The Station Act of Remembrance at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire was a first for new Station Chaplain Patrick Gilbert, and the last for outgoing Station Commander Paul O’Grady.
Station personnel in their dozens, military and civilian, gathered outside the Station Church on an overcast Tuesday morning for the annual act of remembrance. The service was led by Reverend (Flight Lieutenant) Patrick Gilbert, his first since joining RAF Coningsby as its newest chaplain.
At RAF Coningsby, on the eleventh of November, the Station remembers the Fallen with its own Service of Remembrance. 2025 marks the eightieth anniversary of Victory in Europe Day; an added layer of significance for the personnel of RAF Coningsby, which was established as Bomber Station during World War II.
Padre Gilbert, who joined the RAF in September 2024, said: “Remembrance Sunday is when the Armed Forces join together with the British people to remember the fallen, and the Station Service of Remembrance is a further opportunity to share our commemorations.”
The event was Padre Gilbert’s first Service of Remembrance at RAF Coningsby, and was attended by local veterans, councillors, and local schoolchildren. It was also Group Captain Paul O’Grady’s last as station Commander. He read In Flanders Fields, the famous World War I poem by John McRae.
Group Captain O’Grady said: “The British people have a unique appreciation for Remembrance; twice they have stood in the face of implacable tyranny and have borne the costs of that sacrifice. Today we look at our fellow service personnel and reflect on how much our forebears, who wore the same uniform, gave in the performance of their duty. We also take a moment to remember those lost in other conflicts and our friends and colleagues that have been lost in the Service of our country.”
The service included readings that will be familiar to anyone who has attended a Remembrance Service. Padre Gilbert said: “The words are the same in many places, but the moment of the service; the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, and that it is held on a World War II RAF Station, give this act of Remembrance a significance of its own.”
Group Captain O’Grady concluded: "Standing here at RAF Coningsby, a Station built in wartime and still serving today, reminds us that the torch of service has been passed through generations. It is our privilege and our duty to carry it forward with the same dedication as those we remember."
