RAF News 21 Oct 2022, Edition 1546

Countdown to UK space shot

THE COUNTDOWN to the firstever space launch from UK soil has begun after a Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster arrived at Spaceport Cornwall carrying Virgin Orbit’s

The delivery followed the arrival of a modified 747 aircraft from the Mojave desert in California to Newquay, flown by Sqn Ldr Mathew Stannard, an RAF test pilot working with Virgin Orbit.

The giant aircraft, dubbed Cosmic Girl, will take off, soar to 35,000ft and release the rocket that will blast satellites from seven global customers into space.

l See p2

another chance to

pass them

play Spike that

This is the highest achievement for a cyclist

Great British take-off

SQN LDR Stannard said: “We are weeks away now from the first UK launch so it’s all very real, I’m really excited to be here with the Virgin Orbit team.”

The delivery of the rocket by a Brize-based 99 Sqn transporter means training flights and tests can begin prior to lift-off.

During the Start Me Up flight (named after the Rolling Stones song) the rocket will be slung under one of the aircraft’s wings and at the right altitude and position Sqn Ldr Stannard will hit a button releasing the rocket before banking away as it ignites.

The technique means smaller, washing machine-size satellites like those used by the MOD can be deployed more quickly and simply from more places.

Head of Spaceport Cornwall Melissa Thorpe said: “This is the moment we have been waiting eight years for. I’m massively emotional. After the pandemic and all the turbulence, to have something that is hopeful and exciting and inspirational means a lot.”

UK Space Agency director of commercial spaceflight Matt Archer said the launch was a key ambition of Britain’s national space strategy.

in the first phase of

HUNTERS destroy a fort in Yemen after Egyptian Air Force MiG fighters bomb Nuqab, in Aden.

flights to the

population of Ethiopia. More than 32,000

of the

way for the total

offensive, paving

Korps.

and

supplies are delivered during 2,152 sorties as part of Operation Bushell.

Extracts from The

By Day by Air Cdre Graham Pitchfork (The History Press)

“

HISTORIC: Cosmic Girl will be piloted by RAF Sqn Ldr Stannard, left Right, rocket is unloaded from C-17 at Space Port Cornwall

In Brief

The enormity of it hit later. That’s when the shock kicked in...

AFC RECIPIENT GP CAPT KEVIN LATCHMAN

”

AN RAF pilot whose daring airmanship saved 365 people from the Taliban has been awarded an Air Force Cross by Prince William.

C-17 pilot Gp Capt Kev Latchman missed a bus by 10ft while flying refugees out of Afghanistan in the pitch dark after a suicide bomb caused a power cut at Kabul airport.

He said: “Everything about Operation Pitting was a team effort and I ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but did the right thing.

“It was amazing to see the Prince of Wales and have the family here, it’s quite awesome. I’ve never been through the front gates of Buckingham Palace before, and I may not ever do it again.”

He said fellow RAF pilot Prince William was aware of the incident during the humanitarian airlift last August and had asked him about his split-second decision to take off.

He said: “What was running through my head at the time was that clear decisionmaking process, it was quite instinctive.

“It was quite clear I couldn’t stop, it was quite clear I couldn’t get to my speed, so we were left with one option.

“The enormity of it hit later once we were at a height, and that’s when the shock kicked in.”

RAF pilots lifted more than 15,000 people to safety from Afghanistan during 165 sorties from Brize Norton ahead of the evacuation deadline following the withdrawal of all US Forces after more than 20 years.

They confronted scenes of total mayhem as tens of thousands of Afghani families fleeing Taliban reprisals swept into the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

Gp Capt Latchman’s close call came on his second mission, in the immediate aftermath of the suicide bomber attack on the airport that killed 60 Afghans and 13 US soldiers.

Speaking after the mission he said: “When we got into Kabul the situation on the ground was chaotic, when we landed, we were told to keep all our doors closed and lights off, then once we got approval to load our 365 passengers the airfield lighting went out.

“As we went to take off, three vehicles drove out in front of us – we’d noticed them driving down the parallel taxiway but they weren’t a threat at that time then suddenly they turned onto the runway – a pick-up truck, a bus in the middle and then another truck, with passengers heading for another aircraft.

“They couldn’t see us because we had our lights off and I didn’t have enough space to stop the aircraft because they were only 1,000 feet ahead of us, so we decided to rotate early and I lifted the aircraft off about 15 knots early and we wallowed into the air clearing the convoy, which was quite exciting and pretty scary.

“I asked the loadmaster – ‘how close do you think we were?’ and she used some interesting colourful language then said ‘10 feet maybe less,’ she was looking out the left-hand troop door porthole window and could see the bus as it went underneath the left undercarriage and number two engine.”

Red Arrows welcomed at Waddington

WADDINGTON HAS become the new home of the Red Arrows –maintaining a link with Lincolnshire spanning almost four decades.

At the start of a new era for the team, that first performed in 1965, their personnel, aircraft and equipment have relocated from Scampton, north of Lincoln, to their new station south of the city.

Commanding Officer Wg Cdr David Montenegro said: “We’re delighted to be maintaining a strong connection with Lincolnshire that stretches back almost 40 years.

“Like any move of home, there are many details, routines and learning to be done as we gradually settle into our new base. However, this is going very well, with no impact on the team’s training and performances.”

The team moved to Scampton in

1983 and operated from the historic airfield constantly apart from a brief period at Cranwell between 1995 and 2000.

With the end of the UK display season in September, the team’s Hawk jets, technical gear and 146 personnel began the relocation.

Around 24 tonnes of equipment was moved by road, including 13 shipping containers, and two fullsize static aircraft – one of which is used for engineering training.

Specialist RAF units including 2 Mechanical Transport Sqn, the Joint Aircraft Recovery and Transportation Sqn and 504 (County of Nottingham) Sqn reserves helped with the transition.

Waddington is one of the RAF’s busiest locations and the main operating base for airborne intelligence aircraft and systems.

Reaper strikes Daesh terrorist

A REAPER unmanned air vehicle armed with Hellfire missiles tracked and engaged a terrorist on a motorcycle in northern Syria, near Hamman At Turkumen.

The latest operation on October 10 marks continuing armed reconnaissance patrols by the RAF against the Islamist group in Iraq and Syria.

It comes four months after another remotely piloted aircraft joined coalition aircraft in tracking and destroying a group identified by Iraqi security forces attempting to infiltrate an area to the north of Tikrit on June 14.

Atlas arrival

BRITAIN’S ATLAS fleet has grown to 21 aircraft with the latest transporter, designated ZM420, touching down at Brize Norton.

The newest A400M is now part of the Military Register and bolsters the RAF’s strategic airlift capability supporting global operations.

Defence officials temporarily relocated to Madrid to work with teams from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation and Airbus to complete acceptance procedures to enable the transfer of title to take place.

A400M delivery team leader Nick Moore said: “The arrival in the UK of our 21st Atlas transport aircraft is another significant milestone for the programme and we are looking forward to the arrival of the final UK aircraft in 2023.”

TARGETING TERROR: RAF Reaper launched Hellfire missile

HEAVYWEIGHT: The 21st Atlas A400M is delivered to Brize Norton

Simon Mander

Typhoons onside for World Cup tour

Mick Britton

FIGHTER JETS have arrived in Qatar to secure the skies during next month’s FIFA World Cup.

Coningsby’s 12 Sqn aircraft landed at Dukhan Airbase at the start of a six-month deployment codenamed Operation ThariyatArabic for Typhoon.

Nicknamed ‘The Foxes,’ after their squadron mascot, aircrews will police Qatari skies during the event alongside the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QAEF).

Executive Officer Sqn Ldr Luke Wilkinson has been on the unit since it reformed in 2018 and paraded its standard to the Emir of Qatar at the formation ceremony.

He said: “My tour on the squadron is the highlight of my career and to round it off with the departure of the last wave of four jets on this mission is fantastic.”

12 Sqn was formed in 2018, as a joint dual nationality squadron to train Qatari pilots and engineers on the Typhoon after the Gulf state placed an order with BAE Systems for the jets shortly after being made hosts of the World Cup Finals.

The first four of the 24 on order were recently delivered, as reported in RAF News, with more likely to follow before the tournament kicks off.

In addition to sharing Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties during the event, 12 Sqn is expected to assist with the work up of the first QAEF Typhoon squadron.

Dads’ mission

THREE DADS who lost daughters to suicide have taken to the road again to raise awareness of the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK.

Mike Palmer, Andy Airey, and Tim Owen were brought together by the deaths of their girls Beth, Sophie, and Emily, and decided to repeat their charity walk to raise funds for mental health charity Papyrus.

Wg Cdr Owen said his daughter Emily, pictured below, struggled with autism but planned to volunteer for the NHS as a pathway into a nursing career.

She attempted suicide in March 2020 and died five days later, in the hospital where she was born 19 years earlier.

Wg Cdr Owen said: “I strongly believe that in a moment of darkness Emily made a wrong decision. Two minutes earlier or later it would have been different.

“Had she just taken time to think or to speak to someone, her decision and my family’s lives would be on another path. Instead, she decided she could no longer go on leaving behind a devastating ripple effect on her family and friends.”

The trio walked from Northern Ireland, across to Edinburgh, down to Cardiff and on to London, joined on the way by RAF personnel.

Last year’s 300-mile walk raised more than £800,000 including a £10,000 personal donation by Bond star Daniel Craig.

Pressed for his predictions for the tournament Sqn Ldr Wilkinson said he felt that both England and Wales, who

have been drawn in the same group, will do well but fancied Argentina as potential winners.

Memphis rocks Remembrance

Tracey Allen

AS THE UK prepares to mark Remembrance Day RAF rockers have released a fund-raising single inspired by a veteran RAF Policeman and his bomb dog who were both injured in a Taliban IED blast,

Four-piece band Gallaher’s Green, which includes RAF Police Sgt Ian Gallagher and former RAF Police officer Jon Olphert, have written and recorded the song Memphis to raise funds for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

The track was inspired by Jon’s close friend, retired RAF Police dog handler Cpl Mick McConnell.

Mick’s left foot had to be amputated after he stepped on an IED while serving in Afghanistan in 2011 with spaniel Memphis.

Mick and RAF bomb dog Memphis received a Canine Partner Award, part of the Soldiering On awards, organised for the Armed Forces community.

Gallaher’s Green’s frontman, said: “The song is dedicated to all wounded veterans who feel they no longer have a voice and are forgotten.

“Mick and I served together as police dog handlers at Honington and in Cyprus. He said he is humbled by the song we wrote about him. Mick and Memphis had a great bond.”

Ian is currently based at RAF Halton as a Sgt Instructor and Jon retired from the RAF in 2021 as a WO after a 23-year career, finishing as Sqn WO for 1 Tactical Police Sqn at Honington. He now works as an explosive detection dog handler at Belfast airport.

He said: “The four band members are scattered around the country – our drummer Tom is in St Helens, lead guitarist Tommy in West Yorkshire, me in Northern Ireland and Ian in the south east. I try to fly over for rehearsals in Oldham every other Saturday.”

Ian and Jon served together

in Basra on Op Telic in 2008 and over the years played in separate bands. They formed Gallaher’s Green – named after an old brand of cigarettes made by the Gallaher Tobacco Company in Northern Ireland – in 2017 at a Guns N’Roses concert in Dublin.

Their debut album, Lucky 13,

released last year, has clocked up more than 100,000 listens on Spotify alone and attracted a worldwide audience with fans in the USA, Japan, Italy and South America, as well as UK-wide.

Go to: www.gallahersgreen.com to find Memphis and a link to the justgiving page.

CRUSADE: Wg Cdr Owen, left, with Andy Airey and Mike Palmer

MEMPHIS BLUES:

Afghan veteran Mick McConnell and Memphis, left, were both injured in an IED blast in 2011.

Below, Gallaher’s Green on stage

SQN LDR WILKINSON

Protector joins UK air fleet

Simon Mander

THE FIRST Protector has completed test procedures, allowing the aircraft to be officially handed over to UK Defence.

The news comes as a public consultation for changes to airspace regulations over Waddington, where the Remotely Piloted Air Vehicle and Red Arrows will be based, was launched in Lincoln.

a MOD plan for ‘segregated airspace’ in the vicinity of the Lincolnshire station ahead of the permanent arrival of 16 Protectors and the Red Arrows who have moved there ahead of’ the closure of RAF Scampton.

The Protectors come with a new purposebuilt hangar and crew accommodation and replace the Reaper fleet.

The aircraft has technology developed for use in non-segregated civilian airspace, including a Detect and Avoid System that senses nearby aircraft allowing the pilot to avoid civilian traffic.

The announcement follows the successful conclusion of inspections in a two-hour flight involving UK personnel in the United States.

Ownership of the aircraft has been transferred to the MOD and it will now fly with British military tail number PR005 under a UK permit to fly.

