History
The Royal Air Force Theatrical Association (RAFTA) was founded in 1974 and became a registered charity in 2011.
All three of the UK Armed Services have a long history that has encouraged theatrical activity, musical revues, concert parties, and the like, as a creative outlet which has led to many service men and women becoming established actors, directors and stage technicians. The formation of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) in 1939 solidified the UK forces' commitment to the provision of entertainment of service personnel both in the UK and abroad and the first major wartime Variety Concert was broadcast by the BBC from RAF Hendon in North London on 17 October of that same year.
Within the RAF, the station cinemas would often share facilities with the station theatre clubs to produce plays and concerts. Each station's club would encourage membership from both service personnel and their families and many retired service personnel went on to have theatrical careers.
Royal Air Force Station Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the station would close in 2013 as part of defence spending cuts, along with the retirement of the Harrier GR9 and the disbandment of Joint Force Harrier. The formal closing ceremony took place on 31 March 2011, and the airfield became a satellite of RAF Wittering until March 2012.
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby, is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) south-west of Horncastle, and 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and home to the Typhoon Force Headquarters and three front-line Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 units, No. 3 Squadron, No. 11 Squadron and No. 12 Squadron. In support of front-line units, No. 29 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and No. 41 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Evaluation Unit. Coningsby is also the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) which operates a variety of historic RAF aircraft.
Loughborough Grammar School, founded in 1495 by Thomas Burton, is a public and prep school for boys in the town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. Today, roughly one in ten boys at the school are boarders, with the remainder being "day" boys. It is one of four schools known as the Loughborough Schools Foundation, along with Loughborough High School, Fairfield Preparatory School and Loughborough Amherst School. The Schools Foundation are separate independent schools in their own right but share a board of governors. In line with the charitable intent of its founders, Loughborough Grammar School and Loughborough High School offer a number of means-tested bursaries, called School Assisted Places (SAPs), which cover up to 100% of fees.
The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to 'the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production'. It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, currently chaired by Yvonne Thompson. The Radio Academy was previously called Sony Awards due to the sponsorship of the Sony company. This name was changed after Sony withdrew their sponsorship. The charity has a Board of Trustees who serve three-year terms. Their responsibilities include designing, planning, and implementing projects and programs. In addition, every year they must attend six board meetings which are held in London. In 2019, the Radio Academy requested votes from the public for the addition of three new Trustees.
Number 31 Squadron, known as the Goldstars, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The Squadron lays claim to being the first military unit to fly in India, where it was based from 1915 to 1947. Throughout the Cold War, No. 31 Squadron was based in West Germany, flying from RAF Laarbruch and RAF Brüggen. Between September 1984 and March 2019, the Goldstars operated the Panavia Tornado GR1/4, initially from RAF Brüggen and after August 2001 from RAF Marham, Norfolk. No. 31 Squadron was disbanded on 14 March 2019 at RAF Marham and will reform sometime in 2024 at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, operating the General Atomics Protector RG1.
William Henry Ralph Reader, known as Ralph Reader, was a British actor, theatrical producer and songwriter, known for staging the original Gang Show, a variety entertainment presented by members of the Scouting movement, and for leading community singing at FA Cup Finals.
Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force are delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst (Voice) Trade. The specialisation has around 1200 personnel of all ranks posted to operational air stations, HQs and other establishments of the British Armed Forces, both in the United Kingdom and overseas.
Monkton Combe School is a 2-18 independent boarding and day school for boys and girls in the village of Monkton Combe near Bath in Somersetshire, England. It is a member of the eighteen-strong Rugby Group of leading independent boarding schools in the United Kingdom.
Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as the artistic side. Productions may take place in venues ranging from the open air, community centres or schools to independent or major professional theatres and can be simple light entertainment or demanding drama.
St John's College is an independent day and boarding school located in Southsea, Hampshire, England. It was founded by the De La Salle Brothers in 1908 and it continues to retain their Christian values. St John's is a through-school for pupils between the ages of 2 and 18. The Head of College is Mrs Mary Maguire.
Headquarters Air Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training Commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The equivalent in the Royal Navy is Navy Command Headquarters at Portsmouth and the equivalent in the British Army is Army Headquarters at Andover.
The New Year Honours 1958 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the London Gazette of 31 December 1957 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1958.
The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, and Pakistan to celebrate the past year and mark the beginning of 1952.
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1952 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The Queen, and were published in supplements the London Gazette on 30 May 1952 for the United Kingdom and Colonies, Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon, and Pakistan.
The Queen's Birthday Honours 1957 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries.
The 1948 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1948 for the British Empire and New Zealand to celebrate the past year and mark the beginning of 1948. By coincidence it coincided with the nationalization of the Big Four railways into what is now known as British Railways.
The 1928 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1927.
The Foundation of Light is a Registered Charity in the United Kingdom, and is the independent charitable foundation of professional football club Sunderland A.F.C. It is the biggest football charity in the UK.
The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The Queen's Birthday Honours for the United Kingdom were announced on 9 June; the honours for New Zealand were announced on 4 June and for Australia on 11 June.
The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette on 27 December 2019. Australia, an independent Realm, has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year, the 2020 Australia Day Honours, coincide with Australia Day on 26 January.
