one of the escorts. I can a bit of a shame but the real VIPs are the anything being said. You are in a state of shock. ” survivors. You have lost everything: your ship, your home, The memorial has been paid for by the comrades. There were a lot of bodies on the ” relatives attending the unveiling. They have deck. £11,000 of its £13,000 cost. raised Mr Wren is 91 Charles Wright, from Gloucester, was a but made the journey from his home in Salisbury. 22-year-old anti-aircraft gunner on Prince of “It was ’s big mistakes” he says. “We were given the impression that the one of Churchill Wales. “It was all so quick: we arrived at Singapore on Japanese were inferior, but they proved ” the 2nd and were sent to the bottom on the 10th. differently. The ship was brand new and we The threat from Japan could not have thought she was unsinkable. It was a beautiful arisen at a worse time. The battlecruiser Hood clear day. Of course, the Japanese are the masters ” had been lost in May and the aircraft carrier Ark of coming out of the sun. A single torpedo Royal and battleship Barham in November. Sir crippled Prince of Wales, causing major flooding, Dudley Pound, the First Sea Lord, favoured a reducing her speed, impairing her steering and slow build-up in the Indian Ocean but Churchill, knocking out the power for half her big anti- true to form, demanded a more aggressive strategy aircraft guns. She survived Repulse by 50 in the Far East, in the shape of a modern minutes. “There were numerous fellows coming up battleship. Thus Phillips found himself on the th ” recalls Mr afternoon of 8 December 1941 weighing anchor from below, mainly the boiler room, at Singapore, as fires still raged at Pearl Harbour. Wright. They had been scalded terribly by burst ” The Japanese were believed to be landing on the pipes. He helped his wounded shipmates on to north-east coast of Malaya and the Navy could not the destroyer Express, which had come alongside. be seen to run from the fight, despite an almost She had to pull away as the battleship turned total absence of air cover. William Tennant, turtle.

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Mr Wren was evacuated from Singapore something. When we walked into the studio, but his vessel was captured at anchor off Sumatra. where the clay sculpture was made, it was very He spent more than three years in a prison camp, much a case of, wow. Apart from a few tiny watching a third of the inmates succumb to alternations to make sure everything was spot on – – cruelty and disease. Mr Wright was evacuated to and they were like the width of his bootlaces Ceylon and posted to the cruiser Dorsetshire, we were delighted with it. It has now gone to the which was sunk in an air attack. Powderhall Bronze Foundry, in Edinburgh, and Today the wrecks of Prince of Wales and we hope to see the actual bronze sometime in ” Repulse rest in less than 250 feet of water, January. £75,000 target sometimes visible from the air. Designated as war Colonel Charlton said the graves, the leviathans are nevertheless prey to for memorial had been achieved and, because of divers, some in search of booty. Pictures of popular demand, campaigners were now setting human remains adorn diving websites. their sights on raising enough money for the “We are third of the But some good comes out of bad. One of duplicate statue. He said: ’s friend Mr Wren s on Repulse was a young way down track for our second objective of £30,000. We have not yet confirmed a site. That marine who had placed a picture of his sister on is “I said I’d like to ” the back of his locker door. still under negotiation. ” remembers Mr Wren. “And I did.” “We would like to say how meet her, He He added: and Margaret have been married for 65 years. She appreciative we are of the support we have had “It was there at the memorial, providing comfort. from The Northern Echo and the Darlington ” says Mr Wren. “No doubt about – was emotional, Building Society and the many donors including ” that. the many anonymous donors we have not been ” Donations for the Force Z memorial able to personally write to thank. should be sent to: Force Z Survivors Association, The appeal was launched in January after 19 Crossways, South Croydon, Surrey, CR2 8JP. two former DLI soldiers, Keith Straughier, a Cheques made payable to: HMS Prince of Wales former signaller, and Richard Softely, a former and HMS Repulse Survivors Association. bugler, visited the Staffordshire arboretum and Clay model for Durham Light Infantry discovered their regiment was not honoured there. memorial statue is revealed The statue dressed in combat uniform of Veterans have announced a date for the the Korean War is symbolic, because it was a unveiling of a permanent memorial to the platoon of 1 DLI buglers who sounded the ’s most famous sacrifices of one of the country ceasefire in Korea for the whole of the Commonwealth Division, from a hilltop in the military regiments. Campaigners spoke as they ’s l gave their stamp of approval to a larger-than-life- front line. Korea was the regiment ast Battle sized clay model of a Durham Light Infantry Honour. (DLI) bugler which will be cast into a bronze and Donations for the memorial can be made set on a plinth at the National Memorial payable to the Regimental and Chattels Charity of Arboretum, in Staffordshire. the former DLI and sent to the DLI Memorial The memorial will be unveiled at a service Appeal, The Rifles Office, Elvet, Waterside, at 2.30pm on Sunday, July 22nd. And Durham, DH1 3BW. campaigners have signalled their determination to continue the momentum of their successful fundraising drive to pay for a duplicate statue to be erected at a site, yet to be determined, in Durham City. DLI Memorial Appeal co-ordinator Colonel Arthur Charlton, who along with DLI “Bob” Macgregor FROM THE RAF REGIMENT SECRETARY trustee Brigadier Robert - DEATHS: Oakford visited the studio of Alan Beattie Herriot “delighted”. He MARTIN ANTHONY. Former RAF to see the model, said they were Regt Cpl Anthony MARTIN, born 12 Oct 32, said: died on 2 Nov 11 aged 79. He was a National “To finally see what origi – nally had been a Serviceman from Jan 51 Jan 54 and served on figment of the imagination in reality was quite 17 and 25 Sqns RAF Regt. No other Service

