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Aviation History
1921
1921 - 0426.PDF
JUNE 23, 1921 INDEPENDENT FORCE R.A.F. REUNION ON Monday evening at the Hotel Cecil the Third Annual Reunion Dinner of the Independent Force R.A.F. was held, the Chair being occupied by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air- 2 Marshal Sir H. M. Trenchard, Bart., K.C.B., D.S.O., Wing-: ' Commander H.R.H. the Duke of York being present to sup- port the Chairman. A highly successful gathering resulted, a gratifying number of members of the force being present to renew memories of their one-time strenuous experiences. Following the toast of " The King," the Duke of York responded briefly to the toast of " The Queen and other members of the Royal Family," and was very sincere in his expression of hope that he would be able to be a regular attender at the t.A.F. reunion dinners. Air-Marshal Sir Hugh Trenchard, in proposing the toast of the evening, " The Independent Air Force," said it was the third time for him to have the privilege of proposing this toast, and he again emphasised the necessity for all Inde- pendent Force officers to belong to the Club and attend their dinner. He reminded them that it was the great 8th Brigade that really made the Independent Force, and inspired their " -., first effort at independence — and therefore those of them who happened to be what might be called the fathers of the idea %'..' of independence should meet together once a year and keep before them the fact that their work was not yet done, or anywhere near done ; that was, the work of making the air service first the equal of the older services, and then one day the premier service. That should be their great aim. In striving for that, they must work in co-operation and with the .-: assistance of the older services, for it must be recognised that .1 in some respects they were not yet fully qualified to stand by themselves. He did not, however, suggest that they felt at all shaky on their feet, as they certainly did not. In regard to what the Air Service had done in the past twelve months, is doing now, and hopes to do in the future, Sir Hugh said he had visited a great number of stations,: -l_ although he would have liked to have visited far more had ;; not many difficulties prevented him completely carrying out hiswishes. The one thing with which he was more than pleased _ was the manner in which "fhe Air Service was distinguishing ~ itself in all sorts of sport. Although in Rugby football they were beaten by the Navy, they were more fortunate with the Army, and beat them well, which was a good start. In tennis . " they were coming on, and they were playing polo at Halton, and he hoped soon to see this duplicated in other places in England. With the beagles they were running well, and hunting also. In the Grand National they had a representa- tive, and they were successful in boxing in the recent displays. So well were they doing in sport that one heard everywhere the remark "the improvement of sport reflected in.the improve- ? ment of personnel." As to the boys at Halton, they were more than coming up to their expectations, and exceeding .*^ their greatest hopes. They were getting the right type of boy, and they would, he thought, when arrived at man's estate, enhance and not diminish the fair fame of the Air Force. He was also glad to see excellent officers coming forward at Cranwell. Last year they had their first output, when the then Secretary of State saw them, a historical fact which he wished to have marked, that the first of the boys educated by the Air Force had now gone into the Service. , Stations were now getting down to normal, and there was greater stability in appointments and postings, which was likely to improve as they went along. Flying was improving ; everywhere, and when their reserves were called up a short -.' time ago in connection with the industrial trouble, they came up to a man, irrespective of what their employment was in . ordinary life. Hundreds of officers attended and asked to be allowed to help, but it was of course only possible to accept a limited number. There were so many offers, in fact, that he was only able to see a list of their names, much as he would have wished to have seen each one individually, but he took care that every officer who applied was written to and thanked, even if he was not accepted, and he now availed ; himself of the present occasion to again thank them. In Ireland the Air Force had been of considerable assistance in the prevailing troubles, which all hoped would soon be brought to a satisfactory end ; and in India the accounts showed great improvements. Here again sport was well to the fore, and No. 1 Squadron won the Handicap Polo Tournament at Bangalore. The Air Force was small in India, and they had a very strenuous time and much work in clearing up the tremendous accumulation of stores, material, etc. In regard to Egypt, where he had the pleasure of paying a visit for nine days recently, although he only saw a few of the stations, the keenest enthusiasm of all ranks there for the Air Force and the reputation which it had attained were extraordinary. and he was pleased to see the perfect harmony and close touch with which they had settled dowff in life in their stations with the officers of the Army. There were many functions in Egypt at which Mr. Winston Churchill and he attended. The Conference on the Middle East, he would mention, turned largely on the availability of the Air Force to undertake control, and he thought they would be glad to know that every hour of the Conference was taken up by the air quite as much as by anything else. All that helped in the education of everybody in matters of air power. At these Conferences he put forward various proposals as to how air power would develop in the East, and he now particularly wanted to point out that he considered the first function of air power was to prevent war. Already he thought he was justified in saying this had been done on many occasions when small wars had been threatened. The swarthy tribesmen had very little stomach for the attentions of the Air Force when they took the form of dropping bombs on themselves and their relatives. The aeroplane was a powerful agent, he contended, to compel submission if—and that was the real point—it was given the time to do it. He did not necessarily contend that they could do it quicker than the ordinary forces, but at least there could be no question that they could do it very much cheaper and in greater economy of life. Nothing revolutionises war, it had been said, with which he agreed, but it could not be denied that wars constantly grew bigger and bigger, and he hardly thought a first-class war, fought out simply between belligerent armies and fleets, was possible in the future. It would be a war of nations, in which the civil population must take its share in the dangers and hardships of war, and in the words of Bernhardi, " the nation that will win is the nation that has the greater will to win." He was convinced that the service that wielded the power of the Air was the service of the future, and he there- fore came back to the beginning._of hisjyjeech when he said that it was up to them to try to make it the best service of all, in traditions and in spirit and discipline, and all that makes for sAf-respect. He regretted greatly not to have amongst them General de Castelnau, the great French Commander, who was so good a friend to the Independent Force. Another face he missed was Capt. La Ferriere, to whom might be largely attributed the great good feeling between the British Air Force and the French authorities. Major Baring, who was too ill, he was sorry to say, to be present, was another absentee. Mr. Churchill had sent a message regretting his absence, but that, although he had severed his connection with the air, they could be assured that he would continue always to do all he could to help it forward. He was glad to say that they had at last a Secretary of State of their very own, whole and undivided, and it was decided that they must have him at their Reunion as their principal visitor. It indeed gave them all very great pleasure to see him there. He expressed very warm thanks from himself and from them all for the admirable manner in which Major Toe. Smith had arranged everything in connection with that Reunion Dinner, and he coupled with the names of the toast the names of General Dickie and Sir Walter Lawrence. General Dickie, in concluding his reply, drew attention to the cemetery which had been inaugurated at Charrnes in France. He hoped that there would be no cause to think thai the upkeep would be neglected. He trusted that it would be looked after for all time, since so many of the R.A.F. who went west found there their last resting-place. It would be pre- served, he hoped, for all time to their memory. Col. Sir W. R. Lawrence, in responding, said that, in looking upon the Force from an outside and unbiassed aspect, he thought when the history of the War came to be written, their children's children would be proud to be descendants of the Independent Air Force, if only for the fact that they were the first who carried the War into the enemy's country. In things generally it was acknowledged there was a very deadly slump at present, but so long as they had their great chief, Air-Marshal Trenchard, associated with the Force, there would be no question about there being a "boom" with them. He concluded by saying that he had worked with some very great men in his time, but he had never known a man who had so completely earned his respect and esteem as Sir Hugh, and in asking them to drink to his health he offered his hearty congratulations to Sir Hugh upon the recent advent of a son and heir. Sir Hugh Trenchard having thanked the company for their greeting, Group-Captain C. L. N. Newall, in proposing the toast of 426
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