Defence Equipment and Support

“ itwillbeusedtotrainour

Combat Air Director Air Vice-Marshal Simon Ellard said: “While this aircraft will remain in the US, it will be used to train our personnel with UK equipment and will be placed on the British military register.”

Final checks were performed over two months at General Atomics’ Desert Horizon flight operations centre in El Mirage, California.

To achieve full operational clearance, Protector is being assessed against Nato and UK safety rules, meaning it could operate in civilian airspace with certification expected in 2024.

Meanwhile, the public is to have its say on

i UKequipmentandwillbe ”egistery rlitarh miis formedovererfoe pwer GeneralAtomics’Desert le in Etrs cenoperation a. lloperationalclearance, ndo aatt Nagainsssessedg a tcouldoperateing imeanin ectedn expificatio fiwithcert ny oublicistohaveitssae p

Protector is based on the SkyGuardian platform developed by GA-ASI, manufacturers of the RAF’s MQ-9 Reaper. It will incorporate a number of UK modifications including enhanced data links and UK weapons integration.

in se av pl m It m lin Ju de

n-s dAvoidSy Avetectang a Dncludin g tllowint af ircrafty aearbes nens fic.ffioidciviliantraff ky ProtectorisbasedontheSky yd bvelopem deforatfo anufacturersoftheRAF’sMQ umbe mbwillincorporatean hang encludins indification fio nksandUKweaponsintegratio AttheRoyalInternationalAir hef tf ffd ohoweAF se Rhy 2018, tl fteritcompletedemonstratoraft

At the Royal International Air Tattoo in July 2018, the RAF showed off the Protector demonstrator after it completed a 24-hour flight from Grand Forks in North Dakota to Fairford.

tfromGrandForksinNor frigh Fairford nsisy coofl fly tWithitsabilit rotectorisans, Po40hourp t uy bapabilitAR cT TAAF ISd Rme eavailabletosupportUKcivilia nsearchandrescueanddisaste

With its ability to fly consistently for up to 40 hours, Protector is an improved armed RAF ISTAR capability but will also be available to support UK civilian agencies in search and rescue and disaster response missions.

, ystemthat ot tiloe ph yGuardian GA-ASI, eaperQ-9 R erofUK atad dce on. rTattooin Ta rotectore P a24-houre US, personnelwithU rite Bhn td oplace Finalchecks twomonthsatG t olighn f flHorizo liforni foa, CMirage efu fuToachiev To eings biProtector les, muy rfetUKsafe civilianairspacew he, tMeanwhile

fli fl to up ar be in m on an Au

a24h kotathDako ory f fotentl lsol ailt w nagencies erresponse ndgs aetin efore foysedb Aviation Avn

Feedback from public meetings and online consultation will be analysed before any changes are put to the Civilian Aviation Authority.

ublicmeem pkfro frFeedbac lineconsultationwillbeanaly Civiliathetoputarey y uthority.

Wagons Roll

Forces life put former MT driver Baz on the road to rock stardom

Tracey Allen

WHEN YOUNG Barry Mills joined the RAF he never imagined that one day he would hit the big time fronting a heavy rock band.

The former SAC, known as Baz, is now the flamboyant frontman for Lancaster rockers Massive Wagons whose last House of Noise, stormed to number nine in the official

The band have wowed huge crowds at the Download Festival, supported Status Quo on tour, with The Darkness and are co-headlining a UK tour with US rockers Ugly Kid Joe.

And Baz, 43, says his five years as an MT driver put him on the road to rock glory.

He said: “Joining the RAF at 18 in 1997 was great, the best thing I ever did. I moved away; new start, new faces. At basic training you’re all the same and you learn how to look after yourself.

“The military is like a brotherhood. It strips you back, then rebuilds you. I just became a different

Cup-winning performance as Wood signs off in style

human.”

After leaving the Service he went back to Lancaster, became a lorry driver and got involved with local bands. He formed Massive Wagons in 2010 with guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite.

Baz said: “We started out as a covers band playing in pubs but then began writing our own music – there’s a different circuit for that and we never looked back.”

Baz, whose grandfather served as a RAF medic in Rheindahlen, was a member of his local Air Training Corps and was a cadet from the age of 13 until 17.

He said: “Going gliding and flying with the cadets piqued my interest in joining the Air Force but I wasn’t clever enough to be a pilot – I was happy enough driving buses.”

He served at Kinloss, then Coltishall, did a four-month tour of the Falkland Islands and also went on detachment to Saudi

He added: “I loved my time in the Air Force and I made some really good friends. I’d never

really been anywhere before or done anything. I went to a lot of concerts with my RAF mates, to see bands like Oasis, the Happy Mondays and the Manic Street Preachers.

“I still keep in touch with some of my old Air Force friends. And it’s nice that people appreciate that you joined up.”

Massive Wagons’ latest album, Triggered, is out this month. Baz said: “I think it sounds fresh and exciting. It has much more of a punk vibe about it, but it’s still full of everything we love about guitar music. I think we truly have made our best album yet.”

A track from the album, F**k The Haters, was released in the summer to raise awareness and funds for the anti-bullying charity The Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Tragically, Sophie died in 2007, aged 20, after being attacked by a group of teenagers because of her ‘Gothic’ appearance, it was reported in national newspapers.

Adam Lancaster, from the Foundation, said: “The song’s message ‘wear what you want, be who you want to be, and be proud about it’ absolutely reflects the core message of The Foundation.”

HIT THE ROAD: Former

Air Force driver Baz Mills and his band Massive Wagons are touring the UK to promote their latest album, Triggered

CLASS OF ’97: RAF rookie Baz graduates at Halton

BOX SET: Baz gets dolled up forpublicity shots

C-17 delivers on Ukraine pledge

MILITARY AID including more than 10,000 anti-tank missiles and nearly three million rounds of ammunition has so far been supplied by Britain to Ukrainian forces fighting Russian invaders.

The latest consignment comprising 35,000lb of explosive warheads and 62 precision-guided Brimstone missiles was loaded onto a C-17 transporter at Brize Norton before being flown to an undisclosed location in eastern Europe.

On arrival the aircraft was on the ground for less than two hours while the cargo was off-loaded before heading back to the Oxfordshire station Britain was the first European country to provide aid playing a crucial role in stalling the

Russian advance.

The £2.3 billion package, more than any country except the US, includes 10,000 anti-tank missiles and 200 armoured vehicles. The UK has also pledged to supply 28 M109 155mm self-propelled guns, 36 L119 105mm artillery guns and ammunition and more than 2,000 unmanned aerial systems.

Ukrainian troops have also been kitted out with 82,000 helmets, 8,450 sets of body armour, medical supplies, 5,000 night-vision devices and 20,000 items of winter clothing.

More than 1,000 British military personnel including members of the RAF Regiment’s II Sqn, have also been brought in to train an estimated 10,000 Ukrainian frontline fighters at bases across the UK.

Welfare chiefs combat winter bills meltdown

VETERANS STRUGGLING with soaring fuel bills are being offered cash help of up to £200 a month by the Royal British Legion.

The charity says it has seen a 20 per cent rise in the grants it issues to help with basic living costs since last year.

And it predicts applications for assistance with food, clothing and temporary accommodation will jump significantly as veterans brace for winter.

Military widow Frances Metcalf said: “My energy bills have increased by more than 100 per cent in the past year. The cost of food is going up as is everything you can think of – interest rates, insurance.

“In February and March of this year I hardly turned the heating on and kept myself warm using a hot water bottle.

“The worry is the worst part. You can’t eat because of worry, and you don’t know which way to turn.”

Legion Executive Director of Services Antony Baines said: “The RBL is now providing energy cost top up payments for those most in need through our new grants scheme.

“No one should have to worry about whether they will be able

BILLS CRISIS: Vets face tough winter welfare group warns.

to keep the lights on, heat their homes or feed themselves and their families.”

Research by the charity shows military families are more vulnerable to rising costs as working-age ex-military personnel are more likely to be sick or disabled than other adults of the same age.

The charity says 14 per cent of veterans aged 65 or over said they turned the heating off to save money, even when it was too cold.

Payments are means tested to an applicant’s financial need by a streamlined process designed to generate responses within days.

Crusader Hayley’s on the ball for charity

WOUNDED VETERANS were among 350 guests at a charity ball to help a Brize Norton-based group raise £55,000 for a military mental health charity.

Paralympians Jack Cummings and Ben Parkinson, the most severely wounded soldier to survive the war in Afghanistan, joined bidders at the fundraising event organised by RAF personnel.

Healing Military Minds founder Cpl Hayley Court said: “It was brilliant on our first fundraising ball to see the Army, Navy and RAF come together with those currently serving and veterans to raise funds for Combat Stress.

“The inspirational people that attended who had been helped so much by the charity truly amaze me.

“They are the real heroes. I was overwhelmed by smashing the £50,000 target which I set when I started this in 2021.”

The event, at the De Vere Hotel in

the Cotswolds, was also attended by local MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown.

Organising committee member Sqn Ldr Tom Arnold said: “The team at Healing Military Minds have organised a vast array of events throughout the past year raising funds for Combat Stress.

“Thankfully mental health now rightfully attracts the attention it deserves and is rapidly becoming a greater part of our focus.

“We must all take this subject seriously and support one another regardless of rank.

“My special thanks go to those on the Healing Military Minds Ball committee for working tirelessly and without whom the evening would not have been possible”

Simon Mander

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT: Latest military aid is loaded onto C-17 at Brize.

CAMPAIGNER: Cpl Hayley Court set up Healing Military Minds last year to raise funds for mental health charities.

pension choices

future.

Making the right pension choices at each stage of your career can impact significantly on your future financial security. Even choosing the best time to leave can make a substantial difference to your pension. Deciding whether to buy pension top-ups, opting for commutation, resettlement grants, early departure payments – all have a bearing on what you’ll receive.

And now even greater complexity has been added as a consequence of the so-called McCloud Remedy. This affects all those serving on or before 31st March 2012 and on or after 1st April 2015 (including service leavers). You will have to choose between the benefits of your legacy scheme and AFPS15 for the remedy period. This decision will need to be made from October 2023 onwards.

To be sure you make the most of your options, join the Forces Pension Society and access the individual guidance provided by our expert team of Forces Pensions Consultants.

Independent, not-for-profit Independence is vital to our work, calling governments to account whenever we spot unfairness or injustice in the system. We also give you a voice where it counts, on the representative bodies for Armed Forces and Public Sector Pensions.

We are funded by our Members’ subscriptions. Any surplus helps fund our outreach programmes of Roadshows, Webinars and our attendance at CTP Employment Fairs.

Visit: forcespensionsociety.org/join-now/ Annual membership for you and your spouse/ partner is just £42. You will have exclusive access to our Forces Pensions Consultants, our informative Members’ Webinars and you’ll receive our bi-annual e-newsletters and magazine, Pennant. You’ll also have access to our wide range of membership benefits from discounts on new cars and white goods, to insurances (including our latest range of Covid-protected travel policies), plus a great deal more. Scan to join

IT PAYS TO UNDERSTAND YOUR PENSION

Forces Pension Society 68 South Lambeth Road, Vauxhall, London SW8 1RL. T:020 7820 9988 E: memsec@forpen.co.uk www.forcespensionsociety.org

DISPLAY PILOTS put on a patriotic show of British air power over the iconic White Cliffs of Dover to hone their combat targeting manoeuvres.

29 Sqn Typhoons performed low-level interception techniques used to track slow targets like helicopters as a Chinook crew practised evasion tactics against aggressive fast jets.

Both aircraft types have been beefing up Nato forces in Eastern Europe backing up the Alliance’s Baltic battlegroups and conducting armed sorties to secure Europe’s eastern border and deter Russian aggression.

The Typhoon call sign Blackjack was flown by Flt Lt Adam ‘Paddy’ O’Hare and was joined by Odiham’s Chinook Display Team, led by Flt Lt Matt ‘Schmitty’ Smyth.

Flt Lt O’Hare said: “It was great to fly alongside the Chinook and be part of this iconic event. These aircraft have been working overseas supporting Nato so to bring home and showcase the phenomenal capability is a real privilege.”

PHOTOS: FLT LT DONOVAN

Mayor gets motoring

THE LORD Mayor of Leicestershire, Cllr George Cole, gets motoring during a trip to his local RAF station.

He got into the driving seat at the Wittering 2 MT Sqn during a formal visit this month.

He said: “The day revealed so much about the meticulous work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure our military personnel putting their lives on the line are well cared and catered for wherever it happens to be in the world.”

Atlas launches flood mission

AN ATLAS crew launched a mercy mission flying in life-saving kit to flood-hit Pakistan.

The Brize Norton-based A400 team delivered motor boats and portable electricity generators to the Nur Khan airbase, coordinating foreign aid following the disaster.