8 details are available. He was a member of the itself both in Afghanistan and (in small specialist Notts & Derby Branch of the RAF Regt Assoc. tasks) in Libya. ’ lead in the The funeral has taken place. He is survived by his Of particular note, the Corps wife, Mrs A Martin, of 60 Fabis Drive, Clifton provision of specialist chemical, biological, Grove, Nottingham, NG11 8NZ, to whom the radiological and nuclear (CBRN) capabilities for Corps extends its sincere condolences. UK Defence in an evolving and pivotal strategic NEW NOTICES: capability. PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM THE Finally, I would like to take this – OUTGOING COMMANDANT GENERAL opportunity to wish all members of the Corps – RAF REGIMENT both serving and retired and their families, a “I have handover as Commandant General Very Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy of the RAF Regiment to Air Commodore Nick 2012. My particular thoughts go out to those Bray. It has been an enormous privilege and currently deployed in Afghanistan and around the honour to serve as Commandant General over the world at this time. Per Ardua. - Air past 2 years; indeed, it has represented the Cdre - CG RAF Regt professional and personal highlight of my career, RAF REGT CBRN LEAD FOR DEFENCE especially having now served in our Corps from The newly formed Defence Chemical, both extremes of the rank spectrum. Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) “ Whilst my first thoughts are, as they were Wg, based at RAF Honington and manned by the when I took over, for our comrades on operations, RAF Regt, assumed responsibility for the UK I would like to convey my gratitude to all Defence specialist CBRN capabilities from the Jt – members of the Regimental family serving, CBRN Regt on 14 Dec 11. A Transfer of – retired, friends and families I salute you all and Authority Parade was held at RAF Honington to ” wish you every success in the future. Per Ardua, mark the event. Further details on the Def CBRN ’s roles etc will be published in due course. Russ La Forte. Wg COMMANDANT GENERAL HANDOVER- The Wg is commanded by Wg Cdr David TAKEOVER Williams, RAF Regt. Air Cdre N Bray MA RAF assumed the CORPS 70TH ANNIVERSARY appointment of ACOS FP and CG RAF Regt on 9 COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE - 3 FEB 12 Dec 11, vice Air Cdre R W La Forte CBE MA A Service of Commemoration to celebrate ’ 70th BA RAF, who will become ACOS Trg at 22 Gp. the Corps Anniversary will be held at St MESSAGE FROM THE CG RAF REGT Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds from – I am both proud and honoured to have 11.00 12.15 on Fri 3 Feb 12. All Corps assumed the appointment of CG and look forward members - both serving and retired - and their to leading the Corps through whatever challenges families are invited to attend. Attendees should we encounter in 2012 and beyond. Having been be seated by 10.45. away for the past year, at the Higher Command Dress for serving members will be notified and Staff Course followed by a tour in separately; dress for retired members will be Afghanistan, it is very heartening to return and see jacket and Regtl tie, with medals and neck all that has been achieved over the past 12 decorations as appropriate. RAF Regt Assoc months. branches planning to attend are asked to notify the It is also abundantly clear that every Regtl Sec of their numbers by 20 Jan 12 to enable member of the RAF Regt (regular and auxiliary) suitable seating to be allocated; names are not has remained enormously committed, dedicated required. – and focussed on our tasks well done and thank The nearest car park to the Cathedral is the you! Ram Meadow Car Park (Pay and Display). As ever our operational credibility and Transport for serving members will be provided capability is exceptionally strong and our wider from RAF Honington but families and non- contribution to the RAF and UK Defence is fully entitled persons will need to make their own way appreciated. Our ability to rapidly adapt to to the venue. In observance of budget restraint, changing circumstances and evolving threats has we regret that there will not be any post-event proved as vital as ever and this has manifested reception.

