On Sunday the 6th October, His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester marked 100 Years of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force at St Clement Danes Church service.
As the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) marks its 100th anniversary this year, His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester paid tribute today to the thousands of men and women who've served this country as members of the RAuxAF, which has supported RAF operations around the world for a century.
The Duke is the Air Commodore in Chief of the RAuxAF and attended a service at the RAF Church, St Clement Danes in London, arranged by the Royal Auxiliary Air Force Foundation of which The Duke is Patron.
The service, with music from the Band of the RAuxAF, remembered the 1,200 Auxiliary Air Force personnel who lost their lives on active service during WWII, and the members of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force who've been killed and injured on RAF operations in the years since.
This service was part of a significant weekend for the RAuxAF which on Saturday saw the presentation of Standards to four RAuxAF Squadrons in a ceremony at the Tower of London.
Following the St Clement Danes service, His Royal Highness unveiled of a new stained-glass window made to commemorate RAuxAF100. The window is in the 601 Squadron room at the RAF Club and was designed and made by a serving member of the RAF.
2024 sees the 100th anniversary of the stand-up of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force resulting from Lord Trenchard’s vision of civilians serving their country by joining flying squadrons in their spare time. RAF Volunteers have been an important part of the delivery of air power by the RAF ever since and today provide exquisite and niche skills including medicine, media, cyber and even space expertise from civilian life to the RAF.