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said: “Helping our partners in their hour of need is what our Armed Forces do best and I’m proud that we were able to respond to Pakistan’s request for help rapidly with the assistance of the RAF.”

The wheel deal Wittering techs’ fast jet fix nets £1m in savings

Staff Reporter

MORE THAN a million pounds will be saved in Typhoon repairs thanks to a new process pioneered at Wittering.

Technicians on 71 Inspection and Repair Sqn at the Cambridgeshire station can now fix fast jet nosewheels while they’re still attached to the aircraft, avoiding sending them away for repair at £20,000 a time and reducing the time the fighters are grounded.

Commanding Officer Sqn Ldr Allen Auchterlonie said: “We can assess the damage to the nosewheel leg and remove the damaged material, a layer at a time, until we can see the undamaged structure underneath the surface.

“Then it’s a matter of building the surface up again, a layer at a time, so that the finished leg is structurally sound, protected against corrosion and ready to be primed and painted.”

The team approached Project ASTRA for £35,000 for new equipment and training to set up

the innovative system.

Sqn Ldr Auchterlonie said: “Using this new capability, the first two repairs have been completely successful and have significantly extended the lives of both nosewheel legs. We intend to increase the number of repairs in the very near future.

“Multiply this across the Typhoon fleet and it will amount to around £1.2 million in savings against a £35,000 investment.

“Our next project is to see how we can apply this process to other aircraft types in the RAF.”

The unit, which specialises in maintaining jets in deployed locations, has designers who devise unconventional fixes and technicians skilled in precision metalwork and the use of composite materials such as carbon fibre.

Engineer Sgt Matthew Walker, who worked on the first repairs, added: “With our target to do our first two in five days we managed to do both aircraft over a two-day period.

It was a huge success. When we finished, it was like we were looking at a brand-new leg.”

AID: Brize crew land at Nur Khan airbase

WHEELS UP: Typhoon prepares for a sortie in the Middle East

RUNNING ON MT: Cllr Cole takes the wheel, inset below with Mayoress Denise Cole

Spit-ing image Shed-built WWII icon

Reaches for the Sky

A REPLICA Spitfire built in a barn over 11 years has finally been cleared for take-off.

The copy of the iconic fighter took 11,250 hours to construct after its owner was inspired by the exploits of a legendary RAF fighter ace.

Steve Markham, of Odiham, Hampshire, recreated the Mk26 variant at 80 per cent scale from scratch between 2006 and 2017. And now it’s been granted permission to fly by the Civil Aviation Authority and Light Aircraft Association.

Steve said: “I saw the film Reach For The Sky as a child, about Douglas Bader who flew Spitfires in the war despite having two artificial legs.

“Then in the ’70s, after getting my private pilot’s licence and purchasing an

aircraft, I met Bader at White Waltham airfield, from where he also flew.

“In the late ’70s I tried to buy the remains of a World War II Spitfire that needed rebuilding but was out-bid.

“In the mid ’90s my second attempt was to buy a share in an airworthy Spitfire, but the owner ended up selling the whole thing to a buyer from Belgium.

“Finally, third time lucky, in 2005 I became aware of the possibility to build my own replica Spitfire and went ahead.” As the project progressed and interest grew Steve started to collect money for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

He said: “During the 11 years of building ‘The Odiham Spitfire’ I would frequently get calls from strangers asking if they could come and see it.

“One of the earliest was a retired RAF engineer who was based at Odiham at the end of WWII.

“Through him I learnt of the great work that the RAF Benevolent Fund does and decided to ask all subsequent visitors to make a donation.”

UK backing boosts Polish air defences

BRITAIN HAS signed a deal confirming its long-term support for Poland’s rapid air defence modernisation programme in the wake of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The move comes as arms manufacturer MBDA made its first delivery of equipment for the Narew short-range missile system.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, pictured right, joined his Polish counterparts at the Zamość Military Base to sign a Memorandum of Understanding pledging the cooperation of both countries in the

development and manufacture of current and future complex weapons.

He said: “We have had a close defence alliance with Poland for over 150 years and as we face the threat from Russia, we need the equipment and the capabilities to safeguard our people and preserve European stability.

“Our new agreements demonstrate that commitment and the UK’s support for Poland’s defence modernisation plans.”

MBDA managing director Chris Allam

said: “Today’s agreements launch the next step in Polish-UK missile co-operation and underpin the PGZ-MBDA technology transfer proposal on Narew, while also supporting Pilica+, Miecznik, Tank Destroyer, and other vital projects.”

Both nations also agreed to collaborate on Poland’s procurement of three Arrowhead-140 frigates. Following the signing, the Defence Secretary met UK personnel in Southern Poland operating Sky Sabre Air Defence systems and Challenger 2 Tanks.

TESTING

TIMES: UK Defence to honour military personnel who took part in the UK’s nuclear test programme

Defence nuke crews tribute

VETERANS WHO made Britain the world’s third nuclear power have been officially recognised 70 years after the UK’s first atomic weapons test.

And military personnel who deployed to Australia on Operation Hurricane are to be honoured at a commemorative event to be held later this year.

The detonation of a plutonium warhead on board the former frigate HMS Plym on Trimouille in the Montebello islands in 1952 paved the way for what became the ‘Blue Danube’ weapon later carried by the RAF’s V-bomber force.

Minister for Armed Forces and Veterans James Heappey said: “Veterans who supported the creation of our nuclear deterrent have played a crucial role in keeping Britain and our Nato Allies safe and secure.

“Their sacrifice contributed to achieving the ultimate guarantee of UK sovereignty and they forever have this nation’s gratitude.

“In the year of the 70th anniversary of Op Hurricane, I look forward to commemorating the incredible service and efforts of our veterans.”

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs will launch a £250,000 oral history project in April 2023 to chronicle the experiences of those who supported the tests and charities will also be able to bid for cash from a separate £200,000 fund to support activities for nuclear test veterans.

The case for a new medal recognising their sacrifice is being actively considered and any decisions will be made public in due course.

Simon Mander

MAIDEN FLIGHT: Steve gets airborne in home-built Spitfire sporting distinctive D-Day markings

INSPIRATION: WWII ace Douglas Bader

CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF: Pilot Steve Markham gets his permission to fly from the Civil Aviation Authority

V-FORCE: The RAF’s Vulcan, Valiant and Victor

Simon Mander

UPGRADE: MBDA Narew system

THE COLDITZ MYTH

BEFORE STARTING to research his latest book – about the infamous World War II Nazi prison camp Colditz – Ben Macintyre knew there were untold stories to be revealed. But he hadn’t anticipated just how fascinating those revelations would be.

The bestselling author and Times columnist uncovered a wealth of previously unpublished material that has exploded the long-held, unchallenged myth of the Colditz prisoners of war incarcerated in that grim Gothic castle near Leipzig as a ‘band of brothers’ all ‘in it together.’

That popular misconception came from successful escaper Capt Pat Reid’s books. The first, The Colditz Story, published in 1952, was an instant bestseller, adapted into a film starring John Mills.

Reid acted as technical adviser on the 1972-74 BBC television series Colditz, which became the most successful TV drama the channel had ever broadcast. And the myth perpetuated.

Macintyre said: “Colditz was presented as cheerful chaps all combined in one endeavour, ‘fighting the war by other means’.

“Reid’s writings formed the foundations of the Colditz industry [he even devised the Colditz boardgame]. His books offered an account of prison camp life that was relentlessly upbeat, full of boyish enthusiasm, comic interludes and plucky high spirits. Uncomplicated and irrepressible, Reid came to embody the place as the archetypal Colditz prisoner, leaving the false impression that everyone in it had been just like him.”

Macintyre, whose previous bestsellers include Operation Mincemeat, Agent Sonya and The Spy and The Traitor, is known for producing the definitive account

of often told stories and the excellent Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle (published by Viking) is no exception.

Through meticulous research he has unearthed the real story of the notorious prison camp, Oflag IV-C, encapsulated in his neat phrase, ‘It was a miniature replica of pre-war society, only stranger.’

The amazing inside story of Colditz prison reveals that snobbery, class conflict, racism and bullying was rife. The prison had separate quarters for senior officers and their orderlies, and even had its own version of the elitist Bullingdon Club, modelled on the all-male Oxford University private dining club.

The club’s existence, said Macintyre was ‘further evidence of a determination to translate prewar social norms into the artificial world of prison.’

He added: “These guys were pretty much cut off from the outside world. They had no idea when the war would end, unlike inmates of a civilian prison. It felt indefinite and that added a level of frustration, which is why I think they tried to recreate inside the outside world they had known.”

Colditz was ‘the bad boys’ camp’, for, as Macintyre said, ‘a particular breed of captured enemy officers: prisoners who had tried to escape from other camps, or otherwise displayed a markedly negative attitude towards Germany.’

Among them was flying ace Wg Cdr Douglas Bader, an undoubted war hero who, the author discovered, treated his batman, Scottish medical orderly Alex Ross, appallingly.

Ross had no hesitation in calling Bader ‘a monster’ in an interview he recorded for the Imperial War Museum in the 1990s.

AUTHOR: Macintyre

Forget the film version of a chummy band of brothers; snobbery, class divides and racism were all rife among the PoWs of notorious Nazi prison camp Oflag IV-C... just as they were at home in 1940s Britain

Macintyre said: “In some ways Bader was

the most remarkable man, he was incredibly brave, inspired others and raised millions for charity, but he was not a pleasant person.

“He was dreadful to Ross, who, throughout their shared captivity, had carried Bader [whose legs had been amputated after a flying accident] up and down stairs, cooked his meals and washed his stump socks.”

Ross could have been repatriated in a prisoner exchange but Bader vetoed his release and the put-upon orderly remained in the prison for two more years to serve his ruthless master.

Macintyre added: “You can tell from listening to Ross’s voice on that tape that he’s still furious with Bader decades later.”

Between 1940-45 more than 300 escape attempts were made from Colditz by Allied PoWs, including more than 30 that were successful ‘home runs’. Among these was the escape by Lt Airey

Neave, who reached Switzerland in January, 1942, following a thwarted attempt wearing a homemade German uniform.

Neave went on to become an MP before he was killed in 1979 by an IRA car bomb.

Even as WWII was winding down a group of prisoners were hard at work on an ingenious escape plan in the summer of 1944 – building a glider. Nicknamed the ‘Colditz Cock’ – because a cockerel can’t fly but can glide a short distance when launched from a height – it was constructed in a secret attic above the prison’s chapel. Take-off was planned for spring 1945.

The brainchild of Flt Lt Bill Goldfinch, the glider was, said Macintyre ‘a tour de force of inventiveness, a remarkable combination of lateral thinking, technical creativity and collective endeavour. It was also extremely unlikely to work.’

Twelve engineers, calling

themselves ‘the apostles’, worked on it and 40 lookouts operated in shifts to warn of approaching guards.

Macintyre added: “I have a strong feeling the senior officers at Colditz had a hunch it might not fly but believed it was an excellent way to create a bonding exercise. It was a great feat of engineering and also of the imagination.

“It allowed those prisoners to imagine themselves soaring free outside the castle so it had a psychological effect – it was almost irrelevant as to whether it flew or not; it was a symbol of freedom and hope, built from stolen bed boards and coated in old porridge.”

The Colditz Cock never got a chance to attempt a flight as the PoWs were liberated by the Americans in April, 1945. The glider mysteriously disappeared after the war.

Macintyre said: “No one knows its precise fate. At a time of scarcity in eastern Germany, it may have been chopped up for firewood.”

JAIL BREAK: Lt Airey Neave in replica German uniform for an unsuccessful escape bid. He went on to be an MP and was murdered by the IRA in 1979

RECREATION: PoWs play volleyball in the inner courtyard of Colditz © Australian War Memorial

ESCAPE ATTEMPT: PoWs on a ‘laundry run’ © Staatliche Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsen gGmbH, Schloss Colditz

DOWNTRODDEN: Bader. Though

by Tracey Allen

MYTH

EXPOSED

Win the book

WE HAVE copies of Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle to win. For your chance to own one, tell us:

What was the name of Wg Cdr Douglas Bader’s batman at Colditz?

Email your answer, marked Colditz competition, to: competitions@rafnews. co.uk or post it to: RAF News, Room 68, Lancaster Building, HQ Air Command, High Wycombe, HP14 4UE, to arrive by November 4.

CASTLE: But life for the PoWs in Colditz was very far from a fairytale. This aerial photo taken shortly before WWII shows the tantalising proximity of the town of Colditz © SLUB Dresden Deutsche Fotothek Junkers Luftbild

DOWNTRODDEN: Orderly Alex Ross sits at the ‘feet’ of his officer, the legendary pilot Douglas Though idolised, Bader was obstreperous and ‘unpleasant’ © Australian War Memorial

TIME TO SOCIALISE: Inner courtyard of the prison where prisoners mingled during daylight hours, played sports, smoked, gossiped and planned escapes © Colditz Museum HR

Bravo November reunion important to many of us

THANKS VERY much for the great 40th anniversary of the Falklands Bravo November Chinook Reunion article in RAF

REMEMBERING BRAVO NOVEMBER

].