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’s Lynn, SERVICE OF THE ORDER OF THE Sqn RAuxAF Regt, RAF Marham, King BRITISH EMPIRE . PE33 9PB. Tel: (Mil) 95951 3493 or HM The Queen has commanded that a (BT) 01760 337261, ext 3493. – Service of the Order of the British Empire is to be RAF REGIMENT FUND CHANGE OF ’s Cathedral at 11.00 on Weds 7 held in St Paul MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Mar 12. Those belonging to the Order and Flt Lt Darren Priest is the RAF Regt Fund – holders of the British Empire Medal who wish to Membership Secretary. He not the Regtl Sec - attend should apply for a ticket giving, in block should be contacted on any Fund membership or capitals, their full name, address, telephone Direct Debit issues at: RTS(A), Trg Wg, RAF number, appointment (ie GBE, KBE, DBE, CBE, Honington, Bury St Edmunds, IP31 1EE; OBE, MBE, BEM) and other decorations as soon BT Tel 01359 237949 or by email at: as possible and no later than Fri 13 Jan 12 to: The [email protected] . Flt Lt Norry is no Registrar, Order of the British Empire, Central longer the Memb Sec and his contact details ’s Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood, St James should be deleted from any relevant databases Palace, London, SW1A 1BH, or via the website at NOT FORGOTTEN ASSOCIATION www.obeservice.org.uk. Tickets will not be The Not Forgotten Association (NFA) is a available for spouses who are not members of the Tri-Service charity that provides entertainment Order, or guests, owing to the size of the order and recreation for the serving wounded and the ’s and limited seating capacity in St Paul ex-service community with disabilities. The NFA Cathedral. run a series of events, and provide other benefits, ’S COLOUR PARADE PRINTS SOVEREIGN for wounded/injured/ill/disabled Service and ex- A limited number of prints from the Service personnel each year. painting capturing the presentation of the Among other things, they hold an annual ’s Colour to the RAuxAF ’ Palace or replacement Sovereign Christmas Party (usually in St James on 18 Jul 10, are now available for purchase. somewhere similar) a Garden Party at – Painted by the renowned military and Corps - Buckingham Palace and a variety of artist, Stuart Brown, the historic parade included events/activity days etc. More information can be four flts of auxiliary personnel from 17 units found on their website at www.nfassociation.org, across the Force and in addition to the or by writing to the NFA at 2 Grosvenor Gardens, presentation of the Colour to the RAuxAF by HM London SW1W 0DH. The Queen, the occasion also saw inaugural RAF REGT COMMEMORATIVE PLATE Standards presented to 2623 (East Anglian) Sqn AND TANKARD OFFER and 2620 (County of Norfolk) Sqns RAuxAF The South Wales Branch of the RAF Regt Regt. Assoc is offering for sale an approved RAF Regt The prints have been limited to just 300 70th Anniversary Commemorative Plate and £36 each, including postage, packing copies, each numbered and signed by the artist. In Tankard at addition, 30 of the prints will be released as and insurance. Further details may be obtained ‘Special Editions’ and will also include the from Mr Alan Day of 59 Bethlehem Road, signatures of the Honorary Inspector-General of Skewen, Neath, SA10 6AW; tel (BT) 01792 the RAuxAF, AVM Lord Beaverbrook; Honorary 425373 or by Email at [email protected] . Air Cdre 2623 Sqn RAuxAF Regt, Air Cdre Sir CORPS DIARY DATES: Michael Marshall and Honorary Air Cdre 2620 * Provisional Dates Sqn RAuxAF Regt, Air Cdre Sir Michael Oswald. 28 Jan - RAF Regt Assoc NEC Mtg 1-11 (RAF The 63 cm x 45 cm prints are available Cranwell) direct from Flt Lt James Pettit and will be sent 1 Feb - 70th Anniversary of the Formation of the unframed ready for mounting. The Limited RAF Regt. £50 and the Special Edition prints are priced at 2 Feb - Corps Operational Review (RAF £75, incl UK/BFPO Edition prints are priced at Honington). ‘Signed For’ postage. th 3 Feb - Corps 70 Anniversary Commemoration Cheques should be made payable to Service (Bury St Edmunds). ‘Service Funds RAF Marham’. ’ Briefing and Corps All enquiries 3 Feb - Corps Officers should be made to Flt Lt James Pettit, DSC, 2620 Formation Dinner 2012 (RAF Honington).

