August 2017 LAPSED MEMBERS

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and also in calls for welfare assistance The Royal Air Forces (RAF) Association has announced the appointment of Air Marshal Sir Baz North as its new President, replacing Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller.

Sir Baz joins the RAF Association team following a distinguished career of 35 years with the Royal Air Force.

1 Overseas Area Newsletter August 2017 LAPSED MEMBERS New leadership for Royal Air Forces Association Inside this issue: New Leadership for RAFA RAF Autumn 2017 European Area Finding Operation Market Garden Veterans London Cenotaph Ceremony Air Marshal Sir Baz North replaces Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller as President, as the Association experiences big growth in membership and also in calls for welfare assistance The Royal Air Forces (RAF) Association has announced the appointment of Air Marshal Sir Baz North as its new President, replacing Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller. In his new role, Sir Baz will join the charity s board of trustees and play a key role in ensuring the Association continues to provide world-class support to the RAF family. Sir Baz joins the RAF Association team following a distinguished career of 35 years with the Royal Air Force. In 2006, he commanded No 83 Expeditionary Air Group in the Middle East before returning to the Ministry of Defence as its Director of Air Resources and Plans. He was subsequently appointed Air Officer Commanding No 22 (Training) Group. Following a tour as the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in the Ministry of Defence, he was promoted to Air Marshal in 2013 and appointed the RAF s Deputy Commander Capability and Air Member for Personnel and Capability. He was appointed KCB in the New Year s Honours list 2015 and retired from the RAF in Sir Baz has been a member of the RAF Association since 2003.

RAF100: Twelve months of activities planned The RAF100 programme will salute the centenary of the Royal Air Force through wide-ranging local, regional and national events and activities running from

2 RAF100: Twelve months of activities planned The RAF100 programme will salute the centenary of the Royal Air Force through wide-ranging local, regional and national events and activities running from 1 April 2018 to the end of September The public launch is scheduled for autumn 2017, which will coincide with the start of the RAF100 Appeal, run by the four key RAF charities (RAF Association, RAF Benevolent Fund, RAF Charitable Trust and the RAF Museum) to raise charitable funds to support the RAF family. The RAF100 website has been launched to tell people about RAF100 and how to get involved. As you d expect, there will be traditional events, full of ceremonial and historic significance, including: a live broadcast multi-media event from the Royal Albert Hall; a service at Westminster Abbey; and a parade of 1,500 uniformed personnel up The Mall to Buckingham Palace where Her Majesty The Queen will take the salute and review a flypast. Important though these big events are, there is much, much more to RAF100. The Royal Air Force will be showcased in lots of different ways to reach as many people as possible from air shows to festivals; from national, iconic events to local initiatives and schools projects focusing on science, technology, engineering and maths. The RAF Association will be leading on RAF100 Appeal collections at some of these events and in due course, we will be asking for the support of Association members and other volunteers to help us. More generally, there are plans for a range of special RAF100 publications as well as television and radio programmes and social media campaigns.

3 The RAF Association Republic of Ireland Branch is pleased to be hosting the European Area Autumn Conference Date: 6 to 8 October 2017 Venue: Marine Hotel Sutton Cross Dublin 13 Website: Cost of package (per person): Total cost per person sharing 468 Total cost per person (single) 597* * There is a limited number of single rooms Additional nights on B&B basis (per person): 109 (sharing) 178 (single)* *There is a limited number of single rooms Conference package includes the two nights accommodation, two breakfasts, two prosecco receptions, one buffet lunch and two dinners (including the Gala Dinner). It also includes two excursions with an additional morning tour for non delegates. Prices do not include transfer from Dublin Airport although transfers might be possible when delegates travel arrangements become known. Note: Exclusive use of hotel is subject to minimum numbers. Hotel may well have lunch trade at the weekends/bar trade. Marine Hotel, Sutton Cross, Dublin 13 The Marine Hotel is located at Sutton Cross, the gateway to Howth and Dublin City. The Marine is a hotel of great warmth and character, with its lawn rolling down to the shore of Dublin Bay. As well as meeting rooms and banquet facilities, there is a swimming pool and sauna.

RAF Association European Area Autumn Conference 2017 Proposed Programme Friday 6 October - Welcome and EA Council Meeting Check-in at Marine Hotel, Sutton Cross, Dublin 13 Pre-dinner prosecco

4 RAF Association European Area Autumn Conference 2017 Proposed Programme Friday 6 October - Welcome and EA Council Meeting Check-in at Marine Hotel, Sutton Cross, Dublin 13 Pre-dinner prosecco reception Irish night to welcome the delegates - Irish dancing school display by the Cooke School of Irish Dancing; may encourage a few of the guests to try a step or two! Three course dinner Saturday 7th October - European Area Conference Conference Room open at 0830hrs with tea/coffee break Morning local sight-seeing tour for those not participating in the Conference Buffet lunch in the Cucinos Restaurant Afternoon tour for delegates and non-delegates to Malahide Castle and Gardens ( Malahide Castle is one of the highlights to any visit to Dublin. Located by the seaside village of Malahide, the castle is steeped in medieval Irish history. The refurbished castle features an engaging castle tour, exhibition of Irish and local history, a botanical interpretive centre, a museum, secret walled gardens and an expansive West Lawns Walk, as well as local craft and souvenir shops. Lovely coastal drive back towards the hotel. Sunday Service 8 October

