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Celebrating 100 Years of RAF Northolt

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Celebrating 100 Years of RAF Northolt Celebrating 100 years of RAF Northolt The RAF Northolt Freedom of Hillingdon Parade 22 June 2015 www.hillingdon.gov.uk 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 1 16/06/2015 16:20 Foreword from Cllr Ray Puddifoot MBE Leader of Hillingdon Council A warm welcome to you on this historic day for RAF Northolt. We are proud to celebrate the centenary of RAF Northolt and its contribution to the borough. Hillingdon has close links to the Armed Forces, with large numbers of serving personnel and volunteer reservists living in the borough alongside ex-service personnel, war veterans and their families. RAF Northolt was granted the Freedom of Entry by the Borough of Hillingdon in 2000. This was in recognition of the serving personnel’s dedication, since its creation, to their country and to Hillingdon. Freedom of Entry is the highest distinction a council can bestow upon a local Army, Navy or Air Force unit and enables the service personnel of the recipient unit to march through the borough in full military style. Hillingdon Council also signed an Armed Forces Community Covenant in 2012, encouraging community understanding and recognition of the sacrifices the forces make. I hope you will join me in expressing our gratitude for the pivotal role that RAF Northolt has played in the borough throughout the last 100 years. 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 2 16/06/2015 16:20 Freedom of Entry certificate issued 24 February 2000 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 3 16/06/2015 16:20 The RAF Northolt Freedom of Hillingdon Parade 10.40am The parade departs from Harefield Road and marches through Uxbridge Town Centre. It features more than 170 personnel including: ■ The Central Band of the Royal Air Force (The Band plays by permission of the Air Force Board of the Defence Council) ■ A full Guard of Honour provided by The Queen’s Colour Squadron (63 Squadron RAF Regiment) ■ The Queen’s Colour for the Royal Air Force ■ The Standards of 32 The Royal Squadron and 63 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment ■ 621 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron ■ The British Forces Post Office 10.50am The Parade is received at the Civic Centre by The Worshipful the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr George Cooper ■ Speeches The Worshipful the Mayor of Hillingdon, Cllr George Cooper Group Captain Andy Bacon ADC MA BSc RAF The Leader of Hillingdon Council, Cllr Ray Puddifoot MBE ■ Raising of the Armed Forces Flag ■ Parade marches off 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 4 16/06/2015 16:20 RAF Northolt – 100 years old this year Ready to carry, ready to fight For one century now, RAF Northolt has been living its motto. Its role and structure has changed and developed over that time; other famous stations in and around London have come and gone; but RAF Northolt remains and its important place in military aviation is beyond question. Today it is as operationally relevant as it has ever been, and its role is more varied than ever. It is difficult to imagine today, but in the early twentieth century, the area surrounding present day Northolt was entirely rural – ‘in the countryside’. Major George Carmichael the On the 3 March 1915, the aviation age arrived on the first Station station in the form of the British Army. Flying in from Commander Farnborough, No. 4 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron of The Royal Flying Corps touched down onto the three north-south landing strips and taxied their BE2c biplanes to a halt. Northolt’s first commanding officer, Major George Carmichael, arrived one week later to take command of the squadron and the then titled RFC Military School Ruislip. BE2c biplane 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 5 16/06/2015 16:20 WRAFs 1918 On the night of 4 June 1915 two aircraft from Northolt took off into the darkness to fly a defensive patrol against a zeppelin raid – the first recorded operational sorties from the air base. Northolt was open for business. After opening, the station was almost immediately installed with night lighting and designated as one of seven Home Defence airfields. 