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ISSUE 21 - APRIL 2020

Non Nobis Sed Vobis - Not For Ourselves Alone

CHARITY NUMBER - 231562

CURRENT MEMBERSHIP

277

NEW MEMBERS DURING 2020

11

LAPSED MEMBERSHIP

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‘Tornado Talk’

RAF Association Melton Mowbray Branch and Club Newsletter

Sometimes help is as simple as a phone call

For many elderly RAF veterans living alone, loneliness and isolation is what they find themselves facing. Despite the sacrifices the veterans have made for their country, the RAF Association believes that this should never be the case. The Association has a UK-wide network of voluntary Welfare Officers who liaise with ex-RAF personnel and their families in need of support. This has become even more crucial during this current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis. During the COVID-19 crisis, your branch welfare officer and befrienders are continuing to provide support to existing beneficiaries as well as taking on new cases via telephone and online communications rather than in person. Consequently, during these unprecedented times, the Association has launched four new projects as part of Operation Connect, their emergency response.

If you or you know of anyone that needs our support, please do get in touch with the branch. Contact details can be found here: https://www.rafa.org.uk/melton-mowbray/support

https://www.rafa.org.uk/melton-mowbray/support

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United, we will support the most vulnerable in our RAF community.

Operation Outreach - A telephone outreach service which will proactively support our beneficiaries and other high-risk members of our RAF community to check on their

welfare and offer them regular contact (telephone or online). As part of this scheme,

and as some of you will already know, the Melton Mowbray RAFA Branch welfare

officer has made contact with the branch members aged over 70, regardless of their

RAF status in order to ascertain if any need our support during this crisis. The branch

and club committee will be taking this workload on and making regular calls with are

members who are identified to be at risk.

Operation Friendship - A friendship helpline that anyone in our RAF community can call if they are feeling isolated, in need of more specific support or simply want a chat

with someone friendly who understands.

Operation Entertain - A daily RAF-themed online entertainment slot that people can look forward to as part of their routine while they are isolating, from quizzes to live-

streamed sing-a-longs and armchair fitness sessions.

Operation Manna - Bag drops of vital provisions to the doorsteps of the most vulnerable members of our RAF family.

Thank you to the branch volunteers who have offered to help with the Associations telephone outreach and helpline projects as well as the bag drop project. If you would like to join our amazing army of volunteers, please email us: opconnect@rafa.org.uk. Alternatively, if you (or anyone you know of in the RAF community) need our help – or even just a friendly chat – you can contact RAFA HQ by phoning 0800 018 2361 or emailing opconnect@rafa.org.uk. We are no strangers to testing times and unpredictable environments; we are united in ensuring the delivery of this vital support. Together, we will get through these challenging months ahead and come out stronger.

If you would like to contact your branch direct, we can also be contacted via our social media pages: Facebook: Royal Air Forces Association Melton Mowbray Branch & Tornado Club Twitter: @RAFAMelton If you would like to get in touch regarding any welfare related queries you may have, please leave a message for me at the club, email memltonmowbrayrafa@gmail.com or call me on 07885938945.

Brian Fare (Branch Welfare Officer)

mailto:opconnect@rafa.org.ukmailto:opconnect@rafa.org.ukmailto:memltonmowbrayrafa@gmail.com

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Hotel Cecil – The Birthplace of The Royal Air Force

As we commemorate the birth of the Royal Air Force in April 1918, let’s take a look at the Hotel Cecil, the birthplace of the world’s first independent Air Force. Hotel Cecil was named after the former London home of the powerful Cecil family, Cecil House (also known as Salisbury House) which once occupied the site, it opened in 1896, three years before the nearby Savoy, and stretched from the Strand to the Thames.

Designed by architects Perry & Reed in a "Wrenaissance" style, the hotel was the largest in Europe when it opened. The proprietor, Jabez Balfour, later went bankrupt and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. It had 800 spacious rooms – a staggering number when one considers that the Savoy today has just 268. Public areas included a bright and airy courtyard, a vast Palm Court ballroom (perfect for afternoon tea during the day and dancing at night) and three restaurants capable of feeding a total of 1,150 diners.

