Last to spea
k was the Officer Commanding No 208 (Reserve) Squadron – Wing Commander Chris Kidd. Standing to tumultuous applause, he shared both his great pleasure at celebrating the Squadron’s 100th Anniversary, but also his great sadness at the end of an era.
Having dodged almost certain closure in 2012, the celebration of 100 years of 208(R) Squadron flying operations was unfortunately countered by its immanent disbandment. But rather than lament the passing of this great Squadron, Wing Commander Kidd expressed his pride, honour and privilege to have had the opportunity to be part of such a fantastic Squadron that had enjoyed such a rich and influential history; feelings which he felt sure that many in the room had also experienced.
He felt it particularly poignant to celebrate the Squadron’s centenary on the first of April: 98 years to the day since the formation of the Royal Air Force. When reflecting on such a significant m
ilestone such as a Centenary, it was only natural to think about the beginning: how it all started. He wondered what Bromet had been doing 100 years ago to the day? One Hundred years previously, the Royal Air Force did not exist, and neither did No 8 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service. Squadron Commander Bromet, Naval Eight’s first CO, was a Flight Commander on Number 4 Squadron, based in Dunkirk. If the Royal Naval Air Service was anything like the modern day armed forces, Wing Commander Kidd felt pretty sure that Bromet would have known nothing of the formation of No 8 Squadron, or the hugely influential role that he would play in it. Bromet’s OJARs had been clearly well written, and he had obviously done a lot of secondary duties because, on 26 June 1916, he was promoted to Squadron Commander and given command of No 1 Squadron. However, shortly afterwards, due to his extensive experience and familiarity of operations over Northern France, Bromet was tasked to form No 8 Squadron, with the Admiralty giving him minimal notice to do so. It was important to point out, however, before the present-day inter squadron rivalry could get out of hand, that 4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service turned into 204 Squadron when the Royal Air Force was formed, not the 4 Squadron that was currently located alongside 208 at RAF Valley.
No 8 Squadron’s formation as an offensive action squadron was difficult, and even at its inception everything was changing. The Squadron initially comprised three flights of different aircraft types, all drawn from different squadrons. Added to which, in its first 4 months, the Squadron moved to 4 different operating locations before re-equipping with yet another aircraft type, the Sopwith Triplane. It seemed inevitable that anyone would struggle to form a fighting unit in the middle of winter during operations over northern France, in support of the British Expeditionary Force during the height
