On Saturday 5th October, personnel from four squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) paraded before Air Vice-Marshal Ranald Munro, Commandant General of the RAuxAF, in a ceremony at the Tower of London where each Squadron was honoured with the presentation of a Standard.
It is unprecedented for four RAF units to receive Standards at the same ceremony, and Tower Green was a fitting location for the ceremony, reflecting the solemnity and importance of this occasion in the RAuxAF’s centenary year.
Standards were presented to 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron based at RAF Brize Norton, 504 (City of Nottingham) Squadron based at RAF Wittering, 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron based in the city of Edinburgh, and 607 (County of Durham) Squadron based at RAF Leeming. The ceremony was led by musicians from the Central Band of the RAF and the RAF Cranwell based Band of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
Each of the receiving Squadrons can trace its history back to the early days of the RAF Reserve and a time when the then Auxiliary Air Force was recruiting civilians to learn to fly bi-planes in their spare time.
During the Second World War the Squadrons saw operational service flying the fighters and bombers of the day. A quarter of the Squadrons which fought in the Battle of Britain were Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons and they accounted for a third of the combat victories. At the end of the war, King George VI bestowed the prefix “Royal” on the title of the now Royal Auxiliary Air Force in recognition of the Reserve’s wartime service.
“The awarding of four standards to Reserve squadrons this year is not only a great honour but a fitting end to our centenary year. This year has seen our Reservists providing overseas operational support to the RAF in traditional areas of defence and in highly specialised roles including medicine, intelligence, cyber and now even space, demonstrating that the RAuxAF has continued to grow with the RAF and is as important to UK defence as ever.”
Air Vice-Marshal Ranald Munro
Commandant General of the RAuxAF
What is a RAF Standard?
Standards, known as “colours” in the Army, are presented to RAF units who have given lengthy and commendable service, and each one is embroidered with the unit’s “battle honours”
Historically, Colours were not merely decorative; they were the heart of a unit in battle, a rallying point symbolising courage and unity. They embodied the essence of a unit’s spirit, were often carried into the fiercest of combat, rallying troops with their presence. The loss of a colour in battle was a serious blow to moral but the capture of an enemy colour was a great prize.
For the receiving Squadrons, the new Standards signify a continuum of this legacy, a tangible connection to the bravery and dedication of those who served before and will be carried with pride at ceremonies and parades in the future.
The creation of a Colour is an intricate process steeped in tradition and meticulous craftsmanship. The journey begins with a commissioned painting, a detailed and accurate representation of the unit's history and honours. This artwork is scrutinised by the ‘Norfolk Herald Extraordinary’ for heraldic precision before it gains the King’s personal approval.
The final step in this time-honoured process is the making and sewing of the standard at Hobson and Sons in Essex, where, for more than two hundred years, generations of their skilled artisans have hand-embroidered military Colours and Standards, emblazoning the unit’s battle honours onto a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