It was, by the start of the First World War, a fashionable venue for London Society. In 1917, the hotel was requisitioned for the war effort in 1917, and became the recruiting office for the Sportsman’s Battalion, later absorbed into the Royal Fusiliers.

The origins of the Royal Air Force lie in the increasingly-effective German air raids of 1917 and worries that the army’s Royal Flying Corps and the navy’s Royal Naval Air Service were competing for scarce resources. South African General Jan Christian Smuts was brought in by the British War Cabinet to review the nation’s air power position.

In August 1917, Smuts submitted his report to Lloyd George's war cabinet, in which it was recommended that the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service be amalgamated into one single independent force.

The report recommended, among other things, the creation of an Air Council and an air service independent of the Army and Navy.

Following the passage of the Air Force Constitution Act in November 1917 (debates on which included an unsuccessful attempt by pilot and notable scoundrel Noel Pemberton Billing to name the new force the ‘Imperial Air Force’), the new force came into being on 1 April 1918 with a strength of over 20,000 aircraft and 300,000 personnel, including the Women’s Royal Air Force.

Royal assent was received from the King on 29th November 1917, and on 1st April 1918 the Royal Air Force was officially formed at the Hotel Cecil, which served as its headquarters for the remainder of the war up to 1919.

In 2008, to mark the 90th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Air Force, the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy unveiled a green plaque proclaiming: The Royal Air Force was formed and had its first headquarters here in the former Hotel Cecil 1 April 1918.

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The Hotel Cecil was largely demolished in Autumn 1930, and Shell Mex House was built on the site. The Strand facade of the hotel remains and is now occupied by shops and offices, with, at its centre, a grandiose arch leading to Shell Mex House.

Unveiled in 1931, Shell Mex House, the former London headquarters of Shell-Mex and BP, is an imposing masterpiece, boasting 49,900 square metres of floor space and crowned with the biggest clock face in London (wags dubbed it “Big Benzene”).

During World War II, the Shel Mex building became home to the Ministry of Supply, which co-ordinated the supply of equipment to the national armed forces. It was also the home of the "Petroleum Board", which handled the distribution and rationing of petroleum products during the war. It was badly damaged by a bomb in 1940.

The building reverted to Shell-Mex and BP on 1 July 1948, with a number of floors remaining occupied by the Ministry of Aviation (latterly the Board of Trade, Civil Aviation Division) until the mid-1970s. During this time, until the department's move to the present location in Farnborough, the building was also the headquarters for the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

On the Thames embankment, outside of the Shell Mex you will find the Cleopatra’s Needle. This obelisk, which dates back to 1450 BC, was given to London by the ruler of Egypt and erected beside the Thames in 1877.

Either side of the obelisk, you will find the Sphinxes and if you look closely you’ll see shrapnel holes on one of the sphinxes caused by a German First World War bomb.

A few meters from Cleopatra’s Needle you will also find the Royal Air Force Memorial, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I (and, by extension, all subsequent conflicts).

A committee to erect an RAF memorial was first established in February 1919, and relaunched in January 1920. Led by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard and Lord Hugh Cecil, a descendant of the Cecil family that owned the original building that stood where Hotel Cecil was located, (the eighth and youngest child of Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, three times Prime Minister of the UK). Lord Cecil served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.

The memorial designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield was unveiled on

16 July 1923 by the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII). It became a

Grade II listed structure in 1958 and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2018. It

is considered to be the official memorial of the RAF and related services.

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Wings Appeal 2020

Hello everyone, I hope you are healthy. I won’t dwell on that which has gone but outline the current scenario and a way forward.

CURRENT SCENARIO Below are some of the realities which are impacting upon our fundraising efforts: TORNADO CLUB temporary closure, 40% of our fund raising comes from club activities and it is sadly missed.