It was great to see all the guys again at RAF Cosford after 40 years – it’s okay keeping in touch on social media but to see most of the guys in person was fantastic.

Some great memories (and some not so good) were retold but believe it or not that sometimes can be a great help for those of us suffering mentally and physically.

After our reunion with Bravo

November we all met up at the evening in the Officers’ Mess, for which I have to thank Gp Capt Gareth Bryant, Officer Commanding, and Sqn Leader Chris Wilson, the station’s Media and Communications Officer, for their help and cooperation with our reunion.

Stories like this have to be saved for historic reasons, as well as personal reasons.

Once again, thank you so much for covering our story.

Len Hames RAF Regiment veteran Aboyne Aberdeenshire

MEMORIES OF HER MAJESTY

THE SPLENDID special tribute edition of RAF News to HM The Queen [No 1544, September 23, pictured right] was really superb and covered so many aspects of our late HM Queen Elizabeth II’s close relationship with the Royal Air Force.

It reminded me of how Her Majesty was also Air-Commodorein-Chief of the Royal Observer Corps from 1952 until 1991.

She very graciously reviewed the Royal Observer Corps on several occasions, the last being in June 1991.

Farewell,

Purple Warrior 1987 appeal

I AM currently researching Exercise Purple Warrior 1987, which was unique in the annals of recent British military history being a huge Tri-Service, nonNATO affair, carried out in part of the UK mainland (SW Scotland) in order to test lessons learned during the Falklands War.

The exercise involved 20,000 troops, 39 ships and 40 fixed-wing aircraft, yet there is precious little information on it.

I would therefore appeal to any of your readers who were involved, and would be willing to share their reminiscences, to contact me at:

mbritton2@aol.com, particularly if they have any photos of the event.  Thank you.

This event took place at RAF Bentley Priory, HQ of the RAF and HQ of the Royal Observer Corps until stand down of the Corps in September 1991.

A special garden party followed where both Her Majesty and the late Duke of Edinburgh mingled and spoke with many members of the Corps.

After stand down, The Queen became Royal Patron of the Royal Observer Corps Association until her recent passing.

Here are some photographs taken from the ROC Journal dated September/October 1991.

Paddy Malone (Honorary Secretary, 31 Group, Royal Observer Corps Association)

Did you serve at Turnhouse and Northolt?

SEEING THE coverage of transportation of Her Majesty’s coffin from Edinburgh to Northolt I was reminded that I served at both stations as a National Serviceman in 1958.

After trade training as an Ops Clerk at RAF Shawbury I was posted to Turnhouse [now the site of Edinburgh International Airport]. As a Londoner this prompted me to arrange an exchange posting with a Scots lad from my course who went to Northolt (I bet that was deliberate!). Mine came through after three months but his did not, unfortunately.

So, I now wonder how many airmen served on both stations, or am I fairly unique?

I have an excellent memory so would be pleased to hear from any airman who served on those stations in that period. Please phone: 01268 779697.

Ron Spack (ex SAC 1958-1960)

Rayleigh, Essex

LONDON:

carrying Her Majesty arrives

Northolt

NON-NATO: Huge Tri-Service exercise

ROC

EDINBURGH: RAF Regiment pallbearers carry Her Majesty’s coffin on board the RAF

Mick Britton Rotherham

CATCH-UP: LenHames (left) and former colleagues at Cosford

HM Queen Elizabeth

The Royal Air Force pays tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Borneo commander & top rugby referee

AIR VICE-MARSHAL

‘Larry’ Lamb, who has died aged 99, led two very distinguished lives, first as an RAF pilot and senior officer, and also that of an international rugby referee and sports administrator.

He joined the RAF in 1943 and trained as a pilot in Canada. On return to England, he became a flying instructor at the RAF College Cranwell where he instructed on twin-engine aircraft before moving to a flying training school near Grantham. He returned to Cranwell as the deputy chief flying instructor in 1947. He had attended the first instrument flying course at the Empire Flying School and became one of the RAF’s first examiners.

In 1947 he was awarded the AFC for his work on instrument flying instructional techniques on a variety of aircraft.

Having converted to the Hastings transport aircraft, Lamb began flying on the Berlin Airlift carrying coal from Schleswigland airfield to the newly-constructed Tegel airfield in Berlin. Flying two sorties each day until the blockade was lifted, Lamb continued to fly stores to Berlin after he had joined 47 Squadron as a flight commander.

For the next two years he flew on worldwide routes before he was posted as a member of the Transport Command Examining Unit testing, among others, pilots of the King’s Flight.

After serving in the MOD, he had a change of role and took command in April 1958 of 87 Squadron, an all-weather fighter squadron flying the Javelin from Bruggen on the Dutch/German border. He was appointed the Assistant Commandant at the RAF College Cranwell. This was an appointment that he found stimulating, combining the training of young officers and plenty of sport, the latter a long-standing passion for the rugby and cricketplaying Gp Capt.

In March 1965 Lamb flew to Labuan to be the Deputy Air Commander Borneo at the height of the confrontation with Indonesia.

The nature of the campaign relied heavily on the use of helicopters and light aircraft to resupply the ground forces operating in the jungle and close to the Indonesian border. Heavier stores were air dropped into clearances from larger transport aircraft.

Lamb recognised that air transport, in all its forms, was his main priority but he also had responsibility for tasking

air defence, coastal patrol and reconnaissance assets. With a 1,000-mile border between east Malaysia and Indonesia, it was essential to maximise the utilisation of the limited number of aircraft and helicopters available.

To better understand the topography, flying conditions and to liaise with ground force commanders, Lamb travelled extensively into the interior. During his time, he flew in no less than 16 different types of aircraft.

Limited cross border operations were sometimes authorised and this posed a particular problem should there be a need for casualty evacuation. Lamb perfected a system of control using a second helicopter which enabled a rescue helicopter to reach its objective safely. For his work in Borneo, he was appointed CBE.

On his return from Borneo in early 1967, Lamb joined a team to review the command structure of the RAF. Their findings included the creation of RAF Strike Command to replace Bomber and Fighter Commands and the reorganisation of Transport Command.

In April 1968 he was appointed as the first Air Commodore (Operations) at the new HQ Strike Command, responsible for the operational effectiveness of the bomber force, including the nuclear deterrent, the air defence of the UK and for operational training.

In February 1970 Lamb assumed command of RAF Lyneham, the home of squadrons of Hercules, Britannia and Comets, making it one of the largest and busiest RAF stations. During his tenure, he had to organise Lyneham’s change from a strategic to a tactical transport base and the transfer of squadrons into and out of the airfield. Despite the pressures of his appointment, Lamb endeavoured to remain in current flying practice and to familiarise himself with the routes flown by his aircraft.

He later served at National Air Traffic Services – responsible for both the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Defence (Air).

Lamb moved into the maritime air arena in May 1974 when he was appointed Commander Southern Maritime Air Region, where he had responsibility for Nimrod patrol aircraft and search and rescue helicopter operations. This appointment was followed by him becoming chief of staff at HQ 18 (Maritime) Group. He took early retirement in April 1978, having recently been appointed CB.

Throughout his RAF career, Lamb was heavily involved in rugby. He served as the secretary of the RAF Rugby Union and was a well-respected referee. In 1964 he was appointed as one of the Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) three representatives on the International Referees’ Panel.

Over the next 10 years he was recognised as one of, if not the,

leading referees in the country.

He controlled 14 major international matches, five Barbarian games, the University match and some 30 county championship games. He was selected to represent the RAF on the RFU in 1972 and served on various committees.

In October 1978, Lamb was offered the appointment as the first

chief executive of the Badminton Association of England, a post he held for 11 years during which time he assisted in getting the sport accepted into the 1992 Olympic Games.

He was also chairman of the British Berlin Airlift Association and RAF Vice-President of the Combined Cadet Forces’ Association.

RUGBY FAN: AVM

Larry Lamb

Frank Dell

Obituary

Pilot ‘on the run’ worked with the Dutch Resistance

VETERAN MOSQUITO

pilot Frank Dell has died aged 99. He was trained as a pilot in the USA under a wartime bi-lateral agreement. After gaining his wings, he remained in the USA and in Canada as a flying instructor.

Anxious to fly on operations, he finally returned to England with 1,000 hours flying time in his log book and he converted to the Mosquito.

He joined 692 Squadron at Gravely in Cambridgeshire. The squadron was part of the Light Night Strike Force of No 8 (Pathfinder) Group, tasked to fly ‘Spoof’ raids against German cities at the same time as the main bomber force attacked other nearby targets.

In this way, it was hoped to draw the German night fighters away from the main bomber stream. These night raids also ensured that the work force in the main industrial cities had disturbed sleep, lowering their efficiency.

Frank’s first operation took him to Hamburg and this was followed by 12 further attacks on other major cities. On the night of October14/15, 1944 he took off to attack Berlin. He was shot down near Munster by a Focke-Wulf 190 and baled out. His navigator was killed.

He set off to walk to Holland in the rain, hiding in farm outbuildings overnight. On the fifth night he was hiding in the loft of a barn full of hay when he was woken by voices of people climbing the ladder. The first said: “Be still Tommy pilot, you are safe.”

He was on a farm near Aalten, a small town just inside Holland. He was looked after by the family for 24 hours before a member of the Dutch Resistance arrived to take him to a safe farm where he was hidden in an attic but was able to work in the fields.

The Resistance discovered that an American airman was hiding in the area. To ensure his identity and persuade him to leave his hiding place, they asked Frank for an English phrase they could use.

Frank suggested: “Come out you silly bugger, we are your friends.”

In due course, the American was found and joined up with Frank hiding in the farm of a member of the Dutch Resistance. Moved

to another house, they remained working with the Resistance group, often clearing supply drops and carrying out sabotage operations.

In November he was told a ‘Tommy’ tank had appeared and Frank and his American companion were liberated by men of the 2nd Canadian Army. He was awarded a Dutch decoration for his work with the Resistance.

After returning to England, he was posted to 52 Squadron in India to fly Dakota transport aircraft on resupply missions.

“Come out you silly bugger, we are your friends”

After leaving the RAF in 1946 he joined British European Airways (BEA). Initially flying Dakotas and Vikings, he moved on to fly the Viscount, the Vanguard and finally the Trident.

For many years he was chairman of the RAF Escaping Society (RAFES) assisting all the many ‘helpers’ who had risked their lives to save and shelter airmen shot down behind enemy lines. Following the dissolution of the RAFES, he became an active patron of the Escape Lines Memorial Society, which took on much of the work of the RAFES.

He was elected the Master of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in 1988 and was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

SHOT DOWN: Frank survived and evaded the Nazis, with help from the Dutch Resistance. Inset, later in his career he went on to fly commercially, in this case he is pictured in the cockpit of a Trident

RAF Regiment welcomes new members to its ranks

Honington

THIRTY-FOUR MEMBERS of Trainee Gunner Course 1-22, Salalah Flight, have graduated at RAF Honington.

They were accompanied by the Band of the RAF College and joined by loved ones in the Jimmy James Hangar. Squadron Commanders and Warrant Officers from RAF Regiment units receiving the new Gunners also attended and met new arrivals and their families after the event.

They were on hand to answer any questions that the graduates or families might have before they arrive at their new squadrons.

Reviewing Officer Gp Capt Dutch Holland, Station Commander RAF Honington, congratulated the new recruits on their future roles within the Regiment.

On graduating the Gunners are posted to either 1 Squadron RAF Regt at RAF Honington, 2 Squadron RAF Regt (Brize Norton), 15 Squadron RAF Regt (Marham), 34 Squadron RAF Regt (Leeming), 51 Squadron RAF Regt (Lossiemouth) or The Queen’s Colour Squadron (63 Squadron RAF Regt, Northolt).

They are trained to such a level that they can immediately commence Mission Specific Training for contingency operations.

Further congratulations go to the Prize Winners:

l Frank Sylvester Trophy: AS2 Moore – best all-round Trainee Gunner.

l The RAF Regt Association Trophy for Drill and Deportment: AS2 Sendall.

l WO Ramsey Physical Development Cup: AS2 Parry.

l LAC Beard Recruits’ Trophy: AS2 Ross – voted by his peers as the most inspirational and supportive member of the Flight.

l SAC Luders Champion Shot Trophy: AS2 Walker.

l Cpl Bradfield Trophy: Cpl Vince – awarded to the best Corporal Instructor.

