Royal Air Forces Association

Royal Air Forces Association
Founded 1929
226686 (England & Wales)
SC037673 (Scotland)
Key people
Mission The Royal Air Forces Association is committed to providing confidential, professional and fair services to members of the wider RAF family from the youngest recruit to the oldest veteran and their families. On-going training and support for welfare volunteers and staff ensures services are consistent and of the highest possible standard. All will be treated with dignity and respect at all times.
Website www.rafa.org.uk
Formerly called
 Comrades of the Royal Air Forces

The Royal Air Forces Association (also called RAF Association or RAFA) is the largest single Service membership organisation and the longest standing registered service charity that provides welfare support to the RAF Family - providing friendship, help and support to current and former members of the Royal Air Force and their dependants.

Receiving no government contributions, the RAF Association is completely funded by the generosity of their members and through donations from supporters in the general public and businesses.

The RAF Association currently has a membership of over 65,500 includes serving RAF personnel, veterans and non-service individuals. With a UK-wide caseworker network of over 540 volunteer Welfare Officers undertaking over 68,000 welfare contacts annually, help ranges from simply providing conversation and friendship to preparing and submitting application forms for financial assistance.

History

In 1929, in the Sergeants’ Mess at RAF Andover, three men named Vernon Goodhand, Joe Pearce and Warrant Officer Bartlett met to discuss the formation of a single organisation dedicated to the welfare of serving and ex-serving RAF personnel: one which would replace the many smaller organisations that had grown to keep former servicemen in touch since the end of the First World War.

By 1930 a provisional committee had been formed called "Comrades of the Royal Air Forces Association" and the first general meeting of the new organisation took place at the Queen’s Hotel, Leicester Square, London. Air Ministry support for the Comrades came in 1933 when the Air Council officially recognised the organisation and Lord Trenchard accepted the Presidency.

Throughout the early 1930s the new Association made rapid progress, establishing benevolent schemes and distributing Christmas hampers to unemployed members. Then, in 1936, King George VI gave his patronage – and the Association has been honoured with Royal patronage ever since.

Following the outbreak of war in 1939, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force reformed, and the Women's Royal Air Force Old Comrades Association (created in 1919) opened its membership to all ranks of the new female air service. In 1941, the two Old Comrades organisations for airmen and airwomen merged, resulting in a combined membership of nearly 20,000.

By 1943, with more than a million serving in the RAF, the organisation’s name was changed to the Royal Air Forces Association. A National Council, under the chairmanship of Air Chief Marshal Sir John Steel was formed to replace the Central committee of CRAFA.

The foundations of the charity’s present structure were laid during the remaining wartime years, and the Association was fully prepared for the consequences of demobilisation, which began in 1945.

Welfare officers, employment officials and legal advisers were appointed at National Headquarters and at local branch levels. At the Air Ministry’s invitation officials attended Release Centres to inform demobilised Air Personnel how the Association could help them.

In 1947 membership reached a peak with around 200,000 members and some 565 branches throughout the UK and in some overseas territories.

During this time, membership enrolment reached as many as 10,000 a month and, with the danger that the organisation might have become oversubscribed, the decision was made to distribute most of the administrative work over nine separate areas, each with its own HQ.

The Association has continued to maintain its Royal links and HM the Queen currently acts as Patron. We were also honoured and proud to have the Duke of Edinburgh as President in 1954 and 67, and the Prince of Wales in 1986.

At the start of the 21st century it was clear that the Association needed to adapt to an ever-changing society and its welfare needs. The RAF Association underwent a complete reorganisation and Central Headquarters relocated to the heart of the country in Leicester, and in the process amalgamated the Association’s Areas into five.

In recent times the Association has continued to be at the forefront of providing support to the RAF family. As well as continuing to help those who served in World War II, it has given assistance to vast numbers of Service personnel including veterans of the conflicts in Korea, The Falklands and the Middle East, and those affected by the ongoing campaign in Afghanistan.

Wings Appeal

The Wings Appeal is the RAF Association’s on-going fundraising campaign that runs throughout the year.

The RAF Association's fundraisers come in many forms; including RAF Association Branch members, members of the serving RAF, ATC cadets, employees of companies who support us and individual members of the public.

The types of activity which volunteers undertake include:

Welfare

The kind of welfare support provided by the RAF Association is wide-ranging: everything from providing home visits and respite care breaks, to offering advice and, in some circumstances, financial assistance in times of difficulty.

In a typical year, these are some of the ways the RAF Association helps Servicemen and women, past and present.

Storybook Wings

Storybook Wings enables parents to record bedtime stories, along with personal messages, for their children to listen to while they are away.

The RAF Association provides recording equipment to parents for them to record their chosen stories. Thanks to donations received from members and the general public the Association is able to fund the special editing and sound mixing equipment needed by our volunteer editors. Once edited, a soundtrack is added to give each story a really special feel. The completed CD is then sent to the children in a personalised CD cover, and is ready for them to listen to whenever they like.

The RAF Association now supports 35 stations who participate in this project, and RAF personnel are also able to record stories while in Theatre, with two recorders in Afghanistan, plus another at RAF Mount Pleasant in the Falkland Islands.

Wings Breaks

The RAF Association owns and runs three respite care homes situated across the country in some of England's most picturesque locations.The Homes from Home offer respite short stays and breaks.

rafa YOUTH

rafa YOUTH is the RAF Association's youth membership scheme and is aimed at young people aged 13–17.

rafa YOUTH aims to help increase the RAF Association's long term numbers; encourage volunteering, support and increase awareness of the Association’s purpose as well as helping to promote youth development through air-related activities. It is hoped that youth members will continue their membership of the RAF Association as adults when they turn 18 and move on.

All 13- to 17-year-olds who are in uniform as Air Cadets, CCF (RAF), GVCAC, Air Scouts and Air Explorer Scouts are eligible to join rafa YOUTH.

See also

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.