Public Transport The following information might be useful for anyone who wants to do their own thing, perhaps, travelling into Dublin city centre for sightseeing or shopping or the traditional

5 Public Transport The following information might be useful for anyone who wants to do their own thing, perhaps, travelling into Dublin city centre for sightseeing or shopping or the traditional Dublin pubs. Taxi There are a number of taxi services operating from Sutton. We recommend you book your taxi the night before departure in order to avoid possible delays. Reception would be delighted to make bookings for you. Some useful numbers are: Classic Cabs Coastal Cabs Bus The most frequent bus service is the 31. It departs from immediately outside the hotel to Marlborough Street in the city centre. (Outside Hotel gate, on the left). Timetable at Light Rail DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport) DART trains run from Sutton Station to all city centre stations and to all stops to Bray. (200m, out hotel gate, cross the road, turn left down Station Road, station on your right.) Timetable at From Sutton Station to Connolly Station (city centre) is approx. 20 minutes. Other information Please see the Visit Dublin website for further information about activities in Dublin.

Finding Operation Market Garden Veterans Major Igor de Fretes a Royal Dutch Army Liaison officer attached to the 336 Hercules Squadron in Eindhoven is looking to find veterans who flew with Operation

6 Finding Operation Market Garden Veterans Major Igor de Fretes a Royal Dutch Army Liaison officer attached to the 336 Hercules Squadron in Eindhoven is looking to find veterans who flew with Operation Market Garden. Every year a great memorial of the operation is held in Arnhem and is normally is organised around the 17 September. In the past they have only invited veterans from the Paratroopers who were dropped at one of the used drop zones in WWII. This year they also want to invite veterans who actually flew with Operation Market Garden to witness the memorial jump at Arnhem. If you are able to assist Major de Fretes in finding veterans of the operation and help him to contact them, please him on either: Military IL.d.Fretes@mindef.nl Private igorlevidefretes@gmail.com

7 London Cenotaph Ceremony We have an opportunity for you to take part in this year's Cenotaph Ceremony. The Royal British Legion (RBL), on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, will be organising the former service contingents attending the parade and service at the Cenotaph, Whitehall, on Remembrance Sunday, 12 November The MOD, Cobseo and RBL have agreed priorities for the allocation of tickets, these are: Category 1: Former service personnel holding a campaign medal Category 2: Civilians deployed on operations in support of the military (e.g. Merchant Navy, Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Civil Servants) Category 3: Former service personnel with no campaign medal Category 4: Bereaved spouses (of those who died on operations) Category 5: Veteran Association representatives Category 6: Military charities and associated civilian groups Carers assisting someone in the above six categories can also apply for a ticket This year a representative of the Overseas Area will lay the Association s wreath; stewards will also be positioned at the Cenotaph to lay wreaths on behalf of the detachments as they march past. Contingents will assemble and disperse at Horse Guards Parade. Due to the number of personnel on parade, the overall length of the march past has increased. I would ask you to ensure that you are aware of the physical demands of standing in Whitehall for at least one hour and then marching for a distance of 1.5 miles, possibly in inclement weather. Due to heightened security measures all those with allocated tickets will need to carry a form of photo ID on the day together with a document showing proof of address for access to Horse Guards Parade via the manned police entry points. The Metropolitan Police will need to conduct individual security checks on all participants. Basic personal information will need to be provided when applying for tickets for each applicant. This consists of: Title/rank First name (this must be the name on photo ID) Last name Date of birth Place of birth First line of address Town Postcode Service number (where applicable) Category (see above) In view of the current security arrangements, only holders of admission tickets will be allowed to join the parade. A ticket allocated to an individual is not transferable. All participants are liable to a security search on the day. The South East and Eastern Area headquarters will be administering the ticket allocation for the event this year. There is limited ticket availability and priority will be given to Association members in the first instance on a first come first served basis. We would therefore be grateful to receive applications for tickets, together with the required information above, by Thursday 31 August Contact details: christina.narayan@rafa.org.uk or

way for us to get in contact with our members is through email.

8 Registered Charity No (England & Wales), SC (Scotland) AREA STAFF CONTACT DETAILS Sarah Waugh Overseas Area Director 21 Talbot Street Belfast HELP US TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOU By far, the quickest and easiest way for us to get in contact with our members is through . This method of communication also saves money on postage money that we can instead spend on providing welfare support to members of the RAF family. Please update us on your current address by sending a quick note using the details on the right. Follow us on: BT1 2LD Northern Ireland (m) (w) sarah.waugh@rafa.org.uk Mike McCourt Area Welfare Officer 20 Queen Street Edinburgh EH2 1JX Scotland Branch Notices WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU Let us know what your branch is up to, so that it can be included in net month s newsletter. You can contact us by calling the office, or you can your updates and photographs to us using the details above. (m) (w) mike.mccourt@rafa.org.uk Diary Dates 6 to 8 Oct 2017 European Area Autumn Conference, Dublin 11 May 2018 European Area Annual Conference, Yarnfield 11 to 13 May 2018 Annual Conference, Yarnfield 2 to 4 Nov 2018 European Area Autumn Conference, Brussels

February 2018 LAPSED MEMBERS

Overseas Area Newsletter February 2018 LAPSED MEMBERS 2017-558 Inside this issue: RAF100 Note from the Secretary General Overseas branch insurance Standard bearers Westminster Abbey RAF Association RAF