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THE NATIONAL SERVICE
(ROYAL AIR FORCE) ASSOCIATION.
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The NS(RAF)A was formed in 2001 by a few ex RAF National Servicemen who thought that the era when National Service was common to all and was not only being forgotten but it was felt by so many that the recognised Veterans Associations did not cater for and were not interested in anything following WW2 ! - allied to that was the time factor which makes it necessary for this Association to be active now before it is too late for many of us.
To that end membership is open to ALL ex
RAF National Servicemen and Regulars, WAAF and WRAF
who served in the period 1939 to 1963 covered by the 2 National Service Acts of Parliament, when such service was compulsory for most of the young people of the day.
The aims of the Association are to create a forum for contact between members and to organise any such gatherings, be they local area Groups or our National events whereby members can come together for periods of social nostalgic comradeship.
(The Association does encourage participation of Partners at our events, the social side of our activities being very much to the fore).
The means of doing this is mainly via our superb quarterly magazine "The ASTRAL" (Sample pics in Gallery: Misc) plus this website and an annual AGM package weekend at a large hotel - (the venue of this popular weekend rotates North and South each year - 2003 at Hayling Island, 2004 at Scarborough. 2005 at Llandudno. 2006 at Blackpool, 2007 at Eastbourne and 2008 again at Blackpool) plus all members have access to the total membership lists (which includes the lists of camps the members served on during their time in the Service) and thus members have the means themselves to establish local contacts and arrange their own area and regional meetings.
We now have 21 Groups up and running all over the UK. (see menu - Groups).
The NS(RAF)A Committee are all ex Veterans themselves who have volunteered to give freely of their time etc to run the Association for the benefit of its members without payment.
In our short history to date: we have held a first successful re union day at the site of the old no 11 School of RAF Recruit Training: RAF Hednesford in July 2003 and this was followed in April 2005 by a joint exercise with Staffordshire County Council, RAF Cosford and the local ATC Squadron with a ceremony at which an engraved 11 ton stone was unveiled to commemorate the existence of the camp.
(see our sister site: www.rafhednesford.org)..
2004 saw our first National re union and full Parade at the RAF Museum Cosford at which Air Commodore S R Sims presented 6 members with their recently awarded Suez Campaign medals. (See Gallery: Cosford 2004).
We continued to have this family day of RAF nostalgia in 2005 / 2006 and 2007 at the RAF Museum with the full support of Air Commodore Sims and more recently, Air Commodore N W Gammon, Commandant DCAE Cosford and always with the input of an RAF Band, the BBMF aircraft and a full fixed bayonet Guard of Honour and this has now become the largest single Service Parade in the UK and the highlight of our activities.
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The 2008 National re union and Parade was held on Sunday June 22nd. and apart from the Parade over 30 stands representing The Veterans Agency, SSAFA, RAF Benevolent Fund, - RAF Camps and Associations etc were present.
This day encompassed the "Family" of the RAF in that Veterans, current serving Personnel and ATC all had an input.
The Reviewing Officer was Air Commodore N W Gammon. Commandant DCAE Cosford.
Principal Guest was: Mr Derek Twigg MP. The Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans.
In dry but very blustery weather about 550 Veterans were on Parade and the total number of friends and families present topped the 3,000 mark.
The Cosford Sqd ATC Band led the Parade on the Parade Ground and the RAF Cosford Voluntary Band played during the Parade and also for the March off and then entertained after the Parde in Hangar 1.
Fordhouses Sqd Drill Unit and the Cosdford Sqd ATC Band gave public displays before and after the Parade.
There will be a professional DVD available shortly of the whole days events and a copies @ £10 each will be available from Mr Honey. Tel 01782 516887 or e mail: pgh87@talktalk.net. A gallery of photographs will also be put on this website when they are compiled.
Our thanks got to the combined efforts of NS(RAF)A Committee and members, The Staff of the RAF Museum and the Museum Volunteers, The Commandant and Staff of DCAE Cosford and the 3 ATC Sqdns whose combined efforts made this a day to remember.
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UK Membership of the Association is currently £8 per annum, OVERSEAS £12.
Click here to download the membership application form.
please make all cheques payable to:- NS(RAF)A - (if overseas in Sterling please) and application for membership - with a stamp for return postage - should be made to our Membership Secretary:
John Kent, Dunelm, Denford Road. Longsdon, Stoke on Trent. Staffs. ST9 9QG. E mail: jk34@talktalk.net
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Conditions applying to the Gallery:
"Crown Copyright" is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. (Web site licence ref: D/IPR/1X/4/3/3)".
PERMITTED USES:
This material may be accessed and downloaded on to electronic, magnetic, optical or similar storage media, provided that such activities are for private research, study or in house use only.
RESTRICTED USES:
This material must not be copied, distributed, published or sold without permission of the Controller of HMSO.
This site only displays photographs applicable to the Reception and Squarebashing RAF Units - we do not have the room to include any other photographs of a personal nature unless they were taken at a training Unit.
With regard to the photographs shown, all have been donated for use on the site, they are not in any sequential order - they are in the order "as they came to me" - and any additions donated will also be added in the same way, when indexed they are then re allocated to a folder designated for a specific RAF recruit Training Camp or Reception Unit to simplify access.
Basic information is on the photographs but a fuller index will be held by the website coordinators of any other information to hand or names of people on them.
I am always in search of any more visual information, the actual site photographs, within the Recruit Training Camps - where they were taken - for instance.
Due to implications concerning the Freedom of Information Act no names will be put to faces on this website unless I have the permission of the people concerned to do so.
Many photographs have been reduced in PIXEL size to save space, on your computer you can open them out again to get more clarity if desired.
However if not on broadband please be patient as photographs download.
If you wish to donate photographs for inclusion on the site -especially those that depict a part of the old Recruit Training Camps - then please contact me with as much information about the photograph as you can remember. E mail: pgh87@talktalk.net.
With regard to any other photographs held in our archive from RAF STATIONS - other than Recruit Training Camps - access to these will be available on request
For any enquiry about any photograph on the web site please give the INDEX No: shown on the photograph.
Thank you for visiting the site.
ENJOY !
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