GRADUATION DAY: Top, new Gunners on parade await inspection by Reviewing Officer Gp Capt Dutch Holland, below, and are greeted by proud family and friends after the ceremony, right

Puma’s a real beast

BACK IN the day, when hot hatches were born, they were seriously exciting bits of kit. By the 1980s the field was dominated by cars like the Escort XR3i, the Astra SRi and the Golf GTi. These were cars that were deliberately designed to feel raw and provide an experience that was akin to finding an angry rat in your underwear.

Ford has always been immensely

TIM MORRIS Motoring Correspondent

good at building cars in this segment. They are fast, fun and great value. The Fiesta ST remains one of the most exciting hot hatches on the market, if not the best drive of the lot. I was therefore a little

perplexed when I learnt that the new Puma ST was going to be based on the Fiesta’s platform… it’s billed as an SUV Crossover!

Exterior

Launched in ‘Mean Green’, or more precisely Nuclear Snot, it’s not exactly subtle. Then again, that’s no bad thing for this car. The contoured sides and the angular arches give it a sleek profile, while the snarling front grille and big air intakes under the bumper give it a mean nose. The boot spoiler and vented rear bumper complete the picture. It’s the meanest-looking SUV crossover on the market, in my book.

Interior

One thing in the cabin instantly grabs your attention. The Recaro seats are superb. The 12.3in instrument display and infotainment system look good too. Granted, the softer-touch materials that are fitted to the uppermost surfaces soon peter out as your eye tracks down and are replaced with cheaper, scratchy plastics but everything is well laid out.

There’s lots of storage, plenty of USB ports and plenty of space in the cabin. The infotainment system is also beautifully simple to use.

In the boot you’ll find 456 litres of storage, with another 80 under the floor. Ford claims this is the ‘best-in-class’ and you can certainly tuck loads of family clutter away.

On The Road

The Puma ST sports the same 197bhp 1.5-litre turbo threecylinder engine as the Ford Fiesta ST. With the extra height and weight, I was expecting it to lack oomph but I was wrong, very wrong. Ford has boosted torque from 214lb ft in the Fiesta to 236lb ft, allowing it to match the Fiesta’s 0-62mph time of 6.7sec. The engine produces just shy of 200bhp with a satisfying little growl and, unlike a few hot hatches, it doesn’t struggle to put the power down.

The standard six-speed manual gearbox is great too, with precise, short-shift action, and a slick movement.

Pros

Great fun to drive

Plenty of space

Thrilling handling

Cons

l Not massively comfy in the back

As subtle as Mad Vlad

Verdict

Ford has made an epic effort to give the Puma genuine performance credentials. It’s been designed to replicate the exuberance of the Fiesta ST and it gets pretty close, impressively close for a car in this class. It’s also a practical family wagon and comes packed with kit. Most importantly, it undercuts all of its main rivals on price, so it stays true to Ford’s hot-hatch ethos: Fast, fun and great value. What’s not to like?

Its real selling point though is its handling, because the chassis is beautifully weighted. It holds the road really well and is predictable enough to allow you to really push the envelope, taking it to the point where it starts to scare you and then allowing you to recover it.

This is a hot hatch to meet the Crossover trend, not a true SUV, and the ST isn’t available with fourwheel drive, even as an option. It’s designed for playtime on tarmac… Deal with it.

Ford Puma

New players start well as UKAF return

THERE WAS a welcome 4-1 win for the UKAF men’s footballers in their first match back after losing the Kentish Cup earlier this year.

Hartpury, Gloucester was the destination for FS Dyfan Pierce’s charges, who put on a solid display in a game which saw the hosts start brightly.

Pierce said: “It wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggests, it was a classic game of two halves, they started brightly, we knew nothing about them really.

“The game gave us the chance to try certain things, against an opposition who train together every week, we had to do some rejigs.”

With only a 14-man squad to choose from, UKAF started with a 3-4-3 formation which Pierce changed to 4-3-3 after going one down midway in the first half to a penalty conceded by RAF man Cpl Joe Thomas.

The RAF made up the back line with stalwart SAC Danny Dixon called in alongside Cpls Phil Bright and Joe Thomas. They coped well with the hosts, who moved the ball well throughout the first half but did not create too many chances.

There were two debuts for UKAF, L/Cpl Jordan Brokes in goal and SAC(T) Brodie Gray pictured) on the right. Both showed plenty of promise throughout.

The tactical adjustment reaped immediate rewards for FS Pierce’s men as Cpl Jake Gosling produced a bit of magic, cutting in from the right to jink through the Hartpury defence to slot inside the right-hand post.

The second half saw the military men, boosted by a series of substitutes, create more chances. CPO Danny Kerr made it 2-1 midway through the half after a head on from Sgt Mike Campbell.

With the midfield now pushing on further, Gosling added his second direct from a corner to make the game 3-1, and with UKAF dominant Campbell finished the scoring with a lovely goal for 4-1.

Pierce added: “It was a good game overall, great to get back with the lads and work on stuff, to have two debuts was great, so we are all good.”

RAF dominant at the Joint Services Regatta

THE RAF’S rowers won 12 titles as they shone at the Joint Services Regatta in Peterborough.

Entering the event, at Peterborough City Rowing Club after having performed impressively in 2021, expectations were high.

They kicked off the day with wins in a number of the morning’s events, including the masters men’s single and double sculls, followed by victories in the women’s double sculls, quad and mixed coxed four.

Team spokesman Sqn Ldr Chris Nash said: “The RAF was really making a statement of intent and as lunch approached there was no letup for the first two IS events, with the men reclaiming the IS quad

from the Army and the women the double sculls.”

An Army fightback in the afternoon saw them take the men’s improver events and also the men’s open scull, but the RAF women’s team continued to pick up first places, cruising towards an overall IS team victory.

The men’s coxed fours saw the closest race of the day, going the way of the Army in a photo finish.

Picking up the overall event title as the day’s action ended, the only question left was if the RAF could complete a clean sweep of the IS events.

The women’s coxed four produced a fantastic race from start to finish with the RAF winning a

nip and tuck battle. That set up the day’s final event, the men’s IS eight, which saw the RAF hold off a late Army charge to retain their title.

Sqn Ldr Nash said: “The win meant the RAF had won all four IS events, something which hasn’t been done for more than 20 years, while also securing 12 wins out of a total of 21, with the Army picking up eight and the Navy just one, ensuring the RAF picked up where they left off in 2021 as overall JSR Champions.”

l For more information on rowing visit: rafsportsfederation. uk/sports/raf-rowing-association or the RAFRA Moss portal or follow the RAF Rowing Club on Twitter via @RAF_Rowing_Club.

Events won

Masters Single Scull

Mixed Coxed Four Women’s Double Sculls Women’s Quad

Masters Double Sculls Women’s Coxed Four Masters Pair

Women’s Eight Women’s IS Coxed Four Women’s IS Double Sculls Men’s IS Quad Men’s IS Eight

VICTORY: RAF's Mixed Coxed Four

SUCCESSES: Service rowers

INTERS WIN: Men's Eight

Skeleton stalwart meets new BLSA challenge head-on

FROM ONE-TIME best novice slider in her beloved sport of skeleton, Sqn Ldr Lisa Mitchell is now speeding head-on into her role as RAF BLSA chairperson.

Mitchell (pictured), who replaces Sqn Ldr Heather Ratnage-Black – UKAF skeleton chair and Inter-Services event director – in the post has found the level of excitement akin to the sport and cannot wait for the new season to begin.

She said: “I was hugely excited, there was a lot of competition for the role, so to have won it was amazing. The response has been

Regiment's outgunned

so welcoming. I consider the association to be full of my friends, they supported me on the ice, and I know that support will continue in my tenure of the chair role.”

Mitchell, who began in the sport in 2014, has six IS and RAF Championships under her belt and has experienced IS wins, with a best fourth-placed finish to her name, along with a third in the championships.

She was awarded best novice in her first year sliding at La Plagne and having competed at such famous tracks as Igls in Austria and Winterberg and Konigsee in Germany, she took up

roles as OIC of novice events, before becoming the Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Association Deputy Safety Manager in 2018.

She said: “I was looking to step away from the safety post and wanted someone else to take the chance to learn new things and for me to do the same, so I was chatting with Heather [Sqn Ldr Heather Ratnage-Black] who said she was thinking of asking me to take up her post as chair.

“It was so nice to have been working to support Heather and it was a real honour to be considered for the post. The association has a lifeblood of those athletes who can no longer compete but move into backroom roles, which is a

fabulous opportunity to not only grow within the association but in your career in the Service.

“It is wonderful to be able to keep your passion alive when you are not able to get out on the ice anymore.” She added: “I want to increase the opportunity for personnel in the sport, be it sliding or behind the scenes. We are always looking for new faces. My treasurer

FS Katie Isaacs has never taken part in ice sports, so it shows the opportunities are open to all.”

Of the season ahead Mitchell added: “I am really excited to see our athletes back where they want to be, at the correct level of competition. It will be something truly special.”

UPCOMING EVENTS:

l Interservice Championships (Bobsleigh, Skeleton, Olympic Luge) – Feb/Mar 23.

l Novice Championships (Bobsleigh, Skeleton, Olympic Luge) – Feb 23 TBC.

l Natural Luge Championships – TBC

All disciplines are currently running trials events at various locations and dates, for further details visit: Instagram: @ raficesports or on Facebook: RAF Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton Association.

Back with a bang

FULL-BLOODED BOXING action returned to RAF Digby for the first time since the Covid pandemic, and what a return it proved to be with the RAF taking eight wins from 12 bouts.

THE FORMAT may have been altered, but the outcome was the same as the Royal Marines won the annual football Combat Cup for the third time.

A 3-0 scoreline over the RAF Regiment at Cosford, which featured a brace from RMNE Morgan with one either side of the half-time break, saw the visitors take the cup – in its third year.

Due to alterations to sporting schedules because of Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral and the period of mourning, the event became a 90-minute winner takes all match between the RAF Regiment and Marines.

Normally the event sees an Army side also take part in the Combat Cup in a three-game, 60-minute match format, which will return next year.

Assistant coach FS David Jennings said: “With the Infantry unable to attend at the last minute, the cup was contested between the RAF Regiment and Royal Marines, with the Marines retaining the trophy.

“The visitors dominated the match, though we did have some good spells, but overall the result was a fair one.”

l Follow the RAF Regiment team on Twitter @RAFRegimentFC.

The evening's card saw light blue boxers from seven RAF stations – Digby, Benson, Brize Norton, Halton, Leeming, Odiham and Waddington – facing off against a host of the best Army and civilian boxers from AGC(SPS) & (ETS), RRC Crickhowell, 30 Signal Regiment, Clifton ABC and Norwich ABC.

The night saw boxers of all ranges compete, from those with no bouts under their belt to the more experienced host station boxer AS1 Frances Lyall, who closed the evening in a hotly-contested fight.

Lyall (57kg) won a split decision over Boutell (Clifton ABC) to send all the RAF supporters home happy.

The penultimate bout of the evening went the way of the red corner as 30 Signal Regiment boxer Asif showed real class to overcome his opponent Cpl Jack Steele (Digby)

in the 74/75kg weight category.

AS1 Michael Lennon (Leeming) 74kg was involved in a humdinger of a bout, for which he earned the Boxer of the Night award, beating his Cpl Leslie (RRC Crickhowell), who was awarded Most Gallant boxer of the

evening. The fight was a barnstormer for all three two-minute rounds.

Earlier, Flt Lt Paul Fort (Waddington) wasted no time in beating 2Lt Hutchinson with a first-round stoppage.

Organised by RAF Digby and

AGC(SPS) joint venture project, managed by Flt Lt Richard Coughlan and Sgt Chris Williams, the duo’s efforts were rewarded with a bumper and noisy crowd of 400 enthusiastic spectators, who were treated to a great night of action.

Irish eyes are smiling for Sqn Ldr

IRELAND CAME calling for veteran RAF orienteer Sqn Ldr Philip Johnston-Davis, and the Waddington-based runner helped his country secure an impressive third in the Home International Championships.

Winning his fifth international cap at the Snowdonia event, the Lincolnshire-based athlete faced a field of competitors from the over35s teams for England, Scotland and Wales.

Running as part of a 24-strong

team in the individual 8km race near Dolgellau, Johnston-Davis battled the mostly sloping and intricate rough open land course, which featured many technical rock sections with more than 450m of climbing.

Placed fourth, the military man lost two minutes at the final three controls, to end up sixth.

The next day the teams competed at nearby Trawsfynydd in a series of mixed relay races with Johnston-Davis (pictured left)

running the extra-long third leg.

He said: “It’s difficult to find representative terrain like this anywhere near Lincolnshire and my legs definitely felt it by the end of the relay.”

Having helped his team beat the Welsh into third, with England winning and Scotland runners-up, the RAF athlete is hoping to have done enough to be selected for his sixth national representative fixture next year, when England host the event in the Forest of Dean.

