7644 Squadron RAuxAF

History

According to A H Narracott in his book ‘War News Had Wings’, the earliest evidence of putting journalists into RAF uniform dates back to September 1938 when a senior civil servant by the name of Charles Pennycook Robertson, the Press and Publicity Officer at the Air Ministry, saw the need – in the light of imminent conflict with Germany – to have uniformed correspondents at the front line.

Robertson thought the best way to collect news of what the Air Force was doing was to have trained journalists at the front. He decided that short service commissions as R.A.F. Volunteer Reserve Officers were to be offered to some of Fleet Street’s finest, including H.E. Bates, R. F. Delderfield and Hector Bollitho. These would then be sent out to various commands at home and overseas, particularly France, as Service Press Officers attached to the Advanced Air Striking Force.

Robertson wanted to get the scheme underway in peace time to help breakdown the natural opposition of commanding officers to having ‘journalists-come-officers’ in their midst and to give the Service Press Officers an idea of how the RAF worked. With some wrangling the idea was finally accepted.

On 14th September 1939 four newly commissioned officers set out from RAF Heston for northern France to land at Le Bourget.

The scheme worked well. Without it the public would have been left in ignorance of the valiant deeds performed by the RAF in those early days of the war. However, there were muddles over censorship and accommodation, and not least the difficulties caused by the rapidly-advancing German army.

After the war the RAF recognised the benefits of maintaining a small number of journalists in uniform. These PR specialists served as part of 7802 Flight Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and then as 7630 (Intelligence) Flt.

In 1981 the PR element of 7630 Flt transferred to the newly formed 7644 Flight of the RAFVR, which, on 5 April 1997, became No. 7644(VR) Public Relations Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

In 2007 the Squadron celebrated its 25th Anniversary by laying a slate badge in the floor of the RAF Church: St Clement Danes in London.

At this time 7644(VR) Squadron was the smallest Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron with only 19 established officers.

To date the Squadron has been involved in every crisis and major exercise in recent years.

The Squadron motto is ‘vérité a jamais’ which translated means ‘the truth always’.