OUR HISTORY, 2nd world war memories and associations with it grow less over time. The young and middle aged from whom we raise funds forge ahead into new and exciting era's more technology than people based. SOCIAL TRENDS, cashless society beckons, more and more card based transactions. This affects street and market stall fund raising. Socialising is less prominent in clubs and bars, less footfall. MEMBERSHIP, sadly deaths and growing infirmity have reduced our active numbers drastically. During 2019 there were just 10 members out of a branch membership of 250 plus actively fund raising away from the Tornado Club and this year is forecast at 5 or 6 at best. A WAY FORWARD, I will try to the last to keep up active fund raising away from the Tornado Club. Street collections and our Market Stalls produce 40% of fund raising. PASSIVE FUND RAISING, essential now to supplement active fund raising, such as: HOME COLLECTION BOXES, if just 33% of our branch membership (roughly 90) filled one box each year with coppers and silver change, producing about £20 a box this would yield about £2000 of funds. LIFE MEMBERS, who paid a one off charitable donation to consider an annual donation by direct transfer into the Wings Appeal Account. HOME DELIVERIES, growth of supermarket home deliveries has led some retailers to automatically donate an amount for every delivery. Under investigation. TAX RELIEF for charity donations, up to £8000 collected if well documented and verifiable, can be claimed from the inland revenue. This would mean our fund raising of around £5000 annually would benefit from an additional £1000. Not to be overlooked. JOINT ACTIVITIES, collaborations with nearby branches, such as Keyworth near Nottingham. Where people are in short supply it makes sense to combine and strengthen. In conclusion, when we return to normality I will activate and develop both active and passive income streams alongside the great efforts of fund raising within the Tornado Club. Best wishes, stay healthy and strong in overcoming this virus.

Roger Cheese (Wings Appeal Officer) 0790 687518, clifford1412@gmail.com

CURRENT 2020

WINGS TOTAL

£394.40

mailto:clifford1412@gmail.com

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#Easyfundraising

As mentioned above by Roger, we are looking at other ways how we can raise money for our wings appeal. One of the new methods recently introduced to our fundraising toolbox is that we are now registered with easyfundraising, which now means you can help us for FREE. Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate, so you can raise FREE donations for us no matter what you’re buying. Every time you shop at one of the partner stores, they donate a percentage to our wings appeal and it doesn’t cost you a penny extra. These donations really help us to help the RAF Family in their time of need so please sign up if you haven’t done so yet. It’s easy and FREE and all as you need to do is register with easyfundraising and download their shopping reminder! Please remember to use easyfundraising every time you shop online and help us to raise money for our branch Wings Appeal! You can get started at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/meltonmowbraywings/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en-n1

Secretary Update

As I write this piece the sun is shining and its very peaceful with the sound of lawnmowers burring and the odd car going past. It really is a world changing era that we are going through, and I hope all our members come out the other side still with us and raring to get back to being part of Melton Branch and Club. I have my Membership hat on first. It is still important to renew your membership when it becomes due and there are a couple ways to do that.

go on the RAFA website www.rafa.org.uk sign in and click on my membership and pay by card.

Call HQ on 0800 018 2361 and pay by card over the phone. write a cheque payable too: RAF Association along with last year’s membership card and post to me at my home address 87, Dalby road, Melton Mowbray, Leics. LE13 0BQ

https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/meltonmowbraywings/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en-n1https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/meltonmowbraywings/?utm_campaign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en-n1http://www.rafa.org.uk/