BRIGHT MOMENTS: Regiment attacks

Daniel Abrahams

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Flt Lt Fort, AS1 Lyall(top right) and Cpl Steele (bottom right)

Photos: Gordy Elias

In a league of our own

RAF hailed as best ever

IN WHAT is being described as the best IS men’s rugby league display in tournament memory, the RAF stormed to victory 32-4 over the Army at Salford.

In the opening clash 22-12 defeat, a late charge redeemed RAF blushes at HMS Temerarie, Portsmouth at the hands of the Royal Navy with tries from AS1s Kieran Prescott and Juite Tupua.

In the final IS clash FS Gary Dunn’s charges took full advantage to condemn the Army to the wooden spoon in some style.

Dunn said: “The lads should be very proud of the performance that they delivered tonight. They were great from minute one. We have a really exciting squad, and it bodes well for the future.”

The display proved the perfect send-off for assistant coach Sgt Martin Wood after 22 years at the heart of all things RAF rugby league.

Dunn added: “He has been fundamental to all our success over the past 22 years. He has had a positive influence on both me, the committee and all the players he has led and coached over that time. It’s great to see that we could play to this level and deliver that result in his last game.”

TABLE TENNIS

Having absorbed early pressure, it was man of the match Prescott who found Cpl Nick Slaney to spark an early score. Having rounded the full back Slaney found AS1 Eliot Kerry, who ran in on 16 minutes.

The RAF team really began to take control of the game

from then. A penalty goal from Kerry made it 8-0, before a break from Prescott saw AS1 Masi Rasoki run in, with Kerry getting the extras for 14-0.

AS1(T) Brad Keegan went over shortly after the restart, but a sinbinning for AS1 Kevin Raqio for an elbow allowed the Army in to make it 18-4. From here the RAF shut the lid on their opponents, with Prescott running in a magical try

for 22-4, before some slick work from AR Ewan Makinson at dummy half led to Rosaki going over again for 28-4 with 10 minutes left.

Keegan ran in another try late into the game to complete the score line.

l Follow RAF rugby league on Instagram @rafrugbyleague.

Everything's going to plan for the women

“I WILL take this as a personal victory, losing 10-0 to the Army in year one of our three-year plan, this feels like a win.”

Those were the words of Cpl Alex Barnes following a towering performance by the RAF rugby league women at a sodden Salford Roosters ground, for the IS women’s championship decider between the RAF and Army.

A resounding 24-20 win over the Royal Navy at HMS Temeraire in the opening clash of the tournament saw Barnes running in a hat-trick of tries alongside Cpl Chelcey Greasley’s brace, proving too much for the hosts.

Unbowed, against the unbeaten Army side – who would retain the title for a 13th year at the final whistle –and six points down at the break, the RAF produced a gutsy and at times skilful display despite the tough conditions.

The close scoreline did justice in parts to the Air Force side’s display defensively but does not show the continued attacking play they produced in an 80 minutes which showed the team’s growing talent and confidence.

Barnes added: “I hope everyone in a RAF shirt is proud of this display, I know I am.

“It’s frustrating at being only 10-0, because it shows we could have won it.”

l Follow RAF rugby league on Instagram @rafrugbyleague.

All eyes on Halton for festival of table tennis

THE GREAT and the good of RAF table tennis will converge on Halton this month for the sport’s annual festival.

The event will this year see 24 players of all standards benefit from two days of training by Development Officer and Coach for Table Tennis Wales Matthew Porter and RAF coach Ian Denton, before three days of competition.

Chf Tech Craig Walton, who will be making the pilgrimage for his ninth year, said: “The festival is like nothing else and is a high point for everyone in the association, along with the RAF Championships held annually in March.

“For me it’s is a huge event, and I am not alone in thinking that. Where else could table tennis players get the chance to have a week focused totally on the sport, with the huge social aspect as well?

“It’s a fantastic event regardless of ability. You get to play anyone, and the more experienced players pass on their knowledge during those games. Players will be coming from Cyprus and

all over. The buzz is great.” Festival organiser AS1(T) Ben Law has hosted several academy sessions throughout the year for players of all standards.

Walton added: “I have played upwards of 30 matches at previous festivals and learned so much from each one and cannot wait to do the same at this year’s.

“The association, which

INTENSE: Competition is always fierce

currently boasts the IS men’s champions, is facing a period of change with many of the older players moving on from the sport, making the festival the

perfect opportunity for the future of the association.”

l Follow the association on Instagram @ raftabletennis.

Daniel Abrahams

TRY TIME: AS1 Brad Keegan is too much for the Army to handle and, right, crossing the line for a score. Below, FS Gary Dunn (left) and Sgt Martin Wood with the Nick Mawston Memorial Trophy PHOTOS: SBS

RUGBY UNION

BACK-TO-BACK defeats in the International Defence Rugby Competition in New Zealand have seen the UKAF women miss out on medal contention after their opening matches.

The team, led by RAF Cpl Sian Williams, will now play in the tournament’s Plate event, facing Vanuatu & Papua New Guinea in the semi-final stage, after losing to Australia 32-20 in their opening game, before succumbing 17-10 to Fiji in their second pool match in Auckland.

Speaking from New Zealand before the team’s opening clash, Cpl Williams said: “It’s a huge honour to be selected and an even bigger honour to captain such a talented squad.

“It’s extremely exciting for us as a

CUP

group that this tournament is going ahead and even more so that it’s hosted over in New Zealand, giving us the chance to go and support our RAF elite athletes who are playing at the Rugby World Cup.”

In the opening clash at College

Rifles’ Rugby Club’s ground, Auckland, UKAF and RAF star Cpl Rhiannon Walton went close in the first minute, but her try attempt was ruled out after she was adjudged to have gone into touch before grounding the ball.

The military side were dominant from the off, taking a lead, which Fg Off Sarah Graham converted, in the third minute. Graham extended the lead to 10-0 after 10 minutes, slotting home a penalty. But fatigue seemed to slow the tourists, who, leading 15-3 at the break, saw SAC Kathryn Robinson touch done their last score on the final whistle after being overrun.

In their second game UKAF, needing a bonus point win to qualify for the next round, traded blows well with Fiji, in Auckland.

But after going in level at the break, the Service side could not push on, with Fiji outscoring them to win.

Along with Williams, the team coached by WO John Wilding features Flt Lt Emma Tadman, Cpl Rhiannon Walton, Cpl Daniker

Wilmore, Fg Off Kate Edwards, Fg Off Sarah Graham and SAC Kathryn Robinson.

The six-team tournament features sides from Australia, Fiji, France, Tonga and a combined Papua New Guinea/Vanuatu outfit.

UKAF lose twice in New Zealand Cokayne in the tries as Roses march on

ALL TO DO FOR BONAR

FG OFF Sarah Bonar has the world at her fingertips as she takes part in training sessions for Scotland in New Zealand at the Women’s Rugby Union World Cup.

A relaxed Bonar, 31, ran through ball and passing drills with her teammates under the watchful eye of Scotland head coach Bryan Easson, as the team prepared for its opening match against Wales in Whangarei, north New Zealand – which Wales won 18-15, with the last kick of the game.

PHOTO: SCOTTISH RUGBY

Daniel Abrahams

THERE WAS World Cup joy, heartache and frustration for the Service’s women’s rugby union stars during the opening pool matches in New Zealand.

Kicking off the tournament with back-to-back wins, Fg Off Amy Cokayne’s Red Roses backed their favourites tag.

The RAF hooker was front and centre in the opening 84-19 win over Fiji in Auckland, running in two tries. Her first came after she provided the line-out, before driving over the try line to make the score 10-0 after 17 minutes, a feat she repeated after 42 minutes to make it 14-29 following a brief Fijian fightback.

In what would prove to be a fruitful if frustrating second match against old rivals France, Cokayne would see herself held up on the line twice in the 18th and 55th minutes, as England went on to win a world record 27 games in a row, 13-7, despite a late French charge.

For Fg Off Sarah Bonar it was late heartache as her Scotland side lost out late on to Wales, 18-15 in their opening fixture.

Bonar was at the heart of all things Scotland, collecting a lineout and feeding her side to drive over in the 27th minute. Having fallen behind, Scotland levelled 1515 late on, but paid the price for an unconverted try, losing out to a late Wales penalty, 18-15.

A true Braveheart approach to their second clash against the muchfancied Australians saw Bonar lead the Saltire charge early on, taking a line-out superbly and driving back a maul for a 10th-minute try at Northland Events Centre.

On 26 minutes Bonar recreated the move to win a penalty try and extend the Scottish lead to 12-0.

On the hour the Australians mounted their fightback and it was to be further late agony as

the scores were levelled in the 73rd minute, before the conversion took the green and gold to victory – 12-14. Bonar and Scotland must win their last group match against New Zealand to have any chance of

qualifying for the knockout stages.

Fg Off Carys Williams has yet to feature for Wales, who lost their second game 12-56 to NZ. She will hope to feature in their final group game against Australia.

DEMOLITION JOB: After a slow start England beat Fiji 84-19, with Fg Off Amy Cokayne (right) grabbing a brace of tries Photo: World Rugby

HELD UP: Aussies get to grips with Cpl Daniker Wilmore

PHOTO: NEIL KENNEDY

LEADER: Cpl Williams, left © Travis Prior

POT OF GOLD AT END OF RAINBOW FOR SGT

GB win prestigious World Championship race in Italy

Daniel Abrahams

RAF CYCLING celebrated an historic UCI World Championship win, as Sgt Andy Lochhead triumphed in the Bluegrass Trophy of Nations masters race in Finale Ligure, Italy.

Dubbed ‘mountain biking’s biggest team competition,’ the Lossiemouth Engineering Records SNCO who had been competing all season in the EWS series, donned his GB jersey to compete in the race.

It saw him crash, hit a tree, go over his handlebars and battle as part of a threeman team to win the highly-prized UCI rainbow jersey – beating the French into second place by a minute, with a finishing time of one hour, 53 minutes and 18.47 seconds.

Lochhead said: “It’s been an absolute dream to be racing the world enduro series this year and winning UCI rainbow stripes is the highest achievement for a cyclist, one I’m very proud of and couldn’t have done without the amazing team of Ian Austermuhle and Scott Edgeworth.

“Being on the podium with fireworks, champagne, glitter cannons, music, the huge crowd and all the winning teams was unreal.”

The Italian Riviera course may have a picturesque setting, but it would prove a tough challenge with brutally long 15-minute stages, in dusty hot conditions.

With GB tipped as race favourites, Lochhead felt buoyed despite the presence of the powerful French team, who would chase GB to the finish.

He added: “I was part of a very strong team with the highest ranked GB riders alongside me, but the French had a very strong team too, and as I would be our slowest rider we went through a bit of pretraining and they managed to tow me up to speed.”

The RAF man found the opening stages extremely hard going but struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome hand problems he managed to hang on to finish, but not before he had a spill over the handlebars heading into a corner, before hitting a tree deep into the stage.

Lochhead added: “Stages three and four

were very dusty, with vision difficult. We went into the last one with over a minute’s lead, with the French in second. Our success came down to working as a team. We stuck together and helped each other with mechanicals and riding and set-up advice.

“There was constant communication on the stages and that kept morale high. It was key for us, and something most of the other nations appeared not to do.”

l Follow RAF mountain biking on Instagram @rafcycling.

pages of the best of RAF Sport

GOLDEN BOYS: Sgt Andy Lochhead, right, with teammates Ian Austermuhle, left, and Scott Edgeworth

CYCLING

FLAG BEARERS:

Jubilant GB team on the podium

FULL TILT: Lochhead on treacherous Italian course

DECISIVENESS THROUGH DATA

Providing concise intelligence across the connected battlespace

Collins Aerospace’s SCi-Toolset streamlines the production of actionable intelligence and facilitates its immediate dissemination around the connected battlespace – ensuring timely and informed decision-making. Built on a real-time coherent intelligence picture. Built on data- and sensor-agnostic systems, SCi-Toolset provides a true understanding of the battlespace, regardless of theatre or domain.

INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED

U.K. STANAG 4559 CSD Edition-4-compliant intelligence product library

• Supports NATO EPIE and U.S. BICES intelligence sharing frameworks

• Supports the U.K. Royal Navy’s participation in the NATO Response Force

Cezanne: the artist's artist

ABLOCKBUSTER exhibition featuring the work of Paul Cezanne is now on at Tate Modern in London.

The show, running until March 12, 2023, has been called ‘a once-in-a-generation exhibition’ and features paintings, watercolours and drawings by the artist referred to as the ‘greatest of us all’ by the founder of impressionist painting, Claude Monet.

Known as the father of PostImpressionism, Cezanne (1839-1906) remains ‘a pivotal figure in modern painting who gave license to generations of artists to break the rules’, said a spokesperson for Tate Modern.

