Whilst we may have been quieter than usual online during the June pre-election period, we certainly haven’t been quiet on Station or out in our community! June always seems to be a busy month for us.
The SWO represented the Station at the annual Trebah Gardens Military Day; the links between Trebah and the D-Day landings giving the event even more poignancy than usual in this 80th anniversary year.
The following week saw a big chunk of Station decamp to the Royal Cornwall Show where we enjoyed three sunny days talking to visitors about RAF St Mawgan’s output for Defence. The team included medics from JHG(SW) whose prosthetic ‘wounds’ are always a big hit with the kids, Air Cadets busy inspiring the next generation, RAF Reservists and Recruiters, personnel from sections across Station, and of course the incredible RAF Falcons parachute display team. We raised well over £800 for SSAFA through our busy Regiment Flight’s paintball ‘alley’ and were also joined by our stalwart fundraisers from RAF Association St Mawgan branch. It was great to get around some of the other stands as well, and the Station Commander and SWO (along with their dogs) especially enjoyed a chat with the Hounds For Heroes team as well.
Station personnel were busy on 6 June representing the RAF at various D-Day proclamations, a veteran’s funeral, and D-Day beacon lightings, with the St Mawgan Military Wives Choir performing at the Huer’s Hut beacon lighting in Newquay. The Station Commander and Station Engagements Co-ordinator then travelled West to attend RNAS Culdrose’s Team Reception, a fascinating opportunity to hear more about the work the Navy is doing in our area and to see where synergies in our outputs lie. Back on Station, the Force Development team welcomed 30 children from schools in St Austell and Helston as part of the Jon Egging Trust ‘Blue Skies Programme’. The programme, which is designed to deliver leadership and resilience training to children who face disadvantage in different areas of their lives, was expertly delivered by a small team at St Mawgan who will go on to deliver more in partnership with JET as the programme expands to other schools. The Station Commander and Media & Communications Officer were proud to join Cllr Julian Young, Mayor of St Austell, in attending the programme’s graduation day at Poltair School.
All the colours of the rainbow descended on the Station’s Trebelzue training area mid-month, as we were honoured to host, yet again, the Rainbow Run on behalf of Children’s Hospice South West. Bigger and brighter than ever, the event celebrated its 10th birthday this year with record runner-numbers and an incredible £110,000 raised, smashing last year’s final figure of £76,000. Sponsorship monies raised through the event will help provide care to children and young people with life limiting conditions supported by CHSW’s Little Harbour hospice in St Austell. Members of Team St Mawgan who were involved in the huge amount of work that goes in to the prep of the event and on the day itself, visited Little Harbour earlier this week to see for themselves how the funds raised support the invaluable service that CHSW provides for local families.
The team at Newquay Activity Centre (NAC) pulled out all the stops for a Beach Activity Day for St Mawgan personnel and their families on 16 June. Robson Resilience Centre St Mawgan (RRCS) works closely with NAC and we really appreciate their support to our wider Station community. Beach games (with a healthy dose on competition on display!), lifesaving tips and a fascinating tour of the RNLI station at Fistral made for a busy afternoon.
The Station Commander joined local dignitaries and military colleagues at County Hall for the Armed Forces Week flag raising. It cast our minds back 12 months to the fantastic scenes in Falmouth where the Armed Forces Day National Event was held in 2023 with so many people associated with our Station whether Regulars, Reservists, Cadets or Veterans playing a huge part. And we enjoyed rewatching the moving ‘Untold Stories’ documentary, which our Engagement Team had made last November, featuring the stories of seven local veterans who served on contemporary Ops, as it was shared again in June by the Royal Air Force to mark Veterans Day within Armed Forces Week (Untold Stories).
St Mawgan’s STEM team were busy towards the end of the month, supporting back-to-back events. We were delighted to be invited to Truro High School’s annual event in support of International Women in Engineering Day, which welcomed Year 8 girls from schools across the County. Actively seeking to redress the balance of the UK’s engineering workforce, of which a measly 15.7% is female, the school’s inspiring day offered workshops with 20 different STEM organisations such as the University of Exeter; Cornwall Sea to Stars; Tech Cornwall; Pendennis Shipyard; and of course, us!
