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Letter from the Squadron - 2002

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire, officiated at the ceremony with the blessing conducted by the Chaplain-in-Chief. The mother of all graduation parties followed! Undoubtedly the removal of the Graduation Ceremony threatens the maintenance of Squadron ethos - a vital part of the training of our future combat pilots. However, to ensure that the spirit of 208 lives on, I intend to continue with end-of-course ceremonies, including the flying of a 9-ship formation and a dining-in night (with the Squadron Standard displayed) at which we will present the end-of-course prizes.


In August, RAF Valley also held its 60th Anniversary Airshow, which was opened by a formation of 16 Hawks in the form of the number ‘60.’ In the lead was, of course, the 208 Squadron element in the shape of the ‘6’. Regretfully, the weather was somewhat inclement, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of some 30,000 spectators, including a number of Association members whom I was delighted to meet in the Squadron crewroom. Hopefully the next gathering will be somewhat drier!


In September, the Squadron played host to a team of examiners from the Central Flying School, and passed with flying colours, drawing positive comments on the spirit and ethos that pervades. Unfortunately as some of you may have seen in the news, we suffered our first accident for some considerable time, when a trainee pilot crashed on final approach at RAF Mona. Thankfully the individual ejected in time and sustained only minor injuries. He has since returned to training and, at time of writing, is approaching the end of the course. On a positive note, the rebuilding of the Squadron Operations room was completed in September, the culmination of an internal audit of our working practices (Project Reformation) and a major leap forward in our efforts to launch 84 sorties per day in the most efficient and supervised manner. I was also delighted to reintroduce the callsign ‘ROGAT’ as part of my ongoing campaign to increase the sense of Squadron history amongst our trainees.


On that note, some 104 Squadron members, Association members and guests gathered on Thursday 25th October 2001 at the Officers' Mess, RAF Valley to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of the Squadron's formation in the form of a ladies’ guest night. The celebration dinner followed a traditional format with excellent food prepared by the staff of the Officers’ Mess. Following the Loyal Toast, I addressed the Squadron, reminding everyone of our proud history. As I hope that many Association members noticed in the RAF News article that followed, we were honoured to be joined by Mr George Fortune, brother of Flying Officer John Fortune, a pilot of the Squadron who was shot down and killed in North Africa in January 1942. Mr Fortune read notes on the career of his brother who was awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions whilst flying Lysanders and ultimately Hurricanes in the reconnaissance role during World War II. You could have heard a pin drop during his speech, which was followed by a standing ovation from the trainee pilots ……

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