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PLEASE DO NOT POST CASH. This year’s subs are Ordinary £23 and Associate £12 without Airmail or £16 with Airmail. Headquarters is shut with much of the staff being furloughed or deployed to other areas and working on the OpCONNECT schemes, Membership dept. is no exception and is working from home. Secretary hat on now! When the virus hit we were about to have our AGM so as soon as we are up and running again we will hold this essential meeting, it is difficult to say when this may happen so unfortunately I can’t give you a date but will keep you informed by social media and email. The committee remains in contact with each other and is acting in the best interest of the branch. We have formed a small support group of volunteers to help any over 70’s or vulnerable member should the need arise in their time of need, the welfare officer can give more details. The building remains in lock down with weekly inspections to make sure things are OK. To keep you occupied why not visit the RAFA website and join in the activities and try the quiz, you should all have received updates from HQ via email if you have supplied them with an address, you can always follow us on Facebook. If you need some help you can email me at brenda.cox87@gmail.com or text or ring me on 07505704936 not before 10am please I am not an early riser!!! My last hat Area Councillor. On Saturday I attend a skype meeting of the South East and Eastern Area Council of which I am Vice Chair. There is much work to do going forward but with the current situation this cannot happen for example, this weekend we should have been at the Wyboston Conference Center for the Welfare Seminar, catching up with the new welfare strategies and the Area Conference, thrashing out the new Administrative Structure Review but alas it was not to be for this year. Annual conference which is scheduled for the end of June is still to be decided upon at the end of the month as things are going it is looking unlikely this will not go ahead we wait with baited breath. In closing may I just say again, if you need anything contact me or Brian Fare and we will do our best to help. Remember to follow the rules, Stay in, Stay safe and Help the NHS and all the other workers that are risking their lives so you may carry on living yours. Stay Safe.

Bren. Branch Secertary

View from the Chair

In the few weeks since I wrote my last “View from the Chair” everything has changed in a way none of us thought possible and everyday normal life has been turned on its head so that normal today is a very different challenge as we deal with social distancing, lockdown, essential journeys, not meeting up with family, friends etc., all down to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the world. Hopefully all the efforts of the Government and it’s scientific and medical experts will get us through this in the not to distance future by taking the right actions, so please follow their advice and thereby ensure we help the heroes in the NHS whose skills we desperately need to care for those who catch this virus. The RAFA is playing its part in supporting our members and this morning I rang and talked to around a dozen of our members in the “at risk” category who have had to self-isolate to ensure that they are managing and to let them know we are there to help if required. This is all part of an effort several of us at the Branch are doing, all co-ordinated by our Branch Secretary Bren with assistance from Brian Fare our Welfare Officer to support our members in the wider RAF Family. Please look at the Melton website and Facebook page to see what other support is available.

mailto:brenda.cox87@gmail.com

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Besides Bren and Brian other Branch and Club committee members and other members are working hard to ensure that we can offer as much support as is possible. Besides ensuring members are looked after we have to maintain our building and look after our staff who are currently furloughed. More thanks therefore go to those members ensuring the building and its stock are properly looked after and also to acknowledge the work that Val Moore is doing to see what Government help is available for the club and our staff in this difficult period thank you all. Now the good news, in the previous issue of Tornado Talk I mentioned that we were waiting the outcome of a bid for a grant from the ARMED FORCES COVENANT FUND TRUST to reconfigure the toilets, cellar and kitchen which are in drastic need of improvement, well we have been successful. We have been awarded a sum in excess of £50,000 to do this work, subject to various conditions which we can meet. This all happened in the week prior to the coronavirus pandemic altering our lives as the original plan was to announce it at the Branch AGM. We have signed the paperwork to do with the grant but we have been advised that because of the current situation everything has now gone on hold until things improve. Until the coronavirus pandemic is over and some sort of normality comes back into being, such as being able to open the Branch and Club building please stay healthy and stay safe so that we can all meet up again at The Tornado Club.