Swiftly followed by a fabulous day at TECgirls’ ‘Reach for the Sky’ event, hosted at RNAS Culdrose. This family festival gave attendees the chance to talk to pilots, engineers, and other professionals working in aerospace and aviation sectors, with a focus on opportunities in the South West. This year’s festival was the first; we are already looking forward to being there again in 2025!
Whilst the STEM team were busy in Helston, the Station’s T. E. Lawrence Mess was playing host to a Veterans’ Big Breakfast event, organised by the indomitable Iain Henderson (The Veterans’ Charity). Iain runs a few of the many Armed Forces & Veterans Breakfast Clubs (AFVBC) in Cornwall, and last year had the idea to bring together veterans from across the County at a breakfast networking event hosted at a military base. The inaugural ‘Big Breakfast’ was held last September at RNAS Culdrose, and in June it was our opportunity to welcome veterans from AFVBCs ranging from Penzance to Saltash, from Camborne & Redruth to Newquay, and from Falmouth & Penryn to St Austell to get together over a brew & a bacon roll.
Supported by a raft of organisations active within the veterans’ community (Cornwall Council Housing; DWP; SSAFA Cornwall; Battling On CIC; Newquay Surf Veterans; Defence Gardens Scheme at Eden Project; RAF Association Caduceus Branch; EPIC GIGability; and the SW Veterans & Pensions Committee) the event was made possible thanks to a grant from Cllr Louis Gardner’s Community Chest fund, meaning that all proceeds from ticket sales could go directly to supporting The Veterans’ Charity’s wide-ranging work within our local community. A wonderful opening ‘cry’ from Newquay Town Crier, Simon Anderson-Jones, kick started the event, and we were delighted to welcome Miss World – England, Milla Magee. Not only is Milla local to Newquay, but her maternal grandfather served in the Royal Air Force, where he flew in both Spitfires and Mosquitos, so her first visit to RAF St Mawgan was as much a highlight for her as it was for us.
On an operational front we hosted the Royal Marines Commando Tactical Commanders Course Class 1 and Class 2 (TCC1 and TCC2) Phase 1 which saw over 100 students and support staff from the Commando Training Centre (CTCRM) out of Lympstone deploy to St Mawgan. Known as Ex AGILE RAIDER, the courses included seven mission sets incorporating amphibious, aviation and land-based operations. Another example of the excellent real-life training scenarios which St Mawgan’s physical location, nestled between coast and moor lends, itself to supporting so well.
We were incredibly proud to have Station Personnel recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2024 released on 14 June, with four individuals based at St Mawgan receiving individual Commendations from Air Marshal Allan Marshall OBE RAF (Air & Space Commander); Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin CBE MA BEng RAF (Air Office Commanding Number 1 Group); and Air Vice-Marshal Jason Appleton MA RAF (Air Officer Commanding Number 2 Group). These awards recognise exceptional performance in support of the Royal Air Force and of the Station and are indicative of the commitment that we are so grateful is shown daily by Team St Mawgan. At the Logistics Profession Awards held at Worthy Down, one of our amazing Reservists from RAuxAF 505 (Wessex) Sqn, Cpl Chelsea Piddington, scooped the ‘RAF Logistics Supplier of the Year’ award. Cpl Piddington has been mobilised to the Falklands, Romania, Cyprus, Bavaria, and various UK Main Operating Bases as part of her Part Time Volunteer Reserve role, and saw off stiff competition from her Regular colleagues.
Finally, the Station Commander and SWO wrapped up June by attending the High Sheriff of Cornwall’s garden party at Trewithen Estate. Sam Galsworthy took up this prestigious, honorary appointment in late March, a role which will see him support the Lord-Lieutenant as His Majesty The King’s representative in Cornwall, taking particular interest in the judiciary, the police and the emergency services. We were pleased to welcome the High Sheriff to Station back in May, for our Annual Formal Reception, and look forward to working closely with him during his year in office.