The EY Exhibition: Cezanne brings together more than 80 carefully selected works from collections in Europe, Asia, North and South America, giving UK audiences their first opportunity in more than 25 years to explore the breadth of Cezanne’s career.

It features key examples of his iconic still life paintings, Provençale landscapes, portraits and bather scenes, with over 20 works never seen in the UK before such as The Basket of Apples c.1893 (The Art Institute of Chicago), Mont Sainte-Victoire 1902-06 (Philadelphia Museum of Art) and Still Life with Milk Pot, Melon, and Sugar Bowl 190006 (private collection).

“Visitors to Tate Modern will discover the events, places and relationships that shaped

Film

Cezanne’s life and work. The exhibition tells the story of a young ambitious painter from Aix-en-Provence, determined to succeed as an artist in metropolitan Paris in the 1860s, yet constantly rejected by the art establishment," said the spokesperson.

“It reveals how he befriended Camille Pissarro and associated with the impressionists in the 1870s, but soon distanced himself from their circle and the Parisian art scene to forge his own path, returning to his native Provence in relentless pursuit of his own radical style.”

The exhibition, that’s garnered rave reviews from the critics, traces Cezanne’s artistic development from early paintings made in his 20s such as the striking portrait Scipio 1866-8 (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) to works completed in the final months of his life like Seated Man 1905-6 (Museo ThyssenBornemisza, Madrid).

While Cezanne is often mythologised as a solitary figure, the exhibition spotlights the relationships central to his life, particularly with his wife Marie-Hortense Fiquet and their son Paul, immortalised in paintings

such as Madame Cezanne in a Red Armchair c.1877 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and Portrait of the Artist’s Son 1881-2 (Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris). It examines Cezanne’s intense relationship with childhood friend Émile Zola and reveals how peers such as Monet and Pissarro were among the first to appreciate his unique vision.

Many great artists even collected Cezanne’s works – previous owners included Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Henry Moore.

l Go to: tate.org.uk for more details.

Cruz, Banderas & Martínez feature in battle of the egos

WHEN PHARMACEUTICAL mogul Don Humberto (José Luis Gómez) turns 80 he seems forlorn at the absence of a legacy and so decides to make his mark, to build something important that will last, like a bridge, or better yet, a film.

Knowing nothing at all about the film industry but having untold riches, he takes all the necessary steps to make an award contender –pay through the nose for the rights to a Nobel Prize-winning book and lock in the hottest, critically

acclaimed director, and give her free rein. Of course, Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz) immediately insists on making a loose adaptation, but decides to capitalise on the tension of sibling rivalry at the heart of the story by casting two renowned actors with very different approaches: Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez), the revered artist of stage and screen, and Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas), the Hollywood star who doesn’t get the point of backstories for characters who don’t exist.

The premise is perfect, Humberto’s act of pure narcissism leads to the meeting of these three competing egos, each with their own pride and preciousness. Most scenes consist of these personalities in one space, fighting for importance, whilst failing to hide their insecurities, a crystallised satire of the film business.

Visionary Lola has a fiery and confrontational energy, her creativity bursting out through outlandish fashion and unusual methods. Playboy Félix clearly

wants to impress Lola, if not to prove his worth, then to shine over his co-star. Self-important Iván thinks himself above everyone else, seen practising his Oscar refusal in the mirror – even providing the cheers from the audience in response.

The film presents a series of set pieces – acting exercises and

rehearsals that take place in scenic, open spaces. Many punchlines announce themselves ahead of time and milk the comedy for all it’s worth, but it feels like the central actors are having a great time dialling up the insanity, and this wild glee is infectious.

Review by Sam Cooney 3 out of 5 roundels

IT'S A WRAP: Martínez, Cruz and Banderas star in tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the film world

Paul Cezanne Bathers 1874-5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975

Paul Cezanne Mont Sainte-Victoire 1902-6. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gift of Helen Tyson Madeira, 1977

Music Depeche Mode

Back in touring Mode

DEPECHE MODE have announced their first live shows in five years. The Memento Mori world tour kicks off in March 2023 in California and the influential synth-pop band, featuring founder members Dave Gahan and Martin Gore, play Twickenham Stadium, south west London on June 17.

Gahan and Gore made the announcement at a special event in Berlin, also revealing the band will be releasing their 15th studio album, Memento Mori, next spring.

Gore said: “We started work on this project early in the pandemic, and its themes were directly inspired by that time. After Fletch’s passing [founder member and keyboard player Andy Fletcher who died in May], we decided to continue as we’re sure this is what he would have wanted, and that has really given the project an extra level of meaning.”

Gahan added: “Fletch would have loved this album. We’re really looking forward to sharing it with you soon, and we can’t wait to present it to you live at the shows next year.” The Memento Mori tour will be Depeche Mode’s 19th and, after starting with a series of North American arena dates from March 23, the band will head to Europe for their summer stadium tour

beginning on May 16 with stops including Stade de France, Paris, Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and Milan’s San Siro Stadium.

l Go to: depechemode.com for more information.

The Hives' Arctic role

Goon but not forgotten Spike pays homage to pioneering comedian Milligan

THE STORY of the young Spike Milligan, demobbed from the Army after World War II and going on to write and perform with The Goon Show, is the subject of Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and co-writer Nick Newman’s latest play, now on tour.

Bridgerton and Gavin and Stacey star Robert Wilfort plays the eponymous role in Spike – touring until November 26 – which also features Patrick Warner (Peter Cook in The Crown) as Peter Sellers, and Jeremy Lloyd (Hislop and Newman’s Trial by Laughter) as Harry Secombe. The cast also includes Margaret Cabourn-Smith (Motherland, Miranda) as Janet.

It’s 1950s austerity Britain, and out of the gloom comes Goon mania as men, women and children across the country scramble to get their ear to a wireless for another instalment of The Goon Show While Secombe and Sellers become overnight celebrities, Spike finds himself pushing the boundaries of comedy, and testing the BBC’s patience.

Flanked by his fellow Goons and bolstered by the efforts of irrepressible sound assistant Janet, Spike takes a flourishing nosedive off the cliffs of respectability, and mashes up his haunted past to create the comedy of the future. His war with Hitler may be over, but his war with Auntie Beeb – and ultimately himself – has just begun.

H

islop and Newman said:

mental health issues, we saw that as powering his comedy.”

having breakdowns, both of which he immediately turned into comedy. That in itself is fascinating.”

THE HIVES have announced they’re set to join Arctic Monkeys as special guests on the biggest UK and Irish tour of their career to date, with shows in May and June 2023.

It will see both bands reunite following their shows together in 2019.

The Hives frontman Pete Almqvist said: “Way back in history, a bunch of young kids saw The Hives in their hometown, Sheffield. They then formed a band called the Arctic Monkeys, currently the only good European

stadium size rock band in existence, and The Hives are still exactly where they are, doing what they are doing, because The Hives are eternal. The two bands will now tour the UK together and everyone will live happily ever after.”

The tour kicks off at Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol on May 29 and finishes on June 25 at Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, and goes to venues including Manchester, Norwich, Sheffield, Swansea, London and Dublin.

l Visit: thehives.com for full details.

“It’s a privilege to take Spike on tour, exploring the genius of Britain’s most inspirational and ground-breaking comedian. And, of course, it’s another chance to steal all his jokes and pass them off as our own. Spike may be Goon, but he’s not forgotten.”

As all Milligan fans know, the comedy legend had a lifelong battle with bipolar disorder and had several serious mental breakdowns, but didn’t shy away from talking about his condition.

Newman, also an award-winning cartoonist, said: “We wanted the play to be a celebration. There are too many biopics of comedians that tell the ‘tears of a clown’ story. And while you can’t escape Spike’s

Hislop added: “We didn’t want an audience coming out thinking, ‘the really important thing about this person is that they were miserable and unhappy. And now so am I’. We wanted them thinking, ‘the important thing about this person is that he produced all this’ and it made a huge number of people very happy. And still does. There are two very grim incidents in the play involving Spike

Newman was a Milligan fan from an early age. “I remember when I was at school, just crying with laughter reading Spike’s war memoirs. And The Goon Show, I was brought up on it,” he said. “My father was in the RAF and we were stationed in places like Singapore where there was no television. All we had to listen to was acetate recordings of The Goon Show. I can still quote chunks and bore for Britain.”

Hislop explained: “I’m

RETURN: Martin Gore and Dave Gahan

Selected cinemas now and on Blu-Ray and DVD (Dazzler Media)

MADCAP: 'Spike Milligan'

'ETERNAL': The Hives

Tracey

forgotten

younger than Nick, so I didn’t hear them first time around. The pleasure for me of making this play was Nick saying, ‘this is really funny, genuinely funny and brilliant writing.’

“I went back and listened to it and was gobsmacked. I’d become so used to the older Spike, and the older Secombe and Sellers, that I’d forgotten when they first came along, they’d just been demobbed, they were really young men, and they blew the place away.

“The people in charge at the BBC couldn’t bear it. They had no idea what this group were doing, and they wanted to shut them down, basically. They thought they were noisy and anarchic and up to no good. All of which was true: that’s what made them so attractive.”

He added: “Spike always hated the BBC. He was furious that they didn’t pay him enough, didn’t respect him and were trying to get rid of him. There was something about

institutions that he found incredibly annoying – but also productive and comforting. He wouldn’t have been who he was without them.”

“Some of it was class warfare, I think, because Spike was workingclass,” explained Newman. “As you can tell from his war memoirs, he didn’t have time for the officer class. After the war, all these officers went straight into the BBC and ran it. So Spike was at loggerheads with them on that basis.

“As we’ve tried to reflect in the play, the BBC management were always saying: there’s too much in The Goon Show about the war, it’s too noisy, there are too many explosions. And this was Spike exorcising his demons. One critic described the Goons as being ‘like shell-shock on radio’, and that says it all. That was Spike’s experience: he was shell-shocked. And he carried on reflecting that in his work.”

Interview by Brian Logan l Spike tours to Aylesbury, Glasgow, Richmond, Blackpool and Cardiff. Go to: spiketheplay.co.uk for details.

Wood Fringe tribute tours

FOLLOWING A successful run at the Edinburgh the late comedy genius and national treasure Victoria Wood continues its tour of the UK.

Wood Martin, aka Paulus the Cabaret Geek, best known for his appearances as a judge on BBC One’s talent show of Wood’s best-loved songs through the decades including Have Worked, Reincarnation classic Do It)

of entertainment filled with love, laughter and fabulous memories of Victoria Wood’ and ‘the ultimate

Film

The Natural: Marco Pantini (E)

beginner’s guide’ for audiences new to her work.

The much-missed comedian, actress, singer, screenwriter and lyricist, who died in 2016 aged 62, shot to fame after winning the TV talent show New Faces in 1974. She went on to become an award-winning performer with series such as Victoria Wood: As Seen On TV, Dinnerladies and the TV films Pat and Margaret and Housewife 49.

The tour visits Faversham, Eastbourne, Corsham, Chichester, Saltburn-By-The-Sea, Haverhill and York.

l Go to: lookingformefriend. com for more details.

Pantani: The king of the mountains

THE FILM The Natural has been described as the definitive portrait of Italian cycling legend Marco Pantani, winner of both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, who is considered to be the greatest climbing specialist in the history of the sport.

Pantani’s story is told for the first time in this documentary that provides an unprecedented journey into the life of the late athlete. Set against the backdrop of his beloved Cesenatico, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, it features public and private archive material and intimate conversations with his family members and close friends.

We have copies of The Natural: Marco Pantani on DVD up for grabs. To be in with a chance of winning one, simply tell us:

In which country was Pantani born?

Email your answer, marked The Natural DVD competition, to: competitions@rafnews. co.uk or post it to: RAF News, Room 68, Lancaster Building, HQ Air Command, High Wycombe, HP14 4UE, to arrive by November 4.

BENICIO DEL TORO, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins and Hugo Weaving star in a special edition of The Wolfman, just out on Bluray. This edition includes two versions of the film, the original theatrical version and an extended cut featuring 17 minutes of additional footage.

Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) is a haunted nobleman who returns to his family estate after his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Blunt), begs him to help find her love.

Reunited with his estranged father (Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother and discovers that a beast with an insatiable bloodlust has been killing villagers, and that a suspicious Scotland Yard inspector named Aberline (Hugo Weaving) has come to investigate. But as he hunts for the nightmarish beast, Talbot discovers a horrifying destiny for himself.

For your chance to win a copy of The Wolfman on Blu-ray, answer the following question correctly:

Who plays the lead role in The Wolfman?

Email your answer, marked: The Wolfman Blu-ray competition, to our usual competitions email address or post it to us – see addresses above – to arrive by November 4. Remember to include your full postal address with all competition entries.

