The RAF 100 Celebrations.
RAF 100.
The RAF March.
Well, I did tell him that if he didn’t slow down he would land up in deep water. I never considered it might be the River Thames. But listen, dear friends. He is making a lot of it. All those pictures with frozen peas on top of his head. I ask you. But at least they were Waitrose – if only their Essential range for poor people. And only there at all for Bobby’s big toe during his gout episode.
He does need modest surgery, but I think he really wants a rest. My acquiescence is by agreement that I go to Lyme Regis as well. As you know, I have this large belt squashing my innards to give me better deportment. My dream is a nice pair of trousers, and the Teddy Bear Hospital is also a specialist shop for bears’ clothes.
So you have me, Trevor, for a little while. And what a way to start!. I have a big advantage over Bertie. I am much smaller. Compact. When Anne and Bobby decided to go to the big RAF 100 flypast in London, it was easy to take me too. He hasn’t spoken to me since.
RAF 100
Is a whole year of events to celebrate the formation of the Royal Air Force (The RAF) in 1918.
Two Lancasters (Duxford 2014). The Dambusters March.
That history is not for this blog, which simply covers two days of the biggest events in London. The exhibition in Horseguards Parade and the magnificent Flypast. I didn’t go to the exhibition, so what follows is Bobby’s pictorial record and a few words.
Horseguards Parade.
Bobby: “I knew I was going to see the Flypast the next day, but discovered that the exhibition was closed for VIPs on that day. So it was another journey to the capital the day before! On a day of unremitting heat, it was close to being unbearable. But worth it. All the aircraft were brought in by lorry and assembled on site. One or two were replicas, indistinguishable from the real thing. The mind boggles when you consider the logistics of it.”
Spitfire.
BE2 … WW1.
Meteor. World speed record, 1946.
Tornado.
Harrier.
Typhoon.
Lightning.
Dakota.
Chinook.
Lancaster.
Red Arrows.
The Flypast.
The start. Helicopters.
Trevor: “Wow, fantastic! My very first outdoor event and it’s the biggest flypast over central London for decades. One hundred planes from old to new. A cooler day thankfully and the crowds descended on Buckingham Palace and the Mall. Anne, Bobby and I within sight of the Royal Family on the balcony and a grandstand view. And… I realised how attractive teddy bears are to people. So note, Bertie, your undoubted charisma is not just confined to you!”
Chris
With twenty minutes to go the excitement was gathering. But first, a bit more rousing music:
(You will hear this again when we write the story of the de Havilland museum)
And then, the aircraft to celebrate the RAF 100 Anniversary. Too many to take too many pictures. So here’s some highlights.
RAF Memorial Flight. Lancaster, three Spitfires, two Hurricanes.
100, in twenty two Typhoons.
The crowds clapped and cheered the final glorious sight of the Red Arrows trailing red, white and blue smoke right over Buckingham Palace.
Here is the entire flypast
No one could move. But you could listen to the marching bands. The Scots guards, in full regalia, piping Scotland the Brave as they marched back to Wellington barracks. Closely followed by hundreds of marching RAF personnel and the central band of the Royal Air Force. It made you proud to be British.
Be proud…
Friends for an hour.
The Queen (with a telescope).
God Save the Queen.
Rule Britannia.
The end of a great day.
Lighting a candle for Diddley.
At St Clement, Danes. The church of the RAF. And also of Oranges and Lemons fame. Oranges and Lemons say the bells of St Clements. And each day the bells chime the tune.
St Clements.
Lighting a Candle for Diddley.
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