Royal Air Forces Escaping Society

Last updated

RAFES memorial in Grenoble, France. Grenoble memorial Albert Michallon board.jpg
RAFES memorial in Grenoble, France.

The Royal Air Forces Escaping Society, was a UK-based charitable organization formed in 1946 to provide help to those in the former occupied countries in World War II who put their lives at risk to assist and save members of the "Royal Air Forces" (that is, Air Forces of the British Commonwealth) who were attempting to escape and evade capture.

Contents

The society was based at the Duke of York's Headquarters, London and had the Latin motto Solvitur ambulando (solved by walking). It helped the widows, dependents and orphans of those who died and those requiring medical treatment or otherwise in need. It also fostered continued friendship between escapers and evaders and their helpers. Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Embry was the president of the RAFES from its formation until the 1970s.

The society was disbanded with the laying up of its UK standard in Lincoln Cathedral on 17 September 1995 and the last president was Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Hodges. There remains a small Royal Air Forces Escaping Society Museum at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre in East Kirkby, near Spilsby, Lincolnshire and commemorative plaques sponsored by the RAFES at several locations including; the Royal Air Force Museum London, St Clement Danes Church and the Musée de l'Armée at the Hôtel des Invalides, Paris. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Granby</span> British operations of the 1991 Gulf War

Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. Forty-seven British personnel were killed during Op Granby and many more were injured during the hostilities there. The total cost of operations was £2.434 billion (1992), of which at least £2.049 billion was paid for by other nations such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; £200 million of equipment was lost or written off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trafford Leigh-Mallory</span> Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (1892-1944)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Remaining in the newly formed RAF after the war, Leigh-Mallory served in a variety of staff and training appointments throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshal of the Royal Air Force</span> Highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, the then Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as head of the armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Second Tactical Air Force</span> Military unit

The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and exiles from German-occupied Europe. Renamed as British Air Forces of Occupation in 1945, 2TAF was recreated in 1951 and became Royal Air Force Germany in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Digby</span> Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England

Royal Air Force Digby otherwise known as RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station located near Scopwick and 11.6 mi (18.7 km) south east of Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. The station is home to the tri-service Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the Joint Forces Intelligence Group of Joint Forces Command. Other units include the RAF Aerial Erector School, No. 54 Signals Unit and No. 591 Signals Unit.

Marshal of the air force or marshal of the air is a five-star rank and an English-language term for the most senior rank in some air forces. It is usually the direct equivalent of a general of the air force in other air forces, a field marshal or general of the army in many armies, or a naval admiral of the fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom)</span> Professional head of the Royal Air Force

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) is the professional head of the Royal Air Force and a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Air Force Board. The post was created in 1918 with Major General Sir Hugh Trenchard as the first incumbent. The current and 30th Chief of the Air Staff is Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, who succeeded Sir Michael Wigston on 2 June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Johns</span> Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (born 1939)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Edward Johns, is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander. He was a fighter pilot in the 1960s, commanding officer of a squadron during the 1970s and a station commander in the 1980s. Johns served as one of three British directors of operations on the senior planning staff for Operation Granby in 1991 and then acted as a supporting commander for joint operations in the Balkans in 1994. As Chief of the Air Staff he advised the British Government on the air force aspects of the Strategic Defence Review and on NATO's air campaign in Kosovo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Beetham</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1923-2015)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham, was a Second World War bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s. As Chief of the Air Staff during the Falklands War he was involved in the decision to send the Task Force to the South Atlantic. At the time of his death Beetham was one of only six people holding his service's most senior rank and, excluding Prince Philip's honorary rank, and had the longest time in rank, making him the senior Marshal of the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jock Stirrup</span> Senior commander in Britains Royal Air Force

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Graham Eric Stirrup, Baron Stirrup,, informally known as Jock Stirrup, is a former senior Royal Air Force commander who was the Chief of the Defence Staff from 2006 until his retirement in late 2010. He is now a Crossbench member of the House of Lords. In April 2013, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter by Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Slessor</span> Marshal of the Royal Air Force (1897-1979)

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF), serving as Chief of the Air Staff from 1950 to 1952. As a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War, he saw action with No. 17 Squadron in the Middle East, earning the Military Cross, and with No. 5 Squadron on the Western Front, where he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre. Between the wars he commanded No. 4 Squadron in England, and No. 3 (Indian) Wing, earning the Distinguished Service Order for operations with the latter in Waziristan. In 1936, he published Air Power and Armies, which examined the use of air power against targets on and behind the battlefield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Embry</span> Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (1902–1977)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry, was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Garden, Baron Garden</span> British air marshal and peer (1944–2007)

Air Marshal Timothy Garden, Baron Garden,, FRUSI, FCGI was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who later became a university professor and a Liberal Democrat politician.

Air Marshal Sir Kenneth William Hayr, was a senior Royal Air Force commander who was Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Strike Command and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff (Commitments).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lewis Hodges</span> Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (1918-2007)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Lewis Macdonald Hodges, was a pilot for Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War, and later achieved high command in the Royal Air Force and NATO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force Memorial</span> Memorial in London, England

The Royal Air Force Memorial is a military memorial on the Victoria Embankment in central London, dedicated to the memory of the casualties of the Royal Air Force in World War I. Unveiled in 1923, it became a Grade II listed structure in 1958, and was upgraded to Grade II* in 2018. It is considered to be the official memorial of the RAF and related services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force College Cranwell</span> Royal Air Force training and education academy

The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is responsible for all RAF recruiting along with officer and aircrew selection. Originally established as a naval aviation training centre during World War I, the College was established as the world's first air academy in 1919. During World War II, the College was closed and its facilities were used as a flying training school. Reopening after the War, the College absorbed the Royal Air Force Technical College in 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Peach</span> Royal Air Force officer (born 1956)

Air Chief Marshal Stuart William Peach, Baron Peach, is a British retired senior Royal Air Force officer. After training as a navigator, Peach commanded IX (Bomber) Squadron and then became Deputy Station Commander RAF Bruggen. He was deployed as NATO Air Commander (Forward) in Kosovo in 2000. He went on to be Chief of Defence Intelligence in 2006, Chief of Joint Operations in 2009 and the first Commander of Joint Forces Command in December 2011 before being appointed Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff in May 2013. Peach succeeded General Sir Nick Houghton as Chief of the Defence Staff on 14 July 2016. He succeeded General Petr Pavel as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee on 29 June 2018, serving as such until his retirement from NATO in June 2021.

The Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was a World War II Allied air-force command that was active in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) between February 18 and December 10, 1943. MAC was under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, whose headquarters were next to those of the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Algiers, Algeria, during the planning of the Allied campaigns in Tunisia, Pantelleria, Sicily, and the invasion of mainland Italy during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tedder certificate</span>

A Tedder certificate was awarded to citizens of foreign countries who assisted British service personnel to escape from German captivity in Western Europe during the Second World War. It was issued in the name of Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder with individual awards vetted and sanctioned by MI9. More than 35,000 applications for the award were processed.

References

  1. Inscription, with translation:"Let us remember those who helped us in our hour of need/Passer-by, remember Doctor Michallon/Under the enemy occupation this eminent surgeon 'Buridan' of the Grésivaudan maquis courageously donated his care not only to maquisards but also to allied airmen who had been shot down and had escaped in the region/This tree was planted to his glorious memory on 28 August 1976/Royal Air Forces Escaping Society"
  2. RAFES homepage Retrieved 16.11.2013