Edited

(Dazzler Media)

The Wolfman (15) Blu-Ray (Fabulous Films/Fremantle Media Ents)

COMEDY LEGENDS: 'Sellers', 'Milligan' and 'Secombe'. Inset below, writers Newman and Hislop

PAUL L MARTIN: Victoria Wood homage

Your Announcements

You can email photos for announcements on this page

Seeking

I am trying to trace my brother Flight Sergeant RE Lee, born in Sleights North Yorkshire, March 1943 or 44, last known to be living in the Oxford area. He was in the signals section of the RAF. I would be grateful if he would contact me by the email address or phone number below which is in Australia, because I have an important family message for him. Please email: argemtis71@gmail.com or phone: +61266452512.

SEEKING S.J.E Adams. Number 680159, 78th Entry Halton. Call Reg Butchers: 07702 238509 or email: reg. butchers@btinternet.com

I was stationed at Stanmore Park from 1968 to October 1969 and was known as SAC Christine Warrington. I moved to RAF St Mawgan in October 1969, where I was employed as a civilian at the camp. I am seeking news of JT Roger (Ginge ) Summerfield/ Somerfield who was on detachment at Stanmore Park where we met. He was training on the Nimrod Simulator at Borehamwood. I am also trying to locate Bob Somerville, who was on detachment from Marham to Binbrook between 1967 and 1971. I attended Bob’s wedding in Belfast. Please contact: christineacaley@ gmail.com.

LOOKING for any members of the 47th entry TG19 Hereford 62-64. Any still about? Please contact Jim Cummins via email on: Carol_cummins@aol.com or call: 01302 532865, 07517 416702.

Reunions

ALL Women’s Royal Air Force and RAF Women Officers are invited to the Association’s Annual

How to use our service

Reunion Luncheon at The RAF Club, 128 Piccadilly, London on October 22. New members always welcome. Email: suearnold474@ gmail.com for further details.

THE 60th anniversary reunion of the 49th Entry 2 Sqn Clerks Boy Entrants at RAF Hereford is to be held from May 15-17, 2023 at Thoresby Hall, Ollerton, Notts. If interested in attending please contact Dave Beaumont on: 07538651712 or email beaumont.d@sky.com or Bob Cuss, email: rbc324@ john-lewis.com.

RAF Bawdsey Reunion Association. Did you ever serve at RAF Bawdsey? If so, why not join us at our next annual reunion which will take place at Bawdsey Manor on June 3, 2023. For details please contact Doreen at doreen.bawdseyreunion@ btinternet.com or phone: 07513 301723.

Associations

THE RAF & Defence Fire Services Association was formed in 1995 and would like to attract new members of all ranks, serving and retired. The annualsubscription fee is £16 and for that you receive threeAssociation magazines a year called The Flashpoint, to which members are invited to contribute their stories. We meet for a reunion and AGM once a year. For more information and how to join please visit the website: rafanddfsa. co.uk. The RAF & DFS Association also has close links with the Museum of RAF Firefighting, visit: fire museum.uk.

IF you trained as an RAF Administrative Apprentice (or are related to one) we’d be delighted to welcome you to

the RAFAA Association. Our aim is to promote friendship and general wellbeing among our veterans, via social gatherings and assorted activities, as devised by an elected committee, and a regular newsletter. Please see the website: rafadappassn.org; or you can contact the Membership Secretary on: 07866 085834 or the Chairman on: 01933 443673

RAF Catering WOs’ and Seniors’ Association (RAF CWO & SA): all serving or retired TG19 Warrant Officers or Flight Sergeants and all former Catering Branch Officers are invited to join the RAF CWO & SA. We meet twice yearly. For more information please get in touch with Dave Scott via email: davescott10@hotmail.co.uk.

SSAFA Xmas catalogue

AMONG the eye-catching seasonal items in SSAFA’s Christmas 2022 catalogue is a set of gingerbread RAF, Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Marines personnel. Crafted from felt and with SSAFA branding on the reverse, they cost £7.99 each. And Sherin Aminossehe, the MOD’s Director of Infrastructure and a trained architect, has designed Christmas cards, a calendar and a 750-piece jigsaw of the Red Arrows performing a flypast over Buckingham Palace for the catalogue. Go to: ssafa.org. uk for more details.

Art honours fallen heroes

TWO IDENTICAL remembrance art installations are now on display – at the International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln and on the Falkland Islands – until January 2023.

The tributes were created by Standing with Giants, a voluntary community project founded by Dan Barton, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Islands’ liberation on June 14, 2022. They represent 255 silhouetted life-size figures of RAF, Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Army personnel and three civilians who lost their lives during the 1982 Falklands War.

IBCC’s CEO, Nicky van der Drift, said: “The IBCC’s focus has always been on honouring those who served and remembrance of those

who paid the ultimate sacrifice. It is a huge honour for us to be able to pay tribute to the fallen of the Falklands War with this powerful and emotive installation.

“To have it here over the Remembrance week will bring additional poignancy for visitors.”

Dan, and two of the team – his son Luke, and Lucy, an Air Cadet – travelled to the Falkland Islands in May to help install the tribute.

“South Atlantic Trading amazingly arranged the transportation and covered the shipping costs of the installation to travel the 8,000 miles,” Nicky added.

Go to: internationalbcc.co.uk for more information.

Vets fly again at Biggin Hill

DFC WINNERS Flt Lt George Dunn and Wg Cdr John Bell were among a group of 20 military veterans, ranging in age from 97 to 102, who met up to commemorate the Battle of Britain last month at the former RAF Biggin Hill’s airfield.

“The veterans, from the RAF, Royal Navy and Army got the chance to watch several Spitfires take to the air,” said Robin Brooks, PR officer for Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar. “Some took the opportunity to climb aboard the Airvan chase plane and watch a Spitfire close up as it flew alongside.”

There is no charge for conventionally-worded birth, engagement, marriage, anniversary, death,in memoriam seeking and reunion notices. For commercial small ads contact Edwin Rodrigues on: 07482 571535. We cannot, under any circumstances, take announcements over the telephone. They can be sent by email to: tracey.allen@rafnews.co.uk. Please note that due to the coronavirus pandemic we are currently unable to accept notices submitted by post.

Important Notice

The publishers of RAF News cannot accept responsibility for the quality, safe delivery or operation of any products advertised or mentioned in this publication.

Reasonable precautions are taken before advertisements are accepted but such acceptance does not imply any form of approval or recommendation. Advertisements (or other inserted material) are accepted subject to the approval of the publishers and their current terms and conditions. The publishers will accept an advertisement or other inserted material only on the condition that the advertiser warrants that such advertisement does not in any way contravene the provisions of the Trade Descriptions Act. All copy is subject to the approval of the publishers, who reserve the right to refuse, amend, withdraw or otherwise deal with advertisements submitted to them at their absolute discretion and without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice. Mail order advertisers are required to state in advertisements their true surname or full company name, together with an address from which the business is managed.

Flt Lt Dunn (pictured far left) flew Halifax bombers on raids including Peenemunde

and Wg Cdr Bell (back row, far right) dropped Tallboy bombs on the Tirpitz battleship with 617 Squadron.

“With the station motto of ‘The Strongest Link’, Biggin Hill was one of

several wartime airfields built to protect London and so received attention on more occasions than most from the Luftwaffe, which was intent on destroying the airfield completely,” Robin explained.

Squadron marks landmark anniversary

2620 SQUADRON (County of Norfolk)

RAF Regiment marks 40 years since its formation and 20 years since its deployment on Op Telic.

The Squadron intends to hold an event at RAF Marham in the form of a family day and evening function, and a visit to the RAF Regiment Heritage Centre is

also planned. The event will be held at 2620 Sqn on March 31, 2023. If you wish to attend, please email the ProjO: philip. lister513@mod.gov.uk. This is unique for 2620 Sqn and for all other personnel who have served with or alongside the Squadron in the UK and on operations all over the world.

CHRISTMAS CHARMER: The felt gingerbread RAF figure

TWIN TRIBUTES: The installations at the IBCC, above, and, inset, on the Falkland Islands with, from left, Luke, Dan and Lucy

You Yo

ur Ann

Your Announcements

oow bNe k airblac

elebratek c

New book celebrates black airmen's stories

st

RARELY HEARD stories of black airmen during World War I and II are celebrated in a new children’s book, published to mark Black History Month this month.

The Story of Britain’s Black Airmen by K.N. Chimbiri, illustrated by Elizabeth Lander (rrp £8.99), features profiles of inspirational key figures.

They include navigator Cy Grant, who later found fame as an actor and singer; Errol Barrow, also a navigator, who became Prime Minister of Barbados; Britain’s firstknown black combat pilot William Robinson Clarke, who joined the Royal Flying Corps; DFC and DSO winner Ulric Cross, (inset) who went on to be a High Court Judge; and ground crewman Sam King, who became

the first black mayor of the Borough of Southwark, in London.

Museum buries time capsule

THE ROYAL Air Force Museum Midlands has marked its 50th anniversary by preserving mementos – including a recent copy of RAF News – in a time capsule, so that future visitors can look into the past.

a local newspaper and, of course, RAF News

“Messages from staff and volunteers on an RAF flag, together with video messages, have also been included,” said a Museum spokesperson.

theMus

and

ts

for fo said:

crew,

A spokesperson for publishers Scholastic said: “From pilots to ground crew, and with tales from across the globe, the story of Britain’s black airmen is an important part of the history of flying.”

Go to: scholastic.co.uk for more information.

f

The capsule (pictured, inset right, being buried ) contains memorabilia, messages and notable objects giving a snapshot of the Museum today, and has been buried in its grounds next to a learning space used by schools. The capsule is not due to be unlocked until the Museum’s 100th anniversary in 2072.

bitio t m n t

spacea Theschools. duetobeunlockedu Museum’s100thanniv

MBuiltb thecapprentices,

contain

Museum capsule hem t

Built by Museum apprentices, the capsule contains items from the time of its burial, including a souvenir guide, Museum teddy bear, a national and

50 ecan e Mh nsin20am osford foRAFC dcontribute Commander’sCh lforthecapsule foMeda uss,e CDierdr accesss ’Museum ssistant,g alearnin ht tboul als as i“Thi

le ’ years eflect flnr s ’Museum 022.” .”

“Items including badges and booklets dating back five decades have been buried, along with concept art and development plans, so those opening the capsule in 50 years’ time can reflect on the Museum’s ambitions in 2022.”

RAF Cosford has contributed a Station Commander’s Challenge Medal for the capsule.

allenge

he, t aid:, s uturee f fu

Dierdre Cuss, the Museum’s access and learning assistant, said: “This is all about the future of the Museum, for the staff, volunteers and the young people who visit us in 2072.

“When , witemstoinclude

“When deciding what items to include, we worked with local schools and asked colleagues what they thought would be important to pass on to the next generation, giving

a snapshot of the Museum at the time we marked our 50th anniversary.”

A plaque marks the spot where the capsule has been buried.

CAPSULE CONTENTS: Museum staff display the items chosen, including RAF News

atMuseum dour50th

laquemarkp wherethecapsule buried ksthespot ehasbeen

the food

love in taster of the unusual

FLUX GOURMET is another delightfully odd serving from writer/director Peter Strickland (In Fabric, The Duke of Burgundy), focusing on a culinary band that have taken a residency at The Sonic Catering Institute, playing music with food.

The nameless band, played by Asa Butterfield, Ariane Labed and their witchy frontwoman Fatma Mohamed, boil pots and chop vegetables to create a soundscape in front of a crowd. This is done with incredible attention to detail: the music and score both so well-crafted that you forget how bizarre this concept is.

The band are trying to work out their own issues, while resentfully under the tutelage of the institute’s figurehead Jan Stevens (Gwendoline Christie), who has her own battle going on with disgruntled band The Mangrove Snacks.

Flux Gourmet uses the tropes of bands filled with sexual tension and rivalry, and pretentious performance theatre, to bring

out the comedy of the ridiculousness, whilst it is gently underlined with a classic Eurohorror style. The effect of this is that it never feels cheap or insincere, but instead feels very carefully designed.

The story is seen through the eyes of Greek journalist Stones (Makis Papadimitriou), our surrogate and narrator who is a little preoccupied by his own stomach trouble.

Instead of sharing opinions about this esoteric coven of musicians with whom he is staying, he complains to us about the intense abdominal pain that has him tiptoeing to the toilet in the night. It’s funny, but then also very real.

The film explores serious ideas, ailments and human drama, but they are all encased in this hyper-stylised art, with tongue in cheek and glint in the eye. It treads a line of being sacred, profane and bonkers.

If you’ve a taste for the unusual, Flux Gourmet might be the perfect treat.

Review by Sam Cooney

3 out of 5 roundels

SONIC

INSTITUTE CHIEF: Jan Stevens (Gwendoline Christie) with musician Asa

Cranwell

CHOP-IN: Fatma, Asa and Ariane