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6 Feb - 70th Anniversary of the Formation of the Open Letter to Angela Merkel the RAF Regt. th German Chancellor by Frederick 7 Apr - 90 Birthday of 2 ACC / II Sqn RAF Forsyth Regt. – Dear Madam Chancellor. Permit me to 12-13 Apr - RAF AC Assoc Spring Reunion begin this letter with a brief description of my Morley Hayes (Dinner on 13 Apr) knowledge of, and affection for, your country. I 11-14 May - RAF Regt Assoc Spring Social first came to Germany as a boy student aged 13 in (Nidd Hall, Nr Harrogate). 1952, two years before you were born. After 12 May - Annual RAF Regt Chapel three extended vacations with German families Commemoration (Catterick). ’ Dinner Club Annual who spoke no English, I found at the age of 16 30 May - RAF Regt Offrs – and to my pleasure that I could pass for German Reception 2012 (House of Lords) * Date among Germans. Change In my 20s I was posted as a foreign 4 Jun * - Naming Ceremony (for those killed in correspondent to East Germany in 1963, when 2011) at the National Armed Forces' Memorial you would have been a schoolgirl just north of (NMA Alrewas). East Berlin where I lived. I know Germany, Frau 15 Jun - 63 Sqn RAF Regt Assoc Reunion (Union Merkel, from the alleys of Hamburg to the spires Jack Club, London). ’ Day + RAF Regt Annual of Dresden, from the Rhine to the Oder, from the 30 Jun - UK Veterans bleak Baltic coast to the snows of the Bavarian Memorial Commemoration (NMA Alrewas) Alps. I say this only to show you that I am neither 19 Jul - II Sqn RAF Regt 90th Anniversary ’ Day (RAF Honington). ignoramus nor enemy. Families I also had occasion in those years to visit 21 Jul - RAF Regt Assoc NEC Mtg 2-11 (venue the many thousands of my countrymen who held TBC) the line of the Elbe against 50,000 Soviet main 1 Aug - Centurion Journal 2012 - Article battle tanks and thus kept Germany free to Deadline. – recover, modernise and prosper at no defence cost 28 Sep 1 Oct - RAF Regt Assoc AGM and to herself. Reunion (Wyboston Lakes) – And from inside the Cold War I saw our 18-19 Oct - RAF AC Assoc Autumn Reunion decades of effort to defeat the Soviet empire and Morley Hayes (Dinner on 19 Apr) ’ Dinner Club Annual set your East Germany free. I was therefore 26 Oct - RAF Regt Offrs disappointed last Friday to see you take the part of Dinner 2012 (RAF Club, London). a small and vindictive Frenchman in what can 11 Nov - Remembrance Day (Nationwide). only be seen as a targeted attack on the land of my 2013 fathers. 31 Jan - Corps Operational Review (RAF We both know that every country has at Honington). least one aspect of its society or economy that is 1 Feb - 71st Anniversary of the Formation of the so crucial, so vital that it simply cannot be RAF Regt. conceded. For Germany it is surely your 1 Feb* - Corps 71st Anniversary Commemoration automotive sector, your car industry. Any foreign- Service (Bury St Edmunds). ’ Briefing and Corps sourced measure to target German cars and render 1 Feb - Corps Officers them unsaleable would have to be opposed to veto Formation Dinner 2012 (RAF Honington). point by a German chancellor. 11 May - Annual RAF Regt Chapel For France it is the agricultural sector. Commemoration (provisional date, Catterick). ’ Dinner Club Ladies For more than 50 years members of the EU have 28 Jun - RAF Regt Offrs been taxed under the terms of the Common Dinner Night (Morley Hayes, nr Derby). Agricultural Policy in order to subsidise France's