18 Squadron was formed on the unit and equipped with the Vickers Gunbus – the world’s first purpose-built fighter aircraft. The station didn’t become RAF Northolt until 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed and, following convention, the base was named after the nearest railhead, which at the time was Northolt Junction, itself renamed as South Ruislip station in 1942. Then, as today, RAF Northolt was the key strategic site in the defence of London. This is perhaps best personified by its role in the Battle of Britain. Famously, the Battle of Britain Bunker that was so decisive in the conflict and the home of Fighter Command No.11 Group, is located just off Vine Lane in Uxbridge. On 22 December 1937, RAF Northolt became the first station to operate the Hawker Hurricane fighter (with No.111 Squadron). In the Battle of Britain, Northolt was home to a series of Allied and British Hurricane and Spitfire Squadrons, notably No.1 Royal Canadian Air Force Squadron and No.303 Polish Squadron. Between 30 August and 11 October 1940, No.303 Squadron tallied 126 enemy aircraft destroyed, 13 probables and nine damaged. This was the highest 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 6 16/06/2015 16:20 allied score during the Battle of Britain. Sergeant Josef Frantisek, a maverick Czech national and honorary Pole, became the highest Allied fighter ace of the Battle, with 17 kills in just 27 days. From 1941 onwards a complete Polish Fighter Wing of three squadrons operated from Northolt. In 1943, RAF Northolt’s Spitfire Mk IX squadrons became the first Spitfire Wing as a unit to operate over Germany. In 1944 No.34 Photo Recce Wing operated from the aerodrome providing vital tactical intelligence in the build-up to D-Day and throughout the subsequent Normandy Campaign. In 1944 a Liberator bomber nicknamed Marco Polo flew non-stop from Washington to Northolt, taking a mere 19 hours and 46 minutes. This was the first ever capital-to-capital flight. In 1946 the airfield was loaned for civil use whilst Heathrow Airport was under construction. By 1952, Northolt was the busiest airfield in Europe, handling an annual total of 50,000 air movements. In 1956, No.1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit moved from RAF Ruislip to RAF Northolt, where they still operate today, and in 1957, the Metropolitan Communication Squadron moved to RAF Northolt and reformed as No.32 Squadron in 1969. In early 1990, No. 60 Squadron disbanded from Germany and moved to join No. 32 Squadron, making it the largest and most varied single squadron in the RAF. The major role of providing VIP air transport continues today, with the amalgamation of the Squadron in 1995 with the Queen’s flight from RAF Benson forming No 32 (The Royal) Squadron at RAF Northolt. Pilots of No 303 Squadron in 1940 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 7 16/06/2015 16:20 Pilots of 111 squadron scramble at RAF Northolt in 1940 No.600 (City of London) Squadron, which formed at RAF Northolt in October 1925, was reformed in 1999 after a merger of the No.1 and No.3 Maritime Headquarters Units. It is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force unit comprised of part-time volunteers who attend training at weekends in addition to their day jobs. In 2008 the British Forces Post Office moved to purpose-built facilities at RAF Northolt from Mill Hill as part of the MoDEL (MoD Estates London) project. The £320m MoDEL project involved the closure of RAF Bentley Priory and RAF Uxbridge and the consolidation of most of their units into Northolt. By 2010 the RAF Central Band, the Queen’s Colour Squadron, the Service Prosecution Authority, the Military Aviation Authority and various other smaller units had all moved into new or refurbished facilities at Northolt. In 2011 the government announced that RAF Northolt was to be the forward base for Typhoon fast jets and other military elements providing security for the London Olympic Games. Measures were taken to ensure that Typhoon fast jets could safely operate from Northolt’s runway and these were successfully tested during Operation Olympic Guardian in May 2012. Typhoons then returned in July 2012 to provide key support to the Olympics air security plan and departed at the end of the Games. RAF Northolt sees a wide spectrum of official visitors including British and foreign royalty, heads of state and government ministers, military personnel of both the British and foreign armed forces and many civilian VIPs and celebrities who enjoy the privacy and first-class passenger handling service available. 12282 RAF freedom parade programme.indd 8 16/06/2015 16:20 It is clear that RAF Northolt has a rich history, and it continues to thrive to this day. It is the hub of military flying operations in London through No.32 Squadron and is where the London Air Ambulance, which provides such a valuable service to London’s citizens, is based. On the ground, the Queen’s Colour Squadron mounts the guard for royalty and visiting heads of state, while the Central and RAF Regiment Bands of the Royal Air Force plays music to a world-class standard. The 600 (City of London) Squadron provides a growing and vital pool of reserves, and although the Royal Flying Corp are no longer with us, the British Army are still strongly represented on the unit with the British Forces Post Office and 621 Squadron, which provides cover for the safe disposal of explosives and munitions.
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