Paul Davies

Qualified Aerospace Instructors

This month, two of our Melton Mowbray RAFA Branch members Cadet Warrant Officer Samuel Page (19), and Flight Sergeant Olivia Brown (18), both currently with 1279 (Melton Mowbray) Squadron completed the Qualified Aerospace Instructors Course (QAIC). The QAIC is one of the top courses on offer in the RAF Air Cadets and is ran over a number of weekends from September through to April. The course itself involved learning about seven different subjects that they developed their knowledge on each month, the subjects included: air power, aerodynamics, air traffic

control (including simulation), basic flight training, aviation studies, aerospace activity planning, instructional technique and presentation skills. At the end of every weekend the students would write a reflective log about the weekend and would be set some task to do at home for the following weekend. Flight Sergeant Brown commented on basic flight training being her favourite subject as she “got to handle and teach on a variety of flight simulators while testing [her] skills and teaching techniques”.

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During the course the workload can seem demanding at times and you are constantly under assessment whether that be based on your interaction during lessons, through the work you do at home or in practical assessments such as an air power presentation. Though this teaches you essential life skills such as time management and organisation. At the end of the course there is usually a graduation week where the students can celebrate all that was achieved over the many months and be presented with their blue lanyards, sadly that was not possible this year but Sergeant Wilson said he was “looking forward to instructing new aerospace topics and to improve all the cadets in my squadron and wing in my new role as a QAI.” If you are passionate about aerospace and want to learn more about it and how to instruct a range of different aerospace topics, then consider completing the Qualified Aerospace Instructors Course. Cadet Warrant Officer Page “would wholeheartedly recommend the Course, as it gives you the experience and skills that are associated with the coveted blue lanyard. Having the ability to give back to the organisation that has provided me with so much is a responsibility that I handle with pride.” Find out more at: http://www.qaic.org/ Congratulations to both from all at the Branch.

Melton GP practice pledges to support health needs of armed forces veterans

The hundreds of armed forces veterans living in the Melton area can be assured they will be given the support they need for health issues as a result of a new initiative at the town’s GP surgery. If you are an armed forces veteran, have you informed Latham House so they can update their records and ensure that you as a veteran are supported appropriately? For more details see https://www.meltontimes.co.uk/health/melton-gp-practice-pledges-to-support-health-needs-of-armed-forces-veterans-1-9133473 Knowing that a patient is a veteran will help the NHS to better meet the health commitments of the Armed Forces Covenant, whereby the armed forces community, including veterans, should face no disadvantage in accessing health services and should receive priority care for military attributable conditions, subject to the clinical need of others.

http://www.qaic.org/https://www.meltontimes.co.uk/health/melton-gp-practice-pledges-to-support-health-needs-of-armed-forces-veterans-1-9133473https://www.meltontimes.co.uk/health/melton-gp-practice-pledges-to-support-health-needs-of-armed-forces-veterans-1-9133473https://www.meltontimes.co.uk/health/melton-gp-practice-pledges-to-support-health-needs-of-armed-forces-veterans-1-9133473

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Much Loved - Remembering Our Past

Members

As some of you may already know, the dedication of our Association is:

“In friendship and in service one to another, we are pledged to keep alive the memory of those of all Nations who died in the Royal Air Force

and in the Air Forces of the Commonwealth. In their name we give ourselves to this noble

cause. Proudly and thankfully we will remember them.”

Therefore, in line with the dedication and as part of a new initiative by the RAFA Melton Mowbray

welfare team, the Branch now has its own “Much Loved” tribute page allowing us to ‘Proudly and

Thankfully remember our past members’.

The tribute page allows families and friends to light candles in memory of deceased members.

Our Much Loved tribute page can be found

Here https://meltonmowbrayrafabranch.muchloved.com/

Details of funeral arrangements will also be published on the site when we are made aware. Therefore, if you hear

of any of our members, or any current/ex-RAF service person in the Melton Area that has passed away,

please do let the welfare team know so we can support the family in time of

need.

If they so wish, contributors can also make a donation in their memory to the RAF Association. These donations will

consequently helps us to provide further support the RAF Family.

https://meltonmowbrayrafabranch.muchloved.com/https://meltonmowbrayrafabranch.muchloved.com/