agriculture. Indeed, the CAP has been the ******************** cornerstone of every EU budget since the first I like the following Open Letter from day. Attack it and France fights back. Frederick Forsyth to Angela Merkel so much that For us the crucial corner of our economy I thought you may like it too. is the financial services industry. Although parts of it exist all over the country it is concentrated in

11 that part of London known even internationally as Your conference did not even save the "the City". It is not just a few greedy bankers; we euro. Permit me a few home truths about it. The both have those but the City is far more. It is euro is a Franco-German construct. It was a indeed a vast banking agglomeration of more German chancellor (Kohl) who ordered a German banks than anywhere else in the world. But that is banker (Karl Otto Pohl) to get together with a the tip of the iceberg. Also in the City is the French civil servant (Delors) on the orders of a world's greatest concentration of insurance French president (Mitterrand) and create a companies. Add to that the brokers; traders in common currency. Which they did. stocks and shares worldwide, second only, and It was a flawed construct. Like a ship then maybe not, to Wall Street. with a twisted hull it might float in calm water but But it is not just stocks. The City is also if it ever hit a force eight it would probably home to the "exchanges" of gold and precious founder. Even then it might have worked for it metals, diamonds, base metals, commodities, was launched with a manual of rules, the Growth futures, derivatives, coffee, cocoa - the list goes And Stability Pact. If the terms of that book of on and on. And it does not yet touch upon rules had been complied with the Good Ship Euro shipping, aviation, fuels, energy, textiles - enough. might have survived. Suffice to say the City is the biggest and busiest But compliance was entrusted to the marketplace in the world. European Central Bank which catastrophically It makes the Paris Bourse look like a failed to insist on that compliance. Rules parish council set against the United Nations and governing the growing of cucumbers are more even dwarfs your Frankfurt many times. That, zealously enforced. This was a European Bank in surely, is the point of what happened in Brussels. a German city under a French president and it The French wish to wreck it and you seem to have failed in its primary, even its sole, duty. agreed. Its contribution to the British economy is This had everything to do with France not simply useful nor even merely valuable. It is and Germany and nothing whatever to do with absolutely crucial. Britain. Yet in Brussels last week the EU pack The financial services industry seemed intent only on venting its spleen on the contributes 10 per cent of our Gross Domestic country that wisely refused to abolish its pound. Product and 17.5 per cent of our taxation revenue. You did not even address yourselves to saving the A direct and targeted attack on the City is an euro but only to seeking a way to ensure it might attack on my country. But that, although devised work in some future time. in Paris, is what you have chosen to support. But the euro will not be saved. It is You seem to have decided that Britain is crumbling now. And since you have now turned once again Germany's enemy, a situation that has against my country, from this side of the Channel, not existed since 1945. I deeply regret this but the Madame Chancellor, one can only say of the euro: choice was yours and entirely yours. The YOU MADE IT, YOU MEND IT. Transaction Tax or Tobin Tax you reserve the Joke time right to impose would not even generate money A Member Colin Smith sent this one to “With all the sadness and trauma goi for Brussels. It would simply lead to massive me. ng on in emigration from London to other havens. the world at this time, it is worth reflecting on the Long ago it was necessary to live in a death of a very important person which went city to trade in it. In these days when deals can almost unnoticed last week. Larry LaPrise, the flash across the world in a nanosecond, all a major man that wrote 'The Hokey Kokey' died brokerage needs is a suite of rooms, computers, peacefully at the age of 93. The most traumatic telephones and the talent of the young people part for his family was getting him into his coffin. ’s when the trouble barking offers and agreements down the phone. They put his left leg in. That ” Such a suite of rooms could be in Berne, Thun, started! Zurich or even Singapore. ’s all for now, keep smiling if Under your Tobin Tax tens of thousands Well that would leave London. This would not help you can and stay happy. Brussels, it would simply help destroy the British economy. Malcolm

12 Thursday 14th June 2012 Branch Night th th ’ham Branch Saturday 16 June 2012 24 Ann B DATES FOR Sunday 24th June 2012 National Service Day MAKE Sunday 24th June 2012 Mem Service Plymouth Ho YOUR th A Sunday 24 June 2012 Allied Air Forces Mem th DIARIES DATE Saturday 30 June 2012 Regt Ann Comm NMA Thursday 14th July 2012 Branch Night Thursday 9th August 2012 Branch Night Saturday 21st January 2012 NEC Mtg Venue TBA Thursday 13th Sept 2012 Branch Night Wednesday 1st Feb 2012 70th Ann RAF Regt Sunday 6th October 2012 Merchant Navy Day Wednesday 1st Feb 2012 Branch Subs Due Thursday 11th Oct 2012 Branch Night Thursday 9th Feb 2012 Branch AGM Sunday 21st October 2012 Battle of Trafalgar Thurs 8th March 2012 Branch Night Sunday 4th November 2012 Midlands Fest of Rem th th ’ham Poppy Ball Thurs 12 April 2012 Branch Night Saturday 10 Nov 2012 B Thursday 10th May 2012 Branch Night Sunday 11th Nov 2012 Remembrance Sunday th th th th ’ham Int Tattoo Fri 11 -Mon 14 May 2012 Spr Reunion Nidd Hall Sat 24 -Sun 25 Nov 2012 B Saturday 12th May 2012 Annual Chapel Comm.

CHAIRMAN SECRETARY TREASURER Ron Sharp Malcolm A Baldwin Tom Magee 46 Lightwood Road 61 Pear Tree Crescent 11 Pavilion Avenue Yoxall, Burton on Trent Solihull Lodge, Shirley Smethwick, Warley Staffordshire DE13 8QE Solihull, B90 1LE West Midlands, B67 6LA Tel No: 01543 472411 Tel: 0121 608 3791 Tel: 0121 429 5635 e-mail [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

PRESIDENT BRANCH VICE-PRESIDENT Dave Gooding QUARTERMASTER Peter Swash ‘Mdina’ Rowney Green Lane 31 Queen Elizabeth Road Tom Magee Rubery, Rednal 11 Pavilion Avenue Rowney Green Birmingham Smethwick, Warley Redditch West Midlands B45 0NE West Midlands, B67 6LA Worcestershire, B48 7QF Mob: 07982 425539 Tel: 0121 429 5635 e-mail Tel No: 01527 60870 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

MINUTE SECRETARY RBL LIAISON OFFICER STANDARD BEARER Ken Bridgwood Dave Gooding Dave Gooding 29 Claverdon Drive 31 Queen Elizabeth Road 31 Queen Elizabeth Road Great Barr Rubery, Rednal Rubery, Rednal Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham West Midlands, B45 5HR West Midlands B45 0NE West Midlands B45 0NE Tel: 0121 357 4242 Mob: 077597 36879 Mob: 077597 36879 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

RESEARCH CO-ORD/ PUBLIC RELATIONS FINANCIAL AUDITORS LINK-UP DATA BASE OFFICER/SOCIAL SEC Trevor and Joan Round Hughie Cooper Michael Beard 7 Board School Gardens 11 Sandringham Close 21 Abingdon Road Dudley Baswich Lane Bloxwich, Walsall West Midlands Stafford, ST17 0AB West Midlands DY3 1XA Tel: 01785 242269 WS3 2SX Tel: 01902 672597 [email protected] Tel: 01922 491453

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