Remembrance weekend: memories and images of past and current heroes!

This sunday is of course Remembrance Sunday,   so I thought it might be appropriate to start a thread to recognise the heroes past and to recognise the continued heroics of our armed forces. Please feel free to add any thoughts or recollections of what this day means, we also have a Remembrance Sunday gallery that you can add any fitting images you have to symbolise the event.

 

Let us never forget!

• Filed under: Remembrance Sunday, air forces, RAF, Armed Forces, USAF

I'll be spending remembrance day in Arras, the site of 1917's Battle of Arras and for those of us with an interest in aviation, 'Bloody April'.

My brother is in the Royal Marines and hates flying. On a recent tour of Afghanistan he remarked in a letter, "bring on the taleban, I am more worried about constantly flying around in a helicopter where the rotor blades are so close together" . He was of course talking of the Chinook, a mountain of an aircraft and really doing the business out in Afghanistan at the moment.

Good luck to all the boys of 42 and 45 cdo who are serving in Helmand at the moment!

 

 

Here in Malta, the day was marked by the usual parade at the foot of the War Memorial Monument. In attendance, apart from the usual dignitaries, were several local and foreign war veterans in various states of health, some even in wheelchairs. It is indeed admirable to see them attend the ceremony year after year, marching gallantly like they used to do in their wartime days, displaying well diserved medals on their chests. Of special interest to me this year, as an aviation enthusiast, was the visit by four Tornado F3 from 111Sqn from RAF Leuchaars, that flew in for the occasion. Three Tornados made a low and slow formation flypast during the ceremony. This Squadron is of special interest to us Maltese as it was based in Malta in WWII with Spitfires. Also a Maltese pilot flew Phantoms with the squadron in the 70's. He previously flew Lightnings with 92Sqn from Germany. I fondly recall the days when I used to organise school visits to RAF Luqa when he used to fly in. Better stop here as I am getting nostalgic.......

As I mentioned above I went to Arras for Remembrance day and of particular interest to me was a wreath  on which was written a message to two officers in the Royal Flying Corps (Who's names unfortunately I've forgotten). It seems they were shot down and killed in the area in 1917, the fifty-first victory of 